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MLB awarded the competitive balance draft picks on Wednesday afternoon and the Orioles once again were winners of a pick in Round B. That takes place between the second and third rounds of the draft. They'll have the fifth of six picks in the round.
The Orioles were also awarded one of these picks last July and they traded it to the Dodgers to entice the Dodgers to eat Ryan Webb's $2.75 million salary in 2015. They were awarded a Round A pick back in 2013 for the 2014 draft - and they promptly traded that pick in the Bud Norris deal. You may be noticing a pattern here. The only time that the Orioles have kept that pick was the first year such picks existed, when they selected outfielder Josh Hart.
This time around, the Orioles were not eligible to win a pick in Round A, which comes in between rounds one and two of the draft. That means they were not one of the ten smallest markets or ten smallest revenue pools in baseball. They were, however, eligible for a Round B pick because they receive some baseball revenue-sharing dollars.
The Round A picks were awarded to the Reds, Athletics, Rockies, Diamondbacks, Marlins, and Pirates.
The Round B picks were awarded to the Padres, Indians, Twins, Brewers, Orioles, and Rays.
Three teams who were eligible for picks did not get awarded any: the Cardinals, Royals, and Mariners. Both the Cardinals and Royals could have gotten either a Round A or B pick. It is a dumb system where the Cardinals are eligible for an extra charity draft pick. They did not hit the lottery this year. The Mariners, like the Orioles and Twins, were eligible for Round B only.
Along with receiving the #69 pick next year for failing to sign this year's second rounder, Jonathan Hughes, the O's will have this Round B pick as well as their regular second round pick. That would represent three chances to add some talent in next year's draft, except we all know they're going to trade the pick, possibly before next week's trade deadline. So don't get too attached to the idea that the Orioles have it. They certainly won't.