The Orioles came out of the 2026 draft looking for a very specific kind of player, and they found two of them early: a left-handed, speed-first outfielder in Eric Booth Jr. at No. 7, then another left-handed bat with a real feel for the zone in Ty Head at No. 46.
Both players were thrown into pro ball this summer, and each gave Baltimore just enough of a glimpse to make the profiles more interesting.
Booth is the flashier bet. Baltimore took the Oak Grove High School product out of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and made him one of the rare high schoolers selected with Mike Elias’ top pick.
That’s not exactly a new lane for the Orioles, either, considering the other one was Jackson Holliday. Booth’s background is baseball-adjacent, too: Eric Booth Sr. turned down the Blue Jays as a 34th-round pick in 1993, then went to Southern Miss and returned punts.
At Oak Grove, Booth put together a massive line over four seasons, hitting .441/.612/.803. MLB Pipeline ranked him sixth in the class and called him its top outfielder. He had been committed to Vanderbilt before signing with Baltimore on July 18 for $7,324,700, and Orioles VP of domestic scouting Will Robertson called him a player with a “huge engine” after the pick.
The speed is the headline tool. Pipeline grades it a 70, while Baseball America gives him an 80-grade runner.
He gets from home to first in a little over four seconds, and he turned in the fastest 60-yard dash at the East Coast Pro showcase with a 6.33. Pipeline’s overall grade sits at 55, with 55s for hit and field and 50s for power and arm.
The swing is where the questions live. Booth’s setup is unusual, with his hands set away from his body, and his left-handed cut can look jerky.
Baseball America describes a “deep hand press.” Even so, he makes steady contact and squares the ball up, and BA credits him with “elite hand-eye coordination and bat speed.”
He also won the home run derby at the 2025 Perfect Game All-American Classic. Pipeline believes there could be 20 to 25 homers in there if he cleans up the swing and gets the ball in the air more often.
There are still some development points beyond the bat. In center field, his reads and routes need refinement, and the same goes for his basestealing instincts. His arm once looked like his weakest trait, but he has improved it to average.
Head arrived as a different sort of profile. Baltimore grabbed the NC State lefty at No. 46 in the second round after he had been considered one of the better all-around players in the 2024 high school class, with some believing he might have gone in the third round if not for his college commitment.
He rewarded the Wolfpack with a breakout sophomore season, batting .291/.460/.556 with 14 homers and 26 steals while striking out just 23 times against 57 walks. The Orioles went a little over slot to sign him for $2.43 million.
He’s tougher to pin down than Booth as a pure prospect. MLB Pipeline gives Head a 50 hit grade, 45 power, 60 run, 45 arm and 60 field, with a 45 overall.
Still, the approach jumps off the page. He attacks strikes, rarely chases, and almost never whiffs, especially against fastballs.
The concern is the other side of the coin: he hit .283 in college and did little damage in ACC play. Scouts point to a big leg kick that can throw off his timing and lead to weak contact.
If he smooths that out, the pull-side power is there for a useful bat with pop. Defensively, though, the outlook is cleaner.
Pipeline calls him a “no-doubt center fielder” with plus range, and Baseball America views him as the more polished defender of the two. The upside is a 20-20 player.
The early pro returns reflected both promise and a little uncertainty. Booth signed in mid-July, went to the FCL Orioles, and then played his first official games at Low-A Delmarva in mid-August.
In 18 games there, he hit .284/.390/.328 across 82 plate appearances. The on-base ability showed up right away, as he walked 14.6 percent of the time.
The power did not; he had three doubles and no homers. He also struck out 23.2 percent of the time and stole only three bases in five tries.
For an 18-year-old facing full-season pitching a month after the draft, that fits the territory.
Head looked a little more advanced, which makes sense given his college seasoning. In 15 games at Delmarva, he hit .321/.400/.491 with two homers and eight steals.
That performance earned him a September move to High-A Frederick, where he played six games before the season ended. He hit .278/.381/.278 there and added four more stolen bases.
The one number worth tracking is the strikeout total: 20 whiffs in about 82 pro plate appearances, a much higher rate than he posted in college. It’s a tiny sample, but it matters for a hitter whose case leans so heavily on contact.
The broader picture is familiar for Baltimore. Mike Elias has kept drafting the same lane: left-handed players who can handle up-the-middle spots, especially shortstops and outfielders.
Booth and Head fit that mold cleanly. Booth brings the bigger ceiling.
Head may move faster, with a possible ETA by 2029. If both reach what the Orioles think they can be, the club may have its long-term outfield answer taking shape.
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