Even after a season that has gone off the rails, an Orioles win still changes the mood around Camden Yards in a hurry. Last night was a perfect example.
The Birds outlasted the Royals 5-3 in a game that turned on one huge swing, as Samuel Basallo blasted a go-ahead homer in the Orioles’ final at-bat and punctuated it with an emphatic bat toss. After Brandon Young’s attempt to work into the eighth inning unraveled in painful fashion, Basallo’s shot jolted both the team and the crowd back to life.
It was the kind of night that offered a glimpse of what this roster can look like when things are clicking. That doesn’t erase the larger issues that have defined the season, and beating a last-place Kansas City club doesn’t solve them. But with two more games left against the Royals, the Orioles have a chance to carry a better feeling into the All-Star break if they can keep stacking competent performances like this one.
While the games continue, the front office has its own major item on the calendar. The 2026 MLB Draft opens today at 1 pm, and the Orioles are on the clock with the #7 pick.
There’s no clear favorite among draft analysts, either. As Mark Brown noted, five different writers have pointed to four different names in mock drafts, and the actual pick could still come from outside that group entirely.
That selection carries some weight for Baltimore. It’s the Orioles’ highest pick since 2022, when they landed Jackson Holliday at #1 overall. Since then, their first-round slots have been #17 in 2023, when they took Enrique Bradfield Jr.; #22 in 2024, when they selected Vance Honeycutt; and #19 in 2025, when they chose Ike Irish.
Mike Elias could use a strong hit here. His draft track record has become much less shiny than it looked after his first Orioles class in 2019, when Baltimore came away with both Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson.
The years since have produced a more uneven picture. Heston Kjerstad went #2 overall in 2020 and hasn’t delivered the way the organization hoped, though Jordan Westburg later in that round was a win.
Colton Cowser, Elias’s first pick in 2021, still hasn’t settled in offensively. Holliday, meanwhile, has not yet played like the ideal #1 overall pick, even if he’s only 22.
The most recent classes haven’t produced big league help yet. None of the Orioles’ draft picks from 2023 or later have reached the majors, and Bradfield has had trouble hitting consistently in the minors.
The 2024 first round, which included Honeycutt and Griff O’Ferrall, looks rough so far. The 2025 group has drawn better early reviews, with Irish and Wehiwa Aloy showing promise, and Caden Bodine also looks encouraging after the Orioles traded him to the Rays in the Shane Baz deal.
If the season keeps sliding and the Orioles make changes in the front office this winter, there’s a chance this draft could be the last one Elias runs. That makes today’s pick feel even bigger.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You share it with Daniel Johnson, the outfielder who appeared in nine games for the Orioles from 2024-25, and Zach Clark, the right-hander who made one MLB appearance in 2013.
On this date in 1968, Earl Weaver managed his first major league game after Hank Bauer was fired, and Baltimore beat the Senators 2-0 behind Dave McNally’s two-hit shutout and a Don Buford homer. That was the first of 1,480 regular season wins, plus 26 postseason wins, in Weaver’s Hall of Fame career.
And on this day in 1987, Billy Ripken debuted in the majors alongside his brother Cal Jr. Their father, Cal Sr., became the first manager in MLB history to oversee two of his sons. The Ripkens combined to go 0-for-7 in a 2-1 loss to the Twins.
Looking back at a random Orioles game from this date in 2002, Baltimore opened the second half with a 4-1 loss to the Athletics at Camden Yards. Scott Erickson gave the Orioles seven innings and allowed three runs, but Mark Mulder shut them down over seven scoreless.
Miguel Tejada, then with Oakland, went 2-for-5 with an RBI double. The loss left the Orioles two games under .500, which doesn’t sound so bad considering how that season eventually ended.
In Other News...
Orioles Suffer Brutal Blaze Alexander Setback Just As Momentum Builds
Blaze Alexanders season has been one of the Orioles more useful surprises, the kind of all-around contribution that helps a club weather the long grind of summer. He has given Baltimore production at the plate and flexibility all over the field, starting at third base, second base, shortstop, center field, left field and right field while carving out a regular role on a team trying to keep momentum going.
The setback came in the seventh inning against Kansas City, when Alexander was hit by a pitch and the tone of the game changed in a hurry. Baltimore now has to sort through the ripple effects of losing a player who has been so important on both sides of the ball, with the timing of his evaluation adding another layer of uncertainty as the club heads into the All-Star break and starts thinking about how to cover his innings and at-bats in the meantime. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Middle Round Draft Picks Say A Lot About Their Plan
The middle rounds of the MLB draft gave the Orioles another look at the kind of players they have been targeting, starting with shortstop Jimmy Anderson out of Heartland Community College. Baltimore had already shown interest in Anderson before, taking him in the 19th round last year, and this time the club came back for him in the fifth round as the draft continued to unfold Sunday.
The Orioles also added left-hander Zane Adams from Alabama in the sixth round, giving the organization another arm to develop as the draft heads toward its finish. Between a familiar infield name and a college pitcher from a major program, the picks fit the broader shape of Baltimores draft approach, even if the final chapter of the class will not be written until the event wraps up Sunday evening. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Draft Sends A Clear Message About Mike Elias
The Orioles draft board offered a pretty clear read on how the front office sees this moment. After two straight seasons of frustration and a coaching staff overhaul in 2025, Baltimore still leaned hard into upside, taking high schooler Eric Booth Jr. at No. 7 and then continuing to stockpile players who are going to need time. Even when a more major-league-ready college bat like Drew Burress was there, the Orioles stayed with the longer view, a sign this group is thinking beyond the next summer.
The rest of the class reinforced that approach. USC pitcher Mason Edwards was still available at No. 46 as a potential quick bullpen help, but Baltimore went another direction with Ty Head, then used an underslot college arm in Dominic Voelgele to create room for later swings. By the time Kevin Roberts Jr. came off the board, it was obvious the Orioles were chasing ceiling over speed, a strategy that says as much about their confidence in Mike Elias and the organizations timeline as it does about the players themselves. [Read more 🡒]