Pitcher Timothy Bascom, the Orioles' fourth-round selection in this month's amateur draft, will make his professional debut, starting tonight for low Single-A Delmarva. The Shorebirds travel to Lakewood, N.J., for a 7:05 game.
Bascom joined Delmarva on Wednesday after signing with the Orioles, who made him their second overall pick. They forfeited their selections in the second and third rounds after signing free-agent relievers Danys Baez and Chad Bradford.
The San Diego Padres drafted Bascom last year out of Central Florida, but voided the contract after discovering that he had a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Having lost his last year of college eligibility, Bascom pitched for an independent league team in Sarasota, Fla., and waited for another opportunity.
Orioles scout John Martin, who's based in Florida, and East Coast regional cross-checker Nick Presto tracked the right-hander's progress and passed along strong recommendations.
"They both stayed on him and did their jobs," scouting director Joe Jordan said.
Bascom threw for the Orioles in March, and they're convinced that they got a steal.
"He commands his fastball on both sides of the plate, 94 mph, and he had the best changeup I saw all spring," Jordan said.
"We feel very fortunate that he was available in the fourth round. [He's] a lot better than a fourth-round pick."
With president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail moving into his office tomorrow, Jordan expects negotiations with first-rounder Matt Wieters and fifth-rounder Jacob Arrieta to start.
"I think we'll start to see some progress," Jordan said. "There's no timetable with Wieters, but hopefully we'll get Arrieta done sooner rather than later."
Triple-A Norfolk
Catcher J.R. House was bypassed again when the Orioles needed another bat, but he entered the weekend ranked second in the International League with 84 hits, fifth with 46 RBIs and 10th in batting with a .316 average. In his past 10 games, House batted .457 with two homers and 11 RBIs. ... The Orioles aren't babying Garrett Olson. Before yesterday's start, he led the league in innings pitched with 91. He also ranked fourth in strikeouts with 79. ... Cory Doyne, back with the Tides after a brief promotion, hadn't allowed a run in his past 20 appearances dating to May 3.
Double-A Bowie
