The Orioles have had some wildly successful Drafts. Their best ever came in 1978, when they snagged Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. in the second round and 134-game winner Mike Boddicker in the sixth in 1978.
Other standout efforts include Baltimore grabbing Don Baylor and Bobby Grich with their first two selections in 1967; Hall of Famer Eddie Murray and Mike Flanagan in 1973; Pete Harnisch, Steve Finley and David Segui in 1987 and Cooperstown immortal Mike Mussina in 1990. Its 2019 crop of Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, Kyle Stowers and Joey Ortiz in the first four rounds looks promising as well.
We won’t know how the 2025 Draft will truly play out until several years from now, and it’s way too premature to suggest the 25 prospects the Orioles selected on Sunday and Monday will be as productive as the bumper crops mentioned above. But we can say that before any of the 615 players chosen by the 30 clubs begin their careers, Baltimore’s collection of draftees looks the strongest.
That’s not exactly a surprise, considering the Orioles were armed with four of the top 37 selections and a record $19,144,500 bonus pool. Each of their first four choices lasted longer in the Draft than expected, making their haul even better.
Here are the five teams that did the best job of hoarding talent in this year’s Draft:
1. Orioles
With its four choices before the second round, Baltimore nabbed arguably the best all-around college hitter in the Draft (Auburn outfielder/catcher Ike Irish), the consensus top catcher (Coastal Carolina’s Caden Bodine), the Golden Spikes Award winner (Arkansas shortstop Wehiwa Aloy) and the best prep outfielder (Slater de Brun, who’s reminiscent of Corbin Carroll at the same stage). The Orioles led all teams by drafting six Top 100 prospects on MLB Pipeline’s Draft Top 250, those four plus Michigan State left-hander Joseph Dzierwa (second round) and offensive-minded UC Irvine shortstop Colin Yeaman (fourth). They also tied the Marlins with the most Top 250 guys with nine.
2. Pirates
For the second straight Draft, Pittsburgh landed the player with the most pure talent in the Draft despite not owning a top-five selection. After getting Konnor Griffin at No. 9 last year while several teams had concerns about his swing, the Pirates were gifted Seth Hernandez at No. 6 because the industry is skittish about the risk associated with high school right-handers. They doubled down on that demographic with Angel Cervantes (second round), another polished prep righty with a quality arm and an advanced changeup. Oklahoma’s Easton Carmichael (third) was one of the better college backstops, high schooler Gustavo Melendez (fourth) is a solid shortstop with a sneaky-good bat and Louisiana State first baseman Jared Jones (ninth) was a flat-out steal considering he may have more raw power than anyone in the Draft.
3. Rays
Even after trading the 37th overall pick to Baltimore for Bryan Baker on Thursday, Tampa Bay still owned five selections in the first three rounds. The Rays spent four of them on high school position players: shortstop Daniel Pierce (first round), who has all-around tools and skills; shortstop Cooper Flemming (second) and outfielder Dean Moss (supplemental second), who like Pierce are advanced hitters for teenagers; and catcher Taitn Gray (third), who offers jaw-dropping power and surprising speed. Arizona outfielder Brendan Summerhill (supplemental first) was one of the more well-rounded players in the college class.
4. Rockies
With the No. 4 selection, Colorado got the player it coveted, prep shortstop Ethan Holliday, who also ranked No. 1 on our Top 250. Southern Mississippi right-hander JB Middleton (second round) had the three-pitch mix, athleticism and savvy to go higher if he wasn’t 6 feet tall, while Texas outfielder Max Belyeu (supplemental second) has one of the higher offensive ceilings in this year’s college crop. Southern California third baseman Ethan Hedges (third) and UNC Wilmington first baseman Tanner Thach (eighth) are two of the more interesting college bats.
5. Red Sox
Boston did a better job than any team of stocking up on pitching. The Draft’s best college right-hander, Oklahoma’s Kyson Witherspoon, fell into the Red Sox lap at No. 15. They also added two more top college righties in Tennessee’s Marcus Phillips (supplemental first round) and Louisiana State’s Anthony Eyanson (third). All three can push their fastballs to at least 98 mph and have quality secondary pitches. Virginia’s Henry Godbout (second) and Arizona’s Mason White (fourth) are bat-first college middle infielders.
Best draft by a team without extra picks: Nationals
Though the choice of prep shortstop Eli Willits at No. 1 overall caught a lot of fans by surprise, he could become the best all-around player in the Draft if he grows into more power. Getting flame-throwing prep right-hander Landon Harmon in the third round was reminiscent of Washington doing the same with Travis Sykora two years ago, and Miguel Sime Jr. (fourth round) is another high school righty who can light up radar guns. South Carolina outfielder Ethan Petry (second) stands out with his plus-plus raw power. Prep shortstop Coy James’ offensive upside sparked supplemental first-round buzz before the Nationals floated him down to the fifth round.