Cup of jO's: Recapping Day 2 of the Draft

Last night the Orioles appeared to tire of scoring runs by stringing singles.  Instead, they won by stringing solo home runs.  Luke Scott, a last minute addition in left field when Nolan Reimold woke up with neck spasms, did not let his bum shoulder affect him much.  He played decent defense, cranked a home run onto Eutaw Street, and barely missed another (settling for a double).  Ryan Adams displayed some soft hands at second, but his range looks rather limited there.  With Brian Roberts given another two weeks before new time tables are set for his recovery, we may see a lot of Robert Andino and Ryan Adams playing second.

I would also like to thank MASN for hosting me at the game last night.  I was able to interact with Adam Jones (who was verbally engaged with an older fellow trying to convince Adam that he needs to tell Buck to have the team sacrifice bunt more and take infield/outfield before each game), see Rick Dempsey's ring up close, shake Flanny's hand, briefly hang out with Joe Orsulak, and engorge myself on crab cakes, oysters, and shrimp.

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Day 2 of the draft mildly surprised me.  After selecting Dylan Bundy and opening up the second round with the selection of Jason Esposito (3B, Vanderbilt, selected 64th, composite rank 53rd), I figured that this year's M.O. would be to address organizational needs with slot players.  To me, Esposito is an organizational guy with some upside.  He has a good glove, but questionable bat speed.  Bat speed is an aspect of a player that can be quite difficult to correct.  I think the only waste to significantly improve that with a college player would be to rework a swing.  The Orioles' scouts may see something there.  The next two picks were also slot moves, I think.  Mike Wright (RHP, East Carolina, selected 94th, composite rank 200th) and Kyle Simon (LHP, Arizona, selected 125th, composite rank 198th) were both reasonable selections, but should certainly be around slot.

Jordan then surprised me with some picks that are overslots.  Matt Taylor (LHP, Middle Georgia JC, selected 155th, unranked) is a JuCo with a commitment to Georgia.  You will often see JuCos move on to a four year school to improve draft status.  A lefty successfully competing there is likely to pull more eyes with success meaning a higher round and more money.  JuCos are historically underscouted and the players know this.  As such, you typically need to throw a little bit more money at them to get them to sign.

The next pick, Nick Delmonico (3B, Farragut HS (TN), selected 185th, composite rank 51st) is said to be asking for first round money, which would be about 1-2 million.  That kind of money is not typical for a Joe Jordan overslot.  I imagine this might be more of a summer follow and if he shows more improvement with the bat, maybe the Orioles go in deep on him.  Personally, I would have gone in a different direction with overslotting higher up in the draft.  I think later overslots become a function of competing scouting groups.  I am more comfortable with an overslot several teams identify as being a quality player rather than those who only a few think that way.  Every organization saw Delmonico and probably saw him several times.  The O's snagged him at 185.  That imparts me with a bit of doubt.

Nick will come through later and give more specific writeups for players selected.  He are the rest of the players ranked in the composites:

Rd 8 Johnny Reutiger, OF, Arizona State, 245th selection, 196th composite rank
Rd 12 Jason Coats, OF, Texas Christian, 365th selection, 89th composite rank