The 2014 draft was always going to be something of a lost draft for the Orioles. Between the trade for Bud Norris and the signings of Ubaldo Jimenez and Nelson Cruz, the O’s didn’t get a pick until the third round. The second player they actually got to select chose basketball over baseball. Yet starting in 2019, the lost draft began to bear some late fruit. Eleventh round pick John Means turned into an All-Star, and in 2020, sixth round pick Tanner Scott finally started to harness some of his promise.
For someone like me who had already written off Scott, this was a pleasant surprise.