O's go with bloodlines in taking Harvey at No. 22

HOUSTON -- The Orioles shouldn't have to worry about negotiations with first-round pick Hunter Harvey.

"I've never really been a big fan of college and school in general," said Harvey, son of former Angels closer Bryan Harvey, shortly after being selected by Baltimore with the 22nd overall pick. "I wanted to get my pro career started and get to the big leagues."

"I think it'll be a very quick [negotiating] process because I've been waiting for this moment my whole life, and now that it's here, I don't want to mess around."

It's a welcome sentiment for the Orioles, who have had their last three top picks in the First-Year Player Draft already reach the Major Leagues -- including 2012's first-rounder Kevin Gausman -- and have placed an added emphasis on improving through the Draft.

"He was the first guy on our list to pick there and we are thrilled that he was there," O's scouting director Gary Rajsich said of Harvey. "We were hoping he would get to us but we weren't sure. He's advanced, as far as his mechanics …we think he has a chance to move very fast through our system. The fact that he was signable, it helps. It was another reason to take him, but it wasn't the main one."

Harvey was the first of three Day 1 picks for the Orioles, who selected prep outfielder Josh Hart with the 37th overall pick in the Competitive Balance Round A, and high school catcher Chance Sisco with their second-round pick at No. 61.

Hart, out of Parkview High School in Lilburn, Ga., is a center fielder who helped lead Parkview to a fourth straight region championship and a berth in the Class AAAAAA state semifinals by hitting .449, with five home runs, 29 RBIs, 39 runs scored and 33 stolen bases this spring.

The left-handed-hitting Sisco recently changed positions from shortstop, but has quickly shown the skills necessary to remain behind the plate long term.

"We like his bat a lot," Rajsich said. "He's got a chance to learn and be a real good catcher. He has a chance to be a frontline catcher. We are thrilled that we got three high school kids with upside."

Harvey, drafted from Bandys High School in Hickory, N.C., is listed at 6-foot-3 and 175 pounds and has a three-pitch mix that includes a fastball in the mid-90s. Harvey has much more than his impressive bloodline -- brother Kris is currently in the Pirates' system -- going for him, turning heads at a pair of East Coast showcases in August in which he topped out at 97 mph.

As a senior, Hunter Harvey was 8-0 with 116 strikeouts and allowed just three earned runs. He gave up two extra-base hits over 54 2/3 innings and was named a starter for last year's Under Armour All-America Game, played at Wrigley Field, in which he tossed three scoreless innings. In his junior season, Hunter Harvey went 7-0 with a 1.81 ERA and 106 strikeouts in 54 innings and has a changeup that's typically a 10-15 mph differential from his heater, a pitch he said he needs to improve as a pro.

"Just mixing up my pitches a little more," Harvey said of what he needs to get better at. "It's really easy for me to overpower people with my fastball at the high school level. l've seen the talent I'm going to be facing [in pro ball] and I know what I have to do to go out there and be a winner."

In nine seasons with the California Angels and Florida Marlins, Bryan Harvey recorded 177 saves -- including a league-best 46 in 1991, when he was named the American League's best reliever -- and twice played in the All-Star Game (1991 and 1993).

Although the young Harvey never got to see him pitch, his father's influence extends beyond pitching mechanics.

"He told me what he had to do to succeed -- all the working out and all that," Hunter Harvey said. "[But] he said one thing I had to get over was failure. The guys that can handle failure will be the ones who succeed. That's definitely been the hardest part for me."

"He's taught me everything I need to know about the game and about being a man. Where I'm at today, I owe it all to him."

Hunter Harvey is the Orioles' second first-round high school pitcher in the past three years, joining 2011's selection of right-hander Dylan Bundy. The organization also selected high school pitch Matt Hobgood with their top pick in '09.

The slot value assigned to the 22nd pick is $1.948 million, though the Orioles can negotiate another dollar value with Harvey, if desired. What the club is most cognizant of is the Draft pool of $6.388 million that it has to spend on its first 11 picks. Clubs spending more than their allotments will be taxed and, if the overage is high enough, penalized future picks. The slot value for Hart is $1,508,600.

Day 2 of the Draft continues with Rounds 3-10, streamed live on MLB.com on Friday, beginning with a preview show at 12:30 p.m. ET. And Rounds 11-40 will be streamed live on MLB.com on Saturday, starting at 1 p.m.

MLB.com's coverage includes Draft Central, the Top 100 Draft Prospects list and Draft Tracker, a live interactive application that includes a searchable database of Draft-eligible players. You can also keep up to date by following @MLBDraft on Twitter. And get into the Draft conversation by tagging your tweets with #mlbdraft.