For three years, MLB Pipeline ranked the Orioles’ farm system as the best in baseball. It’s slipped since then due to graduations of players to the major leagues as well as recent draft choices failing to produce well in the minors.
In August, Pipeline ranked the Orioles’ farm system 15th best in baseball. However, there’s been quite a change in the players ranked in the MLB.com’s top 30 prospects.
It’s no surprise that catcher/first baseman Samuel Basallo and outfielder Dylan Beavers are the top two on the Orioles’ list. They’ll remain on the list until they accrue 130 at-bats, which will come early in the 2026 season.
The four highest 2025 Orioles draft choices have found their way into the top 10.
Catcher Ike Irish, the team’s top draft pick and the 18th overall, is the third-highest prospect. Irish hit .230 with a home run and 12 RBIs in 20 games for Single-A Delmarva.
Shortstop Wehiwa Aloy, the 31st overall pick, is rated fifth. Aloy had a nice debut, hitting .288 with two home runs and 14 RBIs and an .856 OPS in 20 games for the Shorebirds.
Outfielder Slater de Brun, who was the Orioles’ pick in the Competitive Balance A round, the 37th overall selection, is ranked sixth. The Orioles traded reliever Bryan Baker to the Tampa Bay Rays ahead of the draft to receive the pick.
The 18-year-old de Brun, who played high school baseball in Oregon, did not play after he was drafted.
Catcher Carter Bodine, the 30th overall pick, hit .326 with four RBIs in 11 games at Delmarva before his season ended early with a bruised left finger.
The Orioles’ top pick in the 2023 draft, outfielder Enrique Bradfield Jr., is the third-highest ranked prospect. Bradfield, who’s currently playing for Peoria in the Arizona Fall League, ended the season at Triple-A Norfolk, hitting .179 in 15 games.
Right-hander Esteban Mejia, who had a 4.63 ERA in three starts at Delmarva after compiling a 2.45 ERA in 11 starts for the Florida Complex League Orioles, is the seventh-ranked prospect. The 18-year-old is the highest-ranked pitcher on the list.
Outfielder Nate George, who was named the Orioles’ minor league player of the year, is the eighth-ranked prospect. The 19-year-old was the team’s 16th round draft pick in 2024.
This season, George hit .337 with an .896 OPS in 87 games with the FCL Orioles, Delmarva and High-A Aberdeen. George hit five home runs, drove in 42 runs and stole 50 bases in 75 attempts.
Left-hander Boston Bateman, one of six players the Orioles acquired from the San Diego Padres in the trade that sent Ryan O’Hearn and Ramón Laureano out west on July 31st, is ranked ninth.
The 6-foot-8, 20-year-old left-hander had a 2.45 ERA in two starts for Delmarva and a 5.56 ERA in three starts for Aberdeen.
Twelve of the final 20 prospects on the list are pitchers. Right-handers Michael Forret, Trey Gibson, Juaron Watts-Brown, Nestor German and Braxton Bragg ranked 11th-15th.
Forret had a combined 1.58 ERA in 19 games for Aberdeen and Double-A Chesapeake. Gibson, the Orioles minor league pitcher of the year, had a 4.26 ERA for the IronBirds, Baysox and Tides. German had a 3.93 ERA or Aberdeen, Chesapeake and Norfolk.
Bragg had Tommy John surgery in July.
Left-hander Joseph Dzierwa, the team’s second-round draft choice, is ranked 16th. He did not pitch after he was drafted.
Shortstop Colin Yearman, the Orioles’ fourth-round selection and 17th-rated prospect, hit .185 with two RBIs in 17 games for Delmarva.
Vance Honeycutt, the Orioles’ No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft, had an awful year at Aberdeen, hitting just .171 with 178 strikeouts in 101 games. The outfielder, who’s the 18th highest-rated prospect, did steal 32 bases in 39 attempts.
Keeler Morfe, who started March’s Spring Breakout game, had a 7.48 ERA in 12 games for the FCL Orioles and Delmarva before he was shut down with an injury. Morfe is Pipeline’s 19th-rated prospect.
Eighteen-year-old outfielder Stiven Martinez (20th) hit .185 for the FCL Orioles and Delmarva.
Left-hander Luis De León, who’s ranked 21st, was named pitcher of the week in the Arizona Fall League.
Right-hander Levi Wells, who had a 3.48 ERA in 25 games for Chesapeake and Norfolk, is ranked 22nd.
Patrick Reilly (23rd) had Tommy John surgery this spring.
Shortstop Wilfri De La Cruz (24th), was obtained in the trade that sent right-hander Andrew Kittredge to the Chicago Cubs. He hit .235 in 12 games in the Dominican Summer League.
Infielder Aron Estrada (25th) was one of the biggest surprises in the Orioles farm system. Estrada hit a combined .288 with an .813 OPS, 10 home runs, 53 RBIs and 34 stolen bases for Aberdeen and Chesapeake.
Another infielder, Cobb Hightower, is the 26th -anked prospect. He was also obtained in the big trade with the Padres. Hightower hit .250 with a home runs and seven RBIs in 24 games for Delmarva.
Cuban outfielder Jordan Sanchez (27th), hit .291 with a .950 OPS, seven home runs and 49 RBIs in 58 games for the FCL Orioles and Delmarva.
Right-hander JT Quinn, selected behind Dzierwa, did not pitch after the draft. He’s the 28th-ranked prospect.
Right-hander Wellington Aracena (29th), obtained from the New York Mets in the trade for left-hander Gregory Soto, pitched 4 2/3 scoreless innings for Delmarva and had a 2.35 ERA for Aberdeen.
Outfielder Austin Overn (30th) was the Orioles’ third-round draft choice in 2024, and he’s advanced to Chesapeake. He hit a combined .249 with a .754 OPS, 13 home runs and 43 RBIs for the Baysox and IronBirds.
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