The O's picked at #5, and it is indeed Matthew Weiters, C, from Ga. Tech. He's a Scott Boras client, which in the past was enough to make Peter Angelos start running in the other direction. But not this year. From today's The (Balitmore) Sun:
ESPN.com's Keith Law projected earlier this week that Wieters could slip to 18th as baseball's version of former Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn because teams fear the money the switch-hitter will command under Boras. Baseball America also has Wieters going 18th to the St. Louis Cardinals despite being "the best position player in the draft."
An Orioles official joked that the dollar figures make him uneasy as well, but Wieters remains a favorite within the front office. The official said he would expect the Washington Nationals to grab Wieters with the sixth pick if the Orioles pass on him...
Part of Wieters' appeal is how quickly he could reach the majors, with Law projecting two years. He hits for average and has tremendous power from the left side, and his laser arm behind the plate has drawn comparisons to that of former Oriole Charles Johnson. Wieters also is Georgia Tech's closer, with a mid-90s fastball.
Duquette indicated this week that the Orioles would prefer taking a college player who could join them "in a couple years."
"If everything's equal, we'll take a position player," he said, "but we'll take the best available."
It does seem the O's targeted a player and stuck to their guns. So maybe that's a good sign, right?