July is already turning into a busy month for the Orioles’ farm system, with the Futures Game, the 2026 MLB Draft and a handful of noteworthy developments across the minors all landing at once.
The biggest prospect spotlight belongs to Ike Irish and Joseph Dzierwa, who will represent Baltimore in the All-Star Futures Game on July 12 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Both players came from the Orioles’ 2025 Draft class, and both have moved quickly into the organization’s conversation as names to know.
Irish, the Orioles’ No. 2 prospect and MLB Pipeline’s No. 84 overall, was Baltimore’s first-round pick last year at No. 19 overall. The 22-year-old Auburn product has put together a solid start at High-A Frederick, where he’s hitting .265 with 14 doubles, one triple, 10 home runs, 43 RBIs and an .846 OPS through 64 games. Drafted as a catcher, Irish is no longer working behind the plate and has instead split his time between the corner outfield, where he has 33 starts, and first base, where he has 19.
Dzierwa, ranked as the Orioles’ No. 12 prospect, has been one of the early breakout arms in the system. The 22-year-old left-hander out of Michigan State opened the season at High-A and logged a 2.21 ERA in eight starts before moving up to Double-A Chesapeake. Since then, he has posted a 2.78 ERA in seven appearances, including five starts, for the Baysox.
While Irish and Dzierwa are headed to Philadelphia, one of Baltimore’s more electric young arms is taking a different path for now. Esteban Mejia, the Orioles’ No. 6 prospect, was moved to the development list on Tuesday. The 19-year-old Dominican right-hander will stay with Single-A Delmarva but won’t appear in games while he works through a specialized throwing program.
Mejia’s season has been rough. He has an 8.08 ERA in 15 starts, with 47 strikeouts and 57 walks across 42 1/3 innings.
His fastball has been a major reason for the attention he’s drawn - it carries a 70 grade and can reach 100-plus mph - but the challenge has been command. Until he sharpens that area and trims the walks, the results figure to stay shaky.
One pitcher who is trending in the right direction is Sebastian Gongora. The 24-year-old left-hander, unranked in the system, has been one of the more impressive arms in the Orioles’ minor league pipeline.
In his latest Double-A start against Harrisburg on Saturday, he tossed five scoreless, hitless innings. It was the second straight outing in which he threw five shutout frames, after doing the same against Richmond on June 21.
A 2024 11th-round pick, Gongora has a 3.19 ERA in 15 games, 14 of them starts, in his first season at Double-A. Earlier this year, he said: “I feel like it’s been going pretty good so far.
I’m just trying to have fun,” Gongora said earlier this season. “I think that’s the biggest thing.
I’ve tried really hard to be devoted to the process and not the outcome. But yeah, I feel good.
Stuff’s in a good spot, body’s in a good spot, so just trying to take it day by day.”
The Draft is also closing in fast. The 2026 MLB Draft begins in nine days, and Baltimore is in position to make its highest selection since taking Jackson Holliday first overall in 2022.
MLB Pipeline’s latest mock has the Orioles choosing Georgia Tech outfielder Drew Burress at No. 7, with Jonathan Mayo noting: “The Orioles like their bats and tend to like the college ones when picking in the first round. Burress, unlike some of the other ones that they've drafted, does not have holes in his swing.
Maybe he's not as explosive, but I think there's a better certainty that he's going to hit."
Baltimore has taken a position player in the first round in each of the last seven Drafts since Mike Elias took over baseball operations in November 2018. Six of those picks came from the college level, with Holliday standing as the lone exception.
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