In March 2010, David Stockstill and his brother John exchanged their leadership positions within the Organization with David becoming the Director of International Scouting, and John taking over Player Development.
As we head to that first anniversary, here are some of my questions for the O’s International Scouting Department.
1) What changes have been implemented to the department during the previous year?
2) It was shown last-season that the O’s are employing less Scouts than their American League East foes, with that disparity also showing in comparison with International Scouts. Even with some of Lee MacPhail’s Pro Scouts helping the International Department, the impression was given that the International Department lacked the resources required to unearth, and obtain talent equal to the rest of the division. Is that impression inaccurate?
3) O’s Amateur Scouting Director Joe Jordan confirmed the O’s spent $8.8M towards the 2009 MLB Amateur draft, and similar dollars towards the 2010 MLB Amateur draft. Does the International Department have a comparable budget?
4) Last year the O’s obtained 16 year-old Dominican 3rd baseman Hector Veloz. Was his signing entirely about his individual talent, or was there also a component of announcing a stronger Oriole presence in the DR?
5) I understand why detailed information is protected and why the O’s would want to limit the proprietary information they let the public become aware of. Still, I would like the O’s to provide a general understanding of where they are as an organization in the following countries outside of Latin America. Beyond that, I would like to hear the leadership state what they feel can reasonably be accomplished in the next year, 3 years, and 5 years out.
South Africa – It has been estimated that there are 300,000 South African kids playing baseball due to the partnership between Major League Baseball and the South African Government.
Australia – I know the game suffered after the disbanding of the Australian Baseball League in 1999 (since restarted). Despite that, it is a country which has produced Major League talent before.
Europe – Particularly Italy, and The Netherlands?
China – Is the China Baseball League catching-up to the level of play in the Taiwanese League?
Taiwan – Any presence here?
Korea – Will the O’s employ a full-time scout to cover the Korean League?
Japan – You regularly hear analysts say that Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball is somewhere between AAA and the Majors. In addition to Scouting for players, has there ever been any internal thought to Baseball Operation hires? Not necessarily limited to Field Managers, but also towards their Scouts and Player Development types? I realize it is not an apples to apples comparison as their organizations structures differ starting with the corporate structure which is in place in Japan. However, if reports about the NPB having far superior fundamentals are accurate, it might be interesting to bring some of those philosophies to the States.
6) The Toronto Blue Jays General Manager Alex Anthopoulus let go of their Pacific Rim / Asia Scout Rob Ducey in October 2009 stating they would increase their focus on Latin America along with their Amateur and Pro Scouting. Correspondingly they would be decreasing their focus on Europe and Asia. Do the O’s have a similar philosophy?
7) There seems to be some belief that the unsigned amateur talent of Latin America is less polished than they were a generation ago. Do the Orioles agree with the argument that ‘buscones’ (Guides) are getting to players at younger ages, leading to better athletes but players who have played the game less than their predecessors?
8) Are the signing bonuses for Dominican and Venezuelan talent rising faster than the draft-eligible US born talent? If so, and if the average Dominican and Venezuelan signed player is 16/17 vs. drafted 18/19 year old Americans, is the risk considerably larger with the Latin talent?
9) Where can the O’s improve in the Dominican and Venezuela between now and the 2012 All-Star break (roughly 18 months)?
10) Heading back to Japan for a second. The O’s decided against bidding/providing a posting fee for the Japanese SS Tsuyoshi Nishioka. Pretty clearly the O’s did not agree with the opinions of Nishioka from his former Mgr. Bobby Valentine. Was he extensively evaluated by the O’s? The winning posting fee was below the expectations of most public reports. Was that winning amount surprising, or in-line with what the O’s thought it would take?
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Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.