As the 2025 MLB Draft quickly approaches, the Prospects Live team wants to make your life as easy as possible. In this series of articles, I'll be providing team-by-team analysis of their recent draft trends, their available draft capital for 2025, any areas of the draft they've heavily targeted, as well as a few names in this year's class that might fit into their historically preferred archetype.
Max Ellingsen
This analysis isn't sourced for the upcoming year, nor is it a guarantee the organization won't pivot from what they've done in the past. Simply put, this article aims to provide an in-depth look at teams and their recent draft classes to try and decipher trends that could help uncover players your favorite team might be targeting. It's far from a perfect science, but I've done my job if it makes things easier to follow on draft day.
Baltimore Orioles
- 2025 Bonus Pool Value - $16,513,100 (5th)
- Top 100 selections - 19, 30, 31, 58, 69, 93
Armed with an insane haul of picks thanks to the departure of Corbin Burnes, Anthony Santander, and a Comp pick, the Orioles have six picks in the first 93 and the fifth biggest bonus pool to work with. They’ve stuck staunchly with their plan of “toolsy bats over everything” and I’d be shocked if they don’t continue that trend, but I’m curious to see just how much they want to mess around with their pool. It’s rare to have so many picks afforded to you in one year, so perhaps less creativity is needed to secure a substantial draft haul.
2024 Draft Overview
The Orioles went with the tooled up Vance Honeycutt ($200,000 overslot) with their first pick, hoping to develop some semblance of a hit tool to pair with solid power potential and gold glove defense in center field. They paired him with two Virginia bats in Griff O’Ferrall ($140,000 underslot) and Ethan Anderson ($250,000 underslot) before splurging on USC outfielder Austin Overn ($100,000 overslot). Chase Allsup ($40,000 underslot) followed in the fourth while Cal Poly catcher Ryan Stafford (slot) came in the fifth, ultimately paving the way for them to take a swing on prep shortstop DJ Layton ($395,000 overslot). They ended up taking two additional shots on prep talents in Anthony Tess ($200,000 overslot) and Nate George ($305,000 overslot) and added some nice ceiling to their class, however early returns thus far a bit murky overall. George has been good early, but outside of that, it’s been pretty disappointing overall.
2023 Draft Overview
Enrique Bradfield Jr. (slot) headlined the 2023 class for Baltimore, providing a high floor of defense, speed, and contact ability as a surefire centerfielder. UNC third baseman Mac Horvath ($180,000 underslot) came in the second while Jackson Baumeister ($370,000 overslot) and Kiefer Lord ($50,000 underslot) provided them their first arms in the class in the Comp B and third rounds. Tavian Josenberger ($70,000 underslot) and Jake Cunningham ($20,000 underslot) sandwiched Levi Wells ($65,000 underslot) as a trio of college performers that saved them some money, however the only other splurge they made was on 14th rounder Michael Forret ($350,000 overslot). They were able to nab Matthew Etzel (slot) in the 10th round, but it feels like they missed out on a potential splash with one of their later picks not signing. This class has been solid so far, but I think they were hoping to land at least an additional piece or two to this class that could’ve helped boost up their overall ceiling.
2022 Draft Overview
Awarded the number one pick in this one, the O’s went with Jackson Holliday ($660,000 underslot) to headline their draft out of Stillwater, Oklahoma and quickly watched him transcend into the best prospect in the game. Dylan Beavers ($120,000 underslot) saved them a bit while Max Wagner ($40,000 overslot) and Jud Fabian (slot) took a small bite into the savings, however losing out on Nolan McLean in the third round provided them a ton of savings to work with and should’ve landed them a ton of talent in the middle rounds of this draft. Instead of doing that, they went relatively chalk or underslot with nearly all of their picks until the eleventh where they selected Zack Showalter ($290,000 overslot), however that expenditure pales in comparison to the $1,330,000 splurge in the 17th round on Vanderbilt SS Carter Young ($1,180,000 overslot). While picking up Holliday first overall had to feel good, it feels as though the O’s could’ve done a lot more with this class and just had some things break in ways they didn’t expect. Spending that much money that late doesn’t seem like a wise choice to me and isn’t something I’d expect they do again any time soon.
Early Round Demographics
It’s bats, bats, and more bats at the top of an Orioles draft. I’d expect them to continue prioritizing strong power projection and athleticism in the field with the aim of teaching the player to make enough contact, however the “supplementary” tools feel less important than the presence of a true carrying tool somewhere in the profile. Whether it’s defense, power, speed, or hit, the Orioles want their draftees to do at least one thing really well in the hopes they can fill in the rest of the profile and develop a well rounded player. Athleticism and carrying tools. If you’ve got them, the Orioles want you.
Late Round Demographics
The late round shot with Carter Young was a bit of an anomaly in almost every sense, however they’ve pretty consistently pushed some money down to take a medium sized shot on a prep player somewhere in the middle rounds of the draft. How big of a swing they take can vary a bit, but I’d expect a mid six figure payout to occur somewhere later in this 2025 class.
Names to Know
Ethan Conrad, Wake Forest OF - Conrad’s got the speed and power combination Baltimore has gravitated toward in recent years and feels like a good organizational fit. He might just end up being a steal considering his buzz early this season before he got injured.
Jace LaViolette, Texas A&M OF - This would be a slide for LaViolette compared to where most thought he’d end up earlier this season, but I could see him slipping to the Orioles and them taking a shot on his massive tools. The swing and miss issue is real, but that hasn’t stopped this regime in the past.
Daniel Pierce, High School SS - Pierce has come on strong this spring and features an excellent glove at short with a burgeoning offensive profile. I think the Orioles could take a shot on him here and hope his upward trajectory continues as a professional.
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