The Orioles did not get to make a pick in the 2014 draft until the third round, #90 overall. When their turn finally came up for the first time on Friday afternoon, they dipped into the high school ranks to take a left-handed pitcher, Brian Gonzalez, from Archbishop McCarthy High School in Florida.
Gonzalez was rated as the #386 prospect on the Baseball America 500, which is, uh... well, the Orioles obviously like him. Another interesting thing is that Gonzalez is listed by BA as a first baseman, but the Orioles drafted him as a lefty. He is not so obscure that he has never been captured on video. Here is a little montage of Gonzalez highlights, which also features a sick guitar riff from Hades.
He is listed at 6'3" and 230 lbs, according to Perfect Game USA. That's a pretty big dude. Whatever the Orioles see in him, the prospect-industrial complex at large seems to disagree. Then again, last year's first-round pick, Hunter Harvey, was a player who quickly proved to be better than his draft slot. It's a bit harder to pull that player out of your hat at #90 overall, but maybe there's something they like about him that they think they can develop. As a high school player, there's certainly room to polish him.
Gonzalez is reportedly committed to the University of Miami. In his senior season at Archbishop McCarthy, he threw 69.1 innings with a 0.50 ERA and 129 strikeouts. In a place like Florida, that doesn't suck.
The slot value for this pick is $594,200.
Oh, and for those of you who don't like the Red Sox, it looks like the newest Orioles draftee shares your leanings, with this tweet posted in response to the recent dustup between the Rays and Red Sox:
Lol big papi
— Brian Gonzalez (@Bigb_Gonzalez) May 31, 2014
Lol big papi indeed.