Orioles sign first round draft pick DL Hall

The Orioles will not have any drama dragging out this year over whether or not they sign their first round pick. The team announced on Friday afternoon that they have signed this year’s top pick, left-handed pitcher DL Hall from Valdosta High School in Georgia.

With this signing, the Orioles have signed ten of the eleven picks that they made in the first ten rounds of the draft, with only fourth round pick Jack Conlon remaining unsigned. They have signed 15 of the first 16 picks they made and overall they have signed more than 30 of their draft picks. That’s fairly standard.

MASN’s Steve Melewski reported that Hall’s signing bonus is $3 million. That is slightly higher than the slot value for the #21 pick of $2,892,400 - but not that much more. This signing is not going to impact their ability to sign other picks later in the draft if they want to do so.

Hall was not a player who had been expected to fall to the Orioles in pre-draft speculation. ESPN’s Keith Law considered Hall to be the eighth best prospect in the whole draft class. MLB Pipeline rated him 14th - still a great value to get at #21 - with this scouting report:

Hall usually operates at 90-93 mph and can touch 95 with his heater, which has some running action but is more notable for his command than his life. His hard curve is often his best offering and features a high spin rate, though it can get slurvy at times. While his changeup is still in its nascent stages, it's showing improvement as he commits to throwing it more often.

The Orioles were surely thrilled to get that kind of talent falling to them in the draft and now they’ve got him signed. The presence of Scott Boras as Hall’s advisor did not throw any wrenches into the works. They got their guy and now he can start his professional career in the Orioles organization.

Signing the top pick at the start of a little homestand is not too surprising - the Orioles will have a chance to introduce Hall before the crowd at Oriole Park at Camden Yards tonight or perhaps tomorrow. I’d be surprised if they don’t.