What's the Orioles' strategy for the 7th pick in the Draft?

BALTIMORE -- The same questions are asked to members of the Orioles’ front office prior to the MLB Draft every year: Could the O’s finally select a pitcher in the first round? Or will they again choose another college position player?

Since president of baseball operations Mike Elias was hired in November 2018, Baltimore has used six of its seven first-round picks on college position players, with the lone exception being infielder Jackson Holliday, who was taken out of Stillwater (Okla.) High School at No. 1 overall in ‘22. The O’s haven’t taken a first-round pitcher since Grayson Rodriguez in ‘18.

This year, the Orioles’ Draft process is being led by Will Robertson (the new vice president of domestic scouting) for the first time. But don’t expect to see any major shifts by Baltimore.

“I wouldn’t classify myself as particularly different than our organizational philosophy, but I will say that there has always been openness to pitching early,” Robertson said. “We’ll see how the board shakes out this year, but I promise that we are discussing pitchers at all levels of investment and certainly have done the work to feel prepared to take a pitcher -- or position player -- earlier than the small sample of Drafts that this administration has had.”

• Day 1 picks: 7, 46, 82, 110
• Bonus pool allotment: $13,114,000
• Last year’s top pick: Ike Irish, OF/1B, pick 19 ... Although Irish was drafted as a catcher, the 22-year-old Auburn product is no longer working behind the plate, instead developing as a corner outfielder/first baseman. His bat is his best tool, which is why he is the Orioles’ No. 2 prospect and MLB Pipeline’s No. 83 overall.
• Breakout 2025 pick: Joseph Dzierwa, LHP, pick 58 ... A second-round pick out of Michigan State, Dzierwa didn’t make his professional debut until the start of the ‘26 season. However, the 22-year-old southpaw posted a 2.21 ERA in eight starts at High-A Frederick, earning a quick promotion to Double-A Chesapeake, where he has a 2.45 ERA over eight outings.

With that said, the O’s are coming off a 2025 Draft in which they showed an increased willingness to take pitchers early. Second-round pick Dzierwa was the highest-drafted pitcher of the Elias era, and then, Baltimore also took right-hander JT Quinn at No. 69 in Competitive Balance Round B.

The Orioles will first be on the clock this year at No. 7 -- the earliest they’ve picked since taking Holliday at No. 1 in 2022. So it would be a bit of a surprise if they didn’t use that selection on a position player, and it could be another one from the college ranks.

The general consensus surrounding the 2026 Draft class is that the top tier of prospects features six players: prep shortstops Grady Emerson (Fort Worth Christian, Texas) and Jacob Lombard (Gulliver Prep, Florida), UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky, Georgia Tech catcher Vahn Lackey, UC Santa Barbara right-hander Jackson Flora and prep outfielder Eric Booth Jr. (Oak Grove, Mississippi).

If any of those players don’t go in the top six, then Baltimore could land whomever falls. If those six are the first to come off the board, then a potential target for the O’s would be Georgia Tech outfielder Drew Burress.

“Other than the No. 1 pick, you’re still subject to what the team, or teams, do in front of you,” Robertson said. “Our player pool is still pretty wide, and that’s the nature of this class. But also, you want to be very thorough. You don’t want to close doors too early, no matter where you’re picking. So, I don’t think that the seventh pick in particular would differ. We’ve picked later. We hope to continue to pick later in future years. And you have to be prepared for all kinds of scenarios.”

The Orioles are optimistic that however the board shakes out, they’ll come out of this year’s Draft with some quality prospects who will bolster their farm system.

“There’s definitely interesting players across all demographics -- college bats, high school bats,” Robertson said. “There’s a lot of depth, I think, in all demographics, from our first pick and even into some of the other big investment picks as well.”