Sunday’s MLB draft will be the Orioles’ seventh of the Mike Elias era.
They’ve never drafted a pitcher in the first round, instead focusing on drafting athletic up-the-middle position players. That strategy has largely worked, producing Adley Rutschman, Jordan Westburg, Colton Cowser and Jackson Holliday.
But the disappointing 2025 season being mostly a result of poor starting pitching has put a spotlight on the Orioles’ pitching pipeline and their unwillingness to select pitchers early in drafts.
That could change Sunday, though.
Elias said Thursday that it’s “very possible” that the Orioles draft a pitcher earlier than ever before. The main reason? They have a whopping four selections before the second round.
“I hope that we do,” Elias said. “If you have a lot of picks like this, it’s nice to have a diverse set of picks. … We definitely want to get some pitching in this draft.”
The earliest the Orioles have drafted a pitcher is No. 63 overall in 2023 when they selected Jackson Baumeister. A year later, the right-hander was shipped off in the Zach Eflin trade.
Elias gave his draft team, headed by Matt Blood, an additional pick to play with Thursday when the general manager traded reliever Bryan Baker to the Tampa Bay Rays for the No. 37 overall pick in the draft. That gives the Orioles pick Nos. 19, 30, 31 and 37 — four selections before the second round begins, the most of any MLB team. They also have three picks in the second and third rounds on Day 1 (Nos. 58, 69 and 93) before the final 17 rounds Monday.
The No. 37 selection is in the Competitive Balance Round A, picks awarded to teams based on market size and revenue. Small market teams such as the Rays and Orioles are more likely to earn competitive balance picks, which are the only ones that are allowed to be traded.
The No. 19 pick is the Orioles’ original first-round pick based on their finish last season. The No. 30 selection is a compensation pick for ace Corbin Burnes signing with the Arizona Diamondbacks this offseason after he declined the Orioles’ qualifying offer. The same happened with Anthony Santander, who signed with the Toronto Blue Jays and earned Baltimore the No. 31 selection.
It’s not a guarantee the Orioles draft a pitcher, of course. But with four picks in the span of 19 selections, it will be difficult for them not to. Elias won’t force it, though, and if the top of their board is filled with position players, that’s the way they’ll go.
“I’ve talked to people, I’ve seen drafts over the years where scouting directors will say they regret trying to diversify a group of picks for its own sake,” Elias said. “We’re going to line up the board with how we think the talent is and we’ll take in that regard.”
Blood reiterated that sentiment Friday during his predraft news conference. Does he feel extra pressure to select a pitcher early in the draft?
“I personally don’t,” said Blood, the Orioles’ vice president of player development and domestic scouting. “I think that my job is to pick the best player that we can possibly pick. We have pitchers on the board, we have position players on the board. Ultimately, we’re going to be graded on the major league value that we draft. Our job is to do the best we can in drafting major league value.”
But he added: “We have more picks, so more chances, so yes, if you’re doing the math that way.”
Since Elias’ first draft in 2019, the Orioles have drafted and signed 64 pitchers. Forty of them are still in the organization. Nine are in Triple-A. Only one has made it to the majors (Kade Strowd, 2019 draft). While the pitchers from the 2023 draft class are promising, the pipeline has yet to produce legitimate “major league value.
The easiest way to develop pitching prospects is to take the most talented arms early in the draft.
Have a news tip? Contact Jacob Calvin Meyer at jameyer@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/JCalvinMeyer.
