The Baltimore Orioles made the deadline and have announced an agreement with first-round pick Kevin Gausman, according to Keith Law of ESPN.
This is a very important move for the Orioles and definitely the right move in this situation even though they had to pay him a tad more than his draft slot would suggest (he was given $4.32 million instead of the suggested $4.2 million).
Gausman himself is incredibly talented, so that is part of the reason that this is a good decision.
According to an article from the Baltimore Sun that was written by Dan Connolly when Gausman was drafted, his fastball sits in the mid-90s but can hit 98, his two-seam fastball hits the low 90s and he has a very strong changeup. His curveball and slider are coming along, but he is still only 21 years old, so there’s plenty of time to worry about that.
He dominated at Louisiana State University this year, and he should continue to have that success in the minor leagues.
There is a bigger issue here, however, that makes this an important acquisition.
If you look at the Baltimore Orioles right now, they’re being carried by prospects that they developed. While they do have some money, Baltimore is definitely not New York, Boston or Philadelphia. They succeed when they have players that come through the farm system.
With this selection and signing, they have added a very strong prospect to that system, and it may pay off in the long run.
While he is still a prospect with risk attached, Baltimore made a solid decision to give him a bit more money to continue a strong pipeline to a team that has renewed life this season.
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