Baltimore Orioles

D.C. area fans have become accustomed to hearing chants of "COOOOOOOOLLLLEEEEEEEY!" at Washington Redskins. By the time this big Florida Atlantic grad hits Baltimore there will most certainly be chants of "COOOOOONNNEEEEEEY!" And be certain, Brandon Cooney is most certainly on his way.

Cooney is one of many Florida Atlantic alum who have found great success with the Orioles.

Prospect #16 comes in the form of a athletic outfielder who has drawn comparisons to a guy who hit over .320 his rookie year and has two 25 home run seasons to his name. Prospect #16 is Ronnie Welty

Welty was a 20th round draft pick by the Orioles in 2008. At the time he was rated as the 5th best junior-college player in the nation. Welty was drafted in the 37th round in 2006, but a strong commitment to Kansas State kept him from signing.

Pedro Florimon Jr. and Greg Miclat may be the two primary candidates vying for the Orioles starting shortstop position, but the one dark horse in the whole thing might be the guy with the best potential out of them all. And his name is Garabez Rosa.

Rosa was born in Cotui in the Dominican Republic, and is the first product churned out by the Orioles new Dominican scouting system.

Who knew that Ramon Hernandez could be so valuable?

Especially coming off of a season where he hit .258 and drove in 62 runs. Hernandez netted the Orioles two of the top 20 prospects in Brandon Waring (coming soon!) and prospect number 19, Justin Turner.

Turner was one of the lucky position players who got the September call to an Orioles team bereft of bullpen depth.

The Orioles have placed quite the premium on drafting super-athletes with speed to burn in the past few drafts. It started with Tyler Henson, and has continued with Xavier Avery and Kyle Hudson, and this year the crop included Mychal Givens.

Check out Eddie Gamboa's player profile on his alma mater, UC Davis', website and you'll see that he is planning for a career in real estate. Provided Gamboa keeps pitching like he did in 2009, real estate is going to be the furthest thing from his mind. Pitching for a big league club less than two and a half years after being drafted will be front and center.

Few pitchers came into the 2009 season with less noteriety and publicity than Gamboa. I mean, he was a 21st round draft pick in the 2008 draft. The 626th pick!

Originally published at WNST.net.

As the Orioles fall toward the 100-loss mark with seemingly little resistance over the final week of the season, their elder statesman winds down his 10-year stay with an organization fixed in what feels like an endless era of losing.

We recognize as the Baltimore Sports Then and Now Vintage Athlete of the Week one of the key pitchers for the Baltimore Orioles during their championship run of the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Sometimes timing is everything. After toiling away in the minors and on primarily losing teams for a decade, a seemingly insignificant trade following the 1968 season proved to be all that Mike Cuellar needed to become one of the top pitchers in baseball.

From May until July, Luke Scott was one of the biggest surprises in baseball. Scott was tearing the cover off the ball and many wondered if the slugger was finally developing into the player that so many thought he would become.