Good Morning Birdland,

As good as the Orioles were in June, they have been even better in July so far. Through nine games this month they are 6-3. That includes their 5-2 win on Friday night in which Dean Kremer was fantastic and the bats were productive. Could we kick the all-star break back another week? I don’t want this run to stop.

It should be a big weekend for the Orioles. First, they have two more games against the Marlins. Winning both has the potential to put them within four games of a wild card spot at the break. That would be neat!

Then, on Sunday evening, the O’s will make a ton of draft picks. They own the 19th, 30th, 31st, 37th, 58th, 69th, and 93rd overall selections, and the massive signing bonus pool that comes with it. It is unlikely that every single player they pick will be a stud, but that is an awful lot of early bites at the apple. You would have to think they come out with at least a player or two of future significance.

What the Orioles do in the back half of July is unclear. Maybe they sell. Maybe they get real hot and buy. Maybe they do something in between. But for now, for this weekend, it’s fun to be an Orioles fan. That hasn’t been true all season, so it’s OK to bask it in for a few days.

Links

2025 MLB mock draft 3.0: Predicting the first two rounds | ESPN.com
Kiley McDaniel does a nice job demonstrating why the Orioles were so interested in getting the 37th overall pick from the Rays this week. It strengthens their bonus pool slot, and could allow them to float one (or more) players down to the mid-30s that would otherwise get taken earlier than that. McDaniel still has them taking a college bat with their first pick though.

With 3 wins in 36 hours, O’s show ‘there’s still time’ to turn things around | Orioles.com
I maintain the position that the Orioles could be “sellers” at this deadline and still be pretty good for the remainder of the season anyway. The core guys aren’t going anywhere. They have some pitchers returning. It will probably be OK. Could they go on a Tigers-esque run?

This, that and the other | Roch Kubatko
Included are more quotes about the upcoming draft. Apparently the $19,144,500 bonus pool that the Orioles have accumulated is the largest ever. That’s cool. It also puts a lot of pressure on Mike Elias to nail these picks, or at least a few of them.

Connor Norby and Kyle Stowers return with fond Orioles memories, but their path forward is in Miami | The Baltimore Banner
It’s easy to root for Norby and Stowers given the circumstances. They are with the Marlins, a team the Orioles rarely see. So yeah, go have awesome careers, guys! Just chill this weekend though.

Orioles birthdays

Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!

The late Jack Harshman (b. 1927, d. 2013) was born on this day. He spent parts of two seasons with the Orioles from 1958-59. His ‘59 campaign was impressive: 2.89 ERA over 236.1 innings. But he struggled in ‘59 and was dealt to the Red Sox in exchange for Billy Hoeft that summer.
This day in history

1969 – Mike Cuellar shuts out the Red Sox, 4-0, allowing just three hits in the process. Cuellar becomes the first player in major league history to pitch two three-hitters in which all of the hits are from the same opposing hitter, and he pulls off this feat in back-to-back starts. On this day it is Red Sox right fielder Tony Conigliaro with the trio of knocks. On July 8th it was Yankees center fielder Ron Woods that reached three times.

2022 – The surging Orioles reach .500 for the first time all season when they win their ninth straight game, beating the Cubs 4-2 in Chicago.

2024 – The Orioles and Yankees benches clear after Heston Kjerstad is hit in the head with a pitch, and O’s manager Brandon Hyde takes exception to something he hears from the Yankees dugout. Kjerstad is forced to leave the game, Hyde is ejected, and the Orioles lose, but they maintain a one-game lead in the AL East.