The Orioles took Jackson Holliday at #1 overall, with three more picks still to make on day 1 of the draft.
After weeks of interested speculation, the 2022 MLB Draft has finally arrived. The Orioles have arrived at the All-Star break with a .500 record and now thanks to last year’s MLB-worst record they will get to add another #1 pick into the farm system. This is the first summer in five years where the Orioles making a high draft pick isn’t a sad consolation prize for another grim season.
The choice is entirely up to the Orioles. They have not had the first pick since the 2019 draft, when they took Adley Rutschman #1. Mike Elias and company have had months to scrutinize the top candidates, decide who was worth putting on the short list, and weeks since the players have finished their seasons to consider who has the talent that they want to bring into the system.
Will this be the year where the Orioles take a high school player with their top pick in the draft? This has not happened yet since Elias has been the GM. That doesn’t tell us much, though. Adley was the #1 guy, and there weren’t really any high school players in the mix for the #2 pick in 2020 either. Three of the four players who seem to be on their short list are high schoolers, including many people’s #1 prospect in the class, outfielder Druw Jones.
How to watch Day 1 of the draft
The draft begins at 7pm Eastern. Day 1 of the draft will run through pick 80, which is the end of the second group of compensation picks that follow the second round. MLB Network will have coverage of every pick tonight. ESPN will be live for the first round (1-29) only.
The Orioles Day 1 picks
- Round 1, #1: Jackson Holliday – SS – Stillwater HS (Oklahoma)
- CB Round A, #33: Dylan Beavers – OF – University of California
- Round 2, #42: Max Wagner – 3B – Clemson
- CB Round B, #67: Jud Fabian – OF – Florida
This post will be updated as the Orioles first day picks are made. I will be writing a news article about the #1 pick, with an end-of-night summary post covering the other three selections. Stay tuned for more draft coverage tomorrow, as rounds 3-10 will be completed on Monday afternoon at 2pm Eastern.
Possibilities for the #1 pick
Each of these links to my preview post written about that prospect for Camden Chat.
These are the four names who have come up in the final round of mock drafts. Elias is always capable of surprising people, as with the picks of Heston Kjerstad at #2 two years ago and Colton Cowser at #5 last year, but even these swerves weren’t completely unexpected. They were known to be in the mix. Anyone other than these four popping up would be a surprise.
More prospect info and rankings
- MLB Pipeline (Top 250)
- FanGraphs (Top 126)
- Keith Law (Top 100, The Athletic subscription required)
If recent history is any indication, the Orioles should not stray any further than the Pipeline Top 250 for their Day 1 picks. They have gotten good prospect value to date out of picks in the competitive balance round and in the second round. Gunnar Henderson, Kyle Stowers, and Jordan Westburg are all currently interesting prospects in this range. Hopefully they can find prospects as good as or better than Westburg with their later day 1 picks.