Top draft picks Cowser, Norby get an early taste of the big time
Camden Yards visit is ‘day they’ll never forget’
Around the batting practice cage stood a quartet of batters who had themselves a busy All-Star week, two right-handed and two left-handed, all of them donning orange.
There were the two who had already arrived as Orioles and the two who were taking their earliest steps toward doing so. Friday at Camden Yards, the Orioles welcomed their top two picks from this month’s Major League Baseball draft, No. 5 overall pick Colton Cowser and secondrounder Connor Norby. When they took their first swings at Camden Yards, they did so sharing a batting practice group with All-Star Cedric Mullins and Home Run Derby runner-up Trey Mancini.
“It’s a day they’ll never forget: taking BP in a big-league stadium with the big-league club,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde.
Before they changed into shorts, Cowser and Norby wore slacks and were semi-formally introduced, with executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias greeting them on the warning track and posing for photos as he provided them with their first Orioles jerseys.
Soon after, Hall of Famer Jim Palmer, a member of the Orioles’ broadcast team, introduced himself by mentioning that he used to pitch for the franchise.
The pair had already started their professional careers, having signed with the organization and headed to the team’s complex in Sarasota, Florida, before returning to Baltimore for the festivities Friday ahead of the Orioles’ first home game of the second half.
“It’s a lot of excitement,” Norby said. “It’s kind of been hectic just the last few weeks for sure, getting down to Sarasota and everything, getting settled then coming back.
“But it’s an honor to be here. I know me and Colton were really excited to come back.”
Norby said they’ll return to Sarasota, eventually getting into some Florida Complex League games before potentially ending the year with Low-A Delmarva, depending on how their bodies have handled their first foray into pro ball.
Both signed for under the set slot for their picks, allowing the organization to give overslot deals to other draftees. It did so Friday — among 14 draft picks whose signings were announced, eighth-round pick Creed Willems, a high school catcher from Texas, signed for $1 million, according to a source with direct knowledge of the agreement, far above his pick’s slot of $187,700.
The Orioles’ remaining unsigned draftees are sixth-round pick Collin Burns, seventhround pick Connor Pavolony, 14th-round pick Daniel Lloyd and 20th-round pick Trendon Craig.