The Baltimore Orioles are back in the top 10 of the MLB draft for the first time since 2022, and this year’s event gives them a real chance to add impact talent even without the pile of extra picks they had a year ago.
The draft is spread over two days. Saturday will feature the first four rounds, with the first 10 selections airing on Peacock and NBC.
Picks 11-40 will be shown on MLB Network, MLB TV and MLB.com, while picks 41-135 will be available on MLB TV and MLB.com. The draft continues Sunday with rounds 5-20 on MLB TV, MLB.com and MLB+.
Baltimore no longer has the Competitive Balance Round A selection it once owned. That pick would have landed at No. 33, but the Orioles sent it to the Rays in the deal that brought Shane Baz to Baltimore and also moved Caden Bodine and Slater De Brun, who the Orioles had selected with the 33rd and 37th picks in last year’s draft.
Even so, the Orioles still have a workable path to add talent. Their bonus pool sits at $13,114,000, which ranks 13th in baseball and puts them right in the middle of the pack financially.
The organization has often leaned toward safer first-round choices and underslot college hitters so it could save money for later rounds, even in years when it had some of the biggest bonus pools in the sport. That approach has not paid off much, though, because the last 10 rounds have largely been a dead end for this front office.
There has been one notable exception: Nate George, the high schooler Baltimore took in the 16th round of the 2024 draft. Beyond him, the Orioles have not produced a top 100 prospect drafted outside the first four rounds. If you’re tracking Baltimore’s draft closely, that’s where the real watch list starts.
In Other News...
Dodgers Trade Proposal Puts Orioles In A Tough Spot With Lefty
The Orioles keep getting pulled into the pitching market chatter, and Trevor Rogers is the kind of arm that naturally draws it. He has been uneven enough over the full season to leave plenty of questions, but his recent stretch has also reminded teams why left-handed starters with upside still carry real appeal in July. For Baltimore, that creates the familiar tension of weighing short-term value against the kind of trade interest that can reshape a deadline conversation.
What makes the situation trickier is the timing. Rogers would come with no long-term control, so any deal has to be judged against the price of the return, not just the name value on the other side. The Dodgers are still shopping for pitching help and have bigger targets they could chase, which only adds to the sense that Baltimore could be asked to part with a useful arm without getting the kind of package that makes a move easy to justify. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Fans May Never Forget This Missed Chance At An Ace
The Orioles were in position at the 2024 trade deadline to chase the kind of frontline starter every contender covets, and Tarik Skubal was sitting right there as the obvious prize. Detroit never completed a deal, Baltimore never got its ace, and the missed window has only grown more frustrating as the pitching market keeps reminding teams how rare those chances are.
MLB Network Insider Jon Morosi has framed it as the kind of opportunity Baltimore may not get back, especially with Skubals name already surfacing again as the 2025 deadline draws closer. For an Orioles club that has spent the last year trying to balance present urgency with future value, the lingering question is whether the front office will be willing to pay the price this time around. [Read more 🡒]
Ryan Mountcastle Just Became An Orioles Deadline Tension Point
Ryan Mountcastle is still working back from the 60-day injured list, and the Orioles at least have some clarity on the broad outline of his recovery. President of baseball operations Mike Elias said Mountcastle is progressing, with a return possible after the All-Star break, but he stopped short of putting a date on it. For a team in the middle of a rebuild, that leaves one of its more recognizable bats in a familiar holding pattern: close enough to matter, not quite close enough to know exactly where he fits.
The bigger question is what happens once he is ready. Baltimore has enough uncertainty around the roster that Mountcastles next step is not just about health, but about opportunity, and there is already a sense that the Orioles could listen if the right trade angle emerges before the Aug. 3 deadline. For now, the club is still waiting on the same thing everyone else is - a clearer picture of when he is back, and what role he would actually have when he gets there. [Read more 🡒]