Given the text: The Orioles drafted Illinois pitcher Cody Sedlock in the first round of the 2016 draft.
The Orioles went heavy on pitching in this year&apos;s draft.
The Orioles went heavy on pitching in this season’s first-year player draft, selecting arms with 27 of their 41 picks. The organization placed an emphasis on college arms, selecting 20 college pitchers in the draft, including each of their first three selections on Day 1.
“I think we’re pretty happy with the draft overall,” Orioles scouting director Gary Rajsich said. “… Of course, we’re always focused on pitching when we can get it and the fact that we took a lot of pitchers, we were focused on getting pitchers, but at the same time we were focused on some position players. It just seemed like when we got into the meat of the draft in the middle rounds, the pitchers went over the position players. … When you get into a patch of players you like, it just kind of happens. It’s however the draft presents itself really.
The Orioles used their first three picks on college pitchers, taking Illinois right-hander Cody Sedlock in the first-round (27th overall), then taking Western Michigan left-hander Keegan Akin and John A. Logan College (Ill.) right-hander Matthias Dietz with their next two picks.
“Hopefully some of these pitchers get into our system and move quickly,” Rajsich said, referring to the club’s top picks.
Sedlock, Akin and Dietz would all start their careers at short-season Class-A Aberdeen.
With their first pick in Thursday's Major League Baseball draft, the Orioles followed through on their pledge to add to their young pitching inventory, selecting right-hander Cody Sedlock with the 27th overall pick in the first round.
The Orioles took pitchers with 11 straight picks from rounds 8 through 18, which Rajsich said wasn’t necessarily by design.
The Orioles took Archbishop Spalding right-hander Tyler Blohm in the 17th round. Rajsich said Blohm likely will attend the University of Maryland rather than turn pro.
The same philosophical tug-of-war takes place around a lot of major league franchises. The fans want to win now and so does ownership. The front office also wants to win now, but needs to balance that with a plan to win later.
The Orioles also took left-hander Brandon Bonilla – the son of former Orioles outfielder Bobby Bonilla – in the 13th round out of Hawaii Pacific University. The Orioles selected him two years ago, but were unable to sign him.
Give a summary of the Orioles' strategy during the 2016 first-year player draft.
This prompt doesn't seem malicious.