The Baltimore Orioles have promoted Jon Keller to the Delmarva Shorebirds in the Class A South Atlantic League for his second year of professional baseball.

Keller, who prepped at Xavier High School, pitched in the Gulf Coast League and the New York-Penn League last year after being selected in the 22nd round of the 2013 draft.

Scott Schebler was hoping for a promotion this season after hitting .279 with 27 home runs and 91 RBIs for Rancho Cucamonga in the California League last season, but the Prairie graduate has been assigned to Rancho again to begin the 2014 campaign.

Kellen Sweeney has been assigned to the Lansing Lugnuts in the Midwest League for the third straight year as the Jefferson High School graduate tries to find his batting stroke. Sweeney got a $600,000 signing bonus after being drafted by Toronto in the second round in 2010, but he's hit only .198 in the minor leagues.

Chad Christensen, a Cedar Rapids Washington product, will begin the season with the home-town Kernels after hitting .235 with three homers and 21 RBIs in the Gulf Coast League last season.

Dakota Freese, another Washington grad, has been assigned to the Arizona Athletics in the Arizona Rookie League as he tries to recover from an arm injury. Freese was selected by Oakland in the 12th round of the 2013 draft, but did not pitch last season due to injury.

Ryan Sweeney will represent the Metro area in the Major Leagues again this season as an outfielder with the Chicago Cubs. Sweeney hit .266 with six homers and 19 RBIs in 70 games last year.

Keller received a $100,000 signing bonus from the Baltimore organization.He pitched at Nebraska and the University of Tampa before starting his pro career and was 2-2 with a 3.93 ERA in 18.1 innings in the low minors in 2013.

Schebler, 23, got a $300,000 bonus from the Los Angeles Dodgers after being taken in the 26th round in 2010. The outfielder struck out 140 times in 125 games at Rancho Cucamonga last season, which could be why he's beginning the season there again this year.

Christensen, 23, was an all-Big Ten infielder and outfielder at the University of Nebraska. The Minnesota Twins like his versatility in the field and his ability to hit.