Pedro Beato took a trip down memory lane last week as he watched Major League Baseball?s First-Year Player Draft.
It was this time last year that the Queens, N.Y.. native was pitching at St. Petersburg (Fla.) Junior College wondering if he made the right decision not to sign the previous year with the New York Mets, who drafted him in the 17th round out of high school.
The Orioles erased any trepidation Beato might have had with that decision by selecting him with a sandwich pick between the first and second rounds.
“It was very nerve-wracking last year because you have no idea who is going to pick you,” Beato said.
Beato, the second of the Orioles? 51 picks last year, began hisascent up Baltimore?s minor league system this year with low Single-A Delmarva, where he entered this week 2-0 with a 3.29 ERA, 49 strikeouts and 31 walks in 63 innings.
He is also one of seven Delmarva players taken in last year?s draft, a list that includes Baltimore?s first-round pick, third baseman Billy Rowell.
The overall success of a baseball draft takes years to assess, but Orioles director of minor league operations David Stockstill believes the prospects taken last year are progressing nicely.
Four players ? pitcher Jason Berken, infielder Blake Davis and catchers Zach Dillon and Justin Johnson ? are currently playing for high Single-A Frederick.
“Players are obviously going to have their ups and downs at this point, but we have a number of players coming along well,” Stockstill said.
As for Rowell, he overcame some early-season injuries and went through a three-game stretch last week where he hit a home run and drove in eight runs to raise his average to .305 through 17 games.
Outfielder Brandon Tripp is also progressing at Delmarva.
He entered the week batting .336 with nine homers and 38 RBI, a performance that earned him a spot on the South Atlantic League All-Star team.
“It?s definitely been an adjustment getting used to professional baseball and being so far away from home,” said Tripp, a 12th-round selection out of Cal-State Fullerton.
“But growing up, all I ever wanted to do was get drafted.”
2006 O?S DRAFT PICKS
Here?s how some of the Orioles? 2006 draft choices are faring this season:
Delmarva Shorebirds
» P Pedro Beato: 2-0, 3.29 ERA, 49 K?s, 31 BB
» OF David Cash: .291, 1 HR, 23 RBI
» 3B Billy Rowell: .305, 2 HRs, 18 RBI
» OF Brandon Tripp: .338, 9 HRs, 38 RBI
FrederickKeys
» P Jason Berken: 4-4, 4.11 ERA, 55 K?s, 20 BB
» SS Blake Davis: .281, 1 HR, 14 RBI
» C Zach Dillon: .252, 3 HRs, 17 RBI
