In a season where the Orioles' pitching lags behind their hitting — their starting rotation ranks 23rd in the big leagues with a 4.77 ERA, while their hitters are second in the majors with 87 home runs — perhaps it's no surprise that the club is focused on upgrading its pitching depth in the Major League Baseball draft starting Thursday.
The Orioles drafted hitters — first outfielder DJ Stewart, then shortstop Ryan Mountcastle — with their two first-round picks last season. But in executive vice president Dan Duquette's first three drafts with the team, the club picked pitchers first.
"We always look to add to our club and rank the players by their overall value, but over half the players we take will be pitchers," Duquette said. "We put a lot of value on that, obviously."
Last season, the Orioles selected pitchers with 20 of their 41 picks. Lately, though, they have found success drafting the position early, first with Kevin Gausman, now one of the team's most consistent starters.
Hunter Harvey showed promise, but has battled several injuries, which brings up the Orioles' biggest obstacle in drafting pitchers.
"If you look at the history of the draft, it takes a little longer for the high school pitchers to get there, and the odds are against you from an injury perspective," Duquette said. "So if a team's going to take a high school pitcher, they need to have a pretty clear idea that that pitcher's going to be healthy and be able to give them that service."
Duquette said the Orioles closely monitor the health of all of their pitching prospects. At all positions, he preaches the importance of stockpiling talent through the draft to add to the big league club or — perhaps more importantly — use as trading pieces in preparation for the stretch run.
That's the position the Orioles have taken in the past, and one they might be set up for again this year.
"I hope so," Duquette said. "I hope we're in a position where we can add some position to this team to get it over the top."
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