The Orioles have three day 1 picks: 22, 32, and 61.
The place where Orioles fans are hoping for the biggest success to come this season is with the MLB team. There has been chaos over the last week and a lot of struggle by a lot of Orioles, and even through all of that, they’re in first place headed to the All-Star break. The question of how to make this team the best that it can be this year is still going to be an important one to address.
The question of how to make the team as good as it can possibly be in the years beyond this one is not any less important. The annual amateur draft, which will get started tonight, has been a big part of the improvement that began two years ago and continues to be a substantial factor to the 2024 team’s quality.
Mike Elias has had a lot of success when he picked in the top 5 or even top overall for four straight drafts. What’s also important was he nailed his next picks too: Gunnar Henderson and Jordan Westburg especially, and to a lesser degree, Connor Norby. Just within their top two picks, the Orioles got seven top 100 prospects from the 2019 to 2022 drafts.
That streak seems to have halted, at least for now. 2022 second pick Dylan Beavers, and 2023 picks Enrique Bradfield Jr. and Mac Horvath, are not players who look to be on top 100 trajectories. That doesn’t mean that they’re certain busts. Players are fully capable of contributing at the big league level and to a good Orioles team even if they never make one of these rankings.
The general consensus seems to be that this is a weak draft class for both top-level talent and for the quality of the depth that can be selected beyond the top half of the first round. The Orioles will have to do their best to find at least future regular players within that context.
The Orioles are picking at #22 in this draft after losing the ALDS a year ago. Another pick at #32 awaits as the team qualified for a bonus pick when Gunnar Henderson won the Rookie of the Year last year. They had pick #39, but traded this to the Brewers as part of the Corbin Burnes trade. (The O’s will probably get back a pick around #33 next year after Burnes presumably signs elsewhere for 2025 and beyond.) The draft’s second round will also take place tonight, with the Orioles picking at #61.
When and how to watch day 1
- Time: 7pm Eastern
- TV: MLB Network, ESPN (separate broadcasts)
- Streaming: MLB.com
The Orioles draft picks so far
This section will be updated as the draft progresses. I will be writing separate articles on Sunday night about each of picks 22 and 32, and if I’m feeling motivated, pick 61 too.
- First round, #22 overall: Vance Honeycutt – OF – University of North Carolina (article)
- PPI bonus, #32 overall: Griff O’Ferrall – SS – University of Virginia (article)
- Second round, #61 overall: Ethan Anderson – C – University of Virginia (article)
Some mock draft names to know
Last year’s final wave of mock drafts did not correctly identify that the Orioles would select Bradfield. Trying to guess pick 22 is chaotic since 21 other picks happen first and some or all of these players could actually be taken before that, and then the O’s will have their own preference out of who remains. Elias runs a tight ship and his true thinking is not usually known to the media.
- MLB Pipeline (Callis): RHP Brody Brecht – University of Iowa
- MLB Pipeline (Mayo): C Caleb Lomavita – University of California
- Baseball America: SS Kaelen Culpepper – Kansas State
- ESPN: RF Carson Benge – Oklahoma State
- FanGraphs: Brecht
- Keith Law: SS Kellon Lindsey – Hardee HS (Fla.)
Some of the mocks have tried to guess beyond the first round. The Pipeline duo both IDed Culpepper as a possible target for the Orioles at #32. BA’s mock mentions LSU slugger Tommy White for that second pick. ESPN’s mock suggests RF Dakota Jordan from Mississippi State, with a bonus stab at the #61 pick: CF Mike Sirota from Northeastern. Jordan is also mentioned as a “dart throw” for a later pick by BA. FG’s day-of mock draft stuck with Brecht and added Arkansas high school OF Slade Caldwell as the mock at #32.
If that ESPN triple outfield mock seems odd to you after the Orioles drafted so many outfielders a year ago, you’re not wrong. Successful draft strategies always target best player available rather than trying to fill a need with early round picks. You can always trade the surplus later. Not that Elias has done this with his bevy of outfield prospects yet. That said, it would surprise me if BPA lines up three college outfielders for the Orioles tonight.
This is another year to wonder whether the Orioles will finally draft and sign a pitcher in the first round. They’ve yet to do this in either of the top two rounds since Elias took over as GM.
Mainstream draft big boards
- MLB Pipeline (250)
- FanGraphs (100)
- Keith Law (100, sub. required)
- Baseball America (500, sub. required)
- ESPN (250, sub. required)
Orioles bonus pool information
The Orioles have a total draft bonus pool of $10,920,900 to use for this draft class. They are 14th out of the 30 teams, same as last year. Any team can exceed their bonus pool by up to 5% to sign players and only pay a tax on the overage. Over 5% triggers future draft pick penalties that no team has ever encountered in the 12 years of this system operating. Signing bonuses up to $150,000 for players drafted from rounds 11-20 do not count against the pool, with only the amount over that figure affecting the pool.
Pick 22’s slot value is about $3.8 million. The value for pick 32 is about $2.8 million. Money can be shifted around between different picks as the team decides. Last year, competitive balance round B pick Jackson Baumeister and 14th round pick Michael Forret received modest overslot bonuses from the Orioles.