Baltimore Orioles Draft Pick Jack Conlon Heading to College

After failing a physical with the Baltimore Orioles, fourth round draft pick Jack Conlon was made a free agent. Now, after failing another physical, this time with the San Francisco Giants, he is heading to college.

Passing a physical with the Baltimore Orioles seems to be one of the hardest accomplishments in baseball. Seemingly every year, there is a free agent that they express interest in, and appear to have a contract signed, sealed, and delivered, only to have that player fail a physical and void the agreement. It has become a bit of a running joke in a way.

As such, when Orioles fourth round draft pick Jack Conlon failed his physical, it barely caused a reaction. One almost expected some Baltimore draft pick to have issues with his physical, and Conlon happened to be that one. When he was not offered a contract, and was made a free agent, some team was going to get another top prospect. That lucky team was the San Francisco Giants, who were set to ink Conlon to a contract of their own.

Then, in a surprise, Conlon failed his physical with the Giants. In an even bigger surprise, he failed it for a different reason than why he failed his physical with the Orioles. With a second failure to pass his medicals, Conlon is now heading to Texas A&M to begin his college career.

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These failed medical issues certainly lead to a few questions. Conlon had been expected to command a signing bonus of nearly $1 Million prior to his failed physicals and his renewed commitment to college. Will these problems follow him over the next three years, until he is eligible for the draft once more?

It also puts another spotlight on the Orioles medical staff. As easy as it is to joke about how many players fail their physicals, they seem to be proven correct more often than not. What is it that Baltimore finds, or does in their process, that other teams miss? Maybe the Orioles stringent guidelines, and tendencies to fail physicals, are actually more accurate than we would have thought.

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Jack Conlon failed his physical with the Baltimore Orioles, and there was a collective shrug. Now that he failed his physical with the San Francisco Giants, albeit for a different reason, and is heading to Texas A&M, it may be time to rethink the Orioles procedures.