The Orioles are heading into Saturday’s draft with the seventh overall pick, and that alone makes this one worth watching. It’s their highest selection since Jackson Holliday went first overall in 2022, and it gives Baltimore a real chance to shape the top of its class before the board starts to thin out.
The draft itself has a new look this year. Instead of running into the Home Run Derby, it’s been pushed to Saturday and Sunday. Rounds 1-4 will take place on Saturday, while rounds 5-20 are set for Sunday.
Fans looking to follow along have a few options. Saturday’s first 20 picks will air from 1 p.m.-2:30 p.m. on NBC/Peacock.
Picks 11-40 will be shown on MLB Network, MLB.com, MLB.TV and MLB+ from 2:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m., and picks 41-135 will be available from 4:30-7:45 p.m. on MLB.com, MLBTV or MLB+. Sunday’s rounds 5-20 will run from 11:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m. on MLB.com, MLB.TV and MLB+.
Baltimore’s next selection doesn’t come until No. 46 in the second round. The Orioles had the 33rd pick in Competitive Balance Round A, but they sent it to the Tampa Bay Rays in the deal that brought starter Shane Baz to Baltimore. Competitive Balance Round picks are the only ones that can be traded.
After that, the Orioles are scheduled to pick again in Round 3 at No. 82 and Round 4 at No. 110. They’ll also have one pick in each round from 5 through 20 on Sunday.
Money will matter, too. The Orioles have $13,114,000 to spend on their draft class.
The suggested slot value for the first pick is $7,327,200, followed by $2,181,600 in the second round, $1,003,800 in the third and $711,800 in the fourth. Players taken in the first 10 rounds all carry assigned values, and if one of those players doesn’t sign, that slot amount comes out of the team’s pool.
Clubs can move around on individual deals, but they can’t go over the total.
As for where these players might start once they sign, the Orioles have generally sent college position players to Single-A Delmarva in recent years, even though it’s the lowest level playing in August. Last year, some of their top position players got into about 20 games for the Shorebirds. Pitchers and high school position players have typically been held out of game action in the summer after the draft, though that isn’t a formal rule.
The big question, of course, is who Baltimore might take at No. 7.
Three names keep showing up near the top of mock drafts: UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky, Texas high school shortstop Grady Emerson and Georgia Tech catcher Vahn Lackey. If any of those players are still on the board when the Orioles are on the clock, it would be a surprise.
A few mock drafts have already connected Baltimore to Georgia Tech outfielder Drew Burress, including projections from MLB.com’s Jim Callis and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel. The Athletic has Mississippi high school outfielder Eric Booth Jr. as the seventh-best prospect, and CBS Sports also sees Booth going to the Orioles. Sports Illustrated has linked Baltimore with LSU outfielder Derek Curiel.
Other names in the mix include Kentucky shortstop Tyler Bell, who is the Orioles’ pick in projections from FanGraphs.com, FanSided and Bleacher Report, as well as Virginia outfielder A.J. Gracia, whom Ben Badler of Baseball America favored in a YouTube mock draft. Alabama shortstop Justin Lebron, Arkansas catcher Ryder Helfrick and South Carolina third baseman Bo Lowrance have also been mentioned.
Pitching, though, does not look like the likely path at the top. The Orioles have not taken a pitcher with a top-50 pick in the Mike Elias era, and most around the draft do not expect that to change. The leading arms in the class are UC Santa Barbara right-hander Jackson Flora and Florida high school left-hander Gio Rojas, who attended Stoneman Douglas High in Parkland, the same school that produced Orioles third baseman Coby Mayo.
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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
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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 🡒]