O's will 'do everything in our power to nail it' with '25 Draft picks

BALTIMORE -- The Orioles were already planning to be busy when the 2025 MLB Draft gets underway Sunday night at the Coca-Cola Roxy in The Battery Atlanta.

They’ll now have even more work to do than initially expected.

On Thursday, Baltimore acquired the No. 37 overall pick (Competitive Balance Round A) from Tampa Bay in exchange for right-handed reliever Bryan Baker. The O’s now own seven of the first 93 selections, including four of the first 37.

Not only that, but the Orioles will have a bonus pool of $19,144,500 available to sign their Draft picks. It’s the largest for any MLB team since the bonus-pool era began in 2012.

“That gives us a big opportunity to flex our muscle,” general manager Mike Elias said. “Hopefully, if there are players that cost a little extra money because they've got college commitments, we'll be able to use it. I think that the fact that we had picks at 30 and 31 already, it makes us able to acquire the 37th pick, because you've already scouted players in that neighborhood of the Draft. So we should be pretty well prepared.”

After the O’s select at No. 19 in the first round, they’ll have back-to-back picks at Nos. 30 and 31 -- compensation for losing right-hander Corbin Burnes to the D-backs and outfielder Anthony Santander to the Blue Jays in free agency because each previously declined qualifying offers.

Baltimore’s farm system has “thinned out” in recent years, as Elias put it, due to many top prospects reaching the big leagues and others being moved in trades. So it’s a great time for the Orioles to be loaded with Draft picks.

"We need it. I think the pressure is on us to have a great Draft,” Elias said. “We’re going to do everything in our power to nail it.”

The O's will also pick at No. 58 (second round), No. 69 (Competitive Balance Round B) and No. 93 (third round) on Day 1 of the Draft. Rounds 4-20 will take place Monday.

"It’s definitely more fun for the group, and it’s great for the organization, to be able to get more shots on goal, so to speak,” said Matt Blood, the Orioles’ vice president of player development and domestic scouting. “We’re excited about the players that are available and feel like this will be a Draft that helps improve the depth of talent in the organization.”

• Day 1 picks: 19, 30, 31, 37, 58, 69, 93
• Bonus pool allotment: $19,144,500, most in MLB
• Last year’s top pick: Vance Honeycutt, OF, pick 22 ... A toolsy outfielder out of the University of North Carolina, Honeycutt is now the O’s No. 4 prospect, though he has struggled this year at High-A Aberdeen (a .177/.303/.276 slash line in 68 games as of Monday).
• Breakout 2024 pick: Nate George, OF, pick 489 ... A 16th-round pick out of Minooka (Ill.) Community High School, George was recently promoted to Single-A Delmarva, where he is raking (a .363/.414/.575 slash line in 20 games).

The O’s have used their first-round pick on a position player in each of the six Drafts with Elias at the helm, and five of those came from the college ranks. The only exception came in 2022, when Jackson Holliday went No. 1 out of Stillwater (Okla.) High School.

It wouldn’t be surprising if Baltimore again went heavy on position players early. Recent mocks from MLB Pipeline’s Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo have had the Orioles taking Mount Vernon (Wash.) High School third baseman Xavier Neyens and University of Arkansas shortstop Wehiwa Aloy, respectively.

Other potential first-round targets include Texas A&M outfielder Jace LaViolette and Johnson High School (San Antonio) middle infielder Kayson Cunningham.

"I think it’s pretty deep. It’s not very top heavy, it’s more just deep with general talent,” Blood said of this year’s Draft class. “I think there’s pitchers, position players, college, high school. I think there’s a lot of options that are interesting for the industry that I think are going to be multiple rounds of interesting players being drafted.”

The Orioles haven’t taken a pitcher in the first round since Grayson Rodriguez in 2018 (pre-Elias). In fact, they’ve only selected one hurler on Day 1 of a Draft under Elias -- right-hander Jackson Baumeister (‘23 Competitive Balance Round B), who was later dealt to the Rays in the Zach Eflin trade in July 2024.

Though history suggests Baltimore won’t take a pitcher early on Sunday night, it could happen, especially after the club acquired an additional pick for the first night.

“I think it’s very possible, and I hope that we do. When you have a lot of picks like this, it’s nice to have a diverse set of picks,” Elias said. “So we’re going to line up the board based on how we think the talent is and we’ll take in that regard. But we definitely want to get some pitching in this Draft.”