Orioles select outfielder Eric Booth Jr. with No. 7 overall pick

BALTIMORE -- For the fourth straight year, the Orioles used their top selection in the MLB Draft on an outfielder. But this time, they dipped into a different territory -- the high school ranks.

Baltimore selected prep outfielder Eric Booth Jr. with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2026 Draft on Saturday afternoon. The 18-year-old speedster is coming out of Oak Grove High School in Hattiesburg, Miss., and he was committed to play at Vanderbilt University.

This is only the second time the O’s have taken a high school player with their top pick since president of baseball operations Mike Elias was hired in November 2018. The only previous occurrence was in ‘22, when they took infielder Jackson Holliday at No. 1 overall.

It’s not a surprise, though, that the Orioles remained on the position-player side. They have never taken a pitcher in the first round in the Elias era, and they’ve often targeted outfielders, having taken one with their top pick in six of the past seven Drafts.

Baltimore’s first-round picks under Elias
2026: OF Eric Booth Jr., Oak Grove HS, No. 7
2025: OF/1B Ike Irish, Auburn University, No. 19
2024: OF Vance Honeycutt, University of North Carolina, No. 22
2023: OF Enrique Bradfield Jr., Vanderbilt University, No. 17
2022: INF Jackson Holliday, Stillwater (Okla.) HS, No. 1
2021: OF Colton Cowser, Sam Houston State University, No. 5
2020: OF Heston Kjerstad, University of Arkansas, No. 2
2019: C Adley Rutschman, Oregon State University, No. 1

MLB Pipeline’s No. 6 Draft prospect, Booth was the top-ranked outfielder in the 2026 Draft class. One of the youngest prospects on the board, Booth -- whose 18th birthday was July 4 -- is already one of the Draft’s best athletes. On the 20-80 scouting scale, the Oak Grove, Miss., native has an elite run grade of 70, easily the best tool in his arsenal. At 6.33 seconds, he ran the fastest 60-yard dash at the East Coast Pro showcase last August.

• Get to know No. 6 Draft prospect Eric Booth Jr.

But there’s more to Booth’s game than just speed. The outfielder -- who bats and throws left-handed -- has more power than you might expect, possessing the potential to launch 20 to 25 home runs a year if he can elevate the baseball more often. (He won the home run derby at last July’s Perfect Game All-American Classic.) Booth’s swing can be a bit choppy thanks to an unconventional setup from the left side, but he still makes consistent content and routinely barrels the baseball.

“We like a lot about Booth," said Will Robertson, the Orioles' vice president of domestic scouting. "He has a huge engine, as we call it. He's super powerful, both running the bases and moving the bat. That leads to impact outcomes, both defensively in center field and offensively with the power-speed combination. Super young for his class, and has always hit everywhere he's gone. He really can adjust the barrel and get to pitches all over the strike zone. He's very selective with what he wants to swing at, and he's always been an offensive producer."

The son of a former standout kick returner for the Southern Miss football team, the younger Booth chose to focus on baseball by sixth grade. He showed why that was a wise choice: Booth batted .441 with a .612 on-base percentage and .803 slugging percentage in four seasons at Oak Grove High School, facing many of the top public schools in Mississippi. The Warriors have produced two other Major Leaguers: outfielder Dustan Mohr, who played in MLB from 2001-07, and pitcher Kirk McCarty, who appeared in 13 games for the Guardians in 2022.

Booth is undeniably fast enough to handle center field, but he’s still working to improve his reads and routes in the outfield. Still, MLB Pipeline gave him an above-average grade of 55 in the field, tied with his 55 hit tool for his second-best attribute behind his speed. He has worked to bolster what had been a poor throwing arm, upping his arm to an average grade of 50.

The O's held a private workout with Booth at the club's Spring Training complex in Sarasota, Fla., leading up to the Draft. They had the youngster throw to bases, and they came away impressed with the growth they saw.

"E.J. has had an up arrow next to a lot of tools, but the arm does really stand out. Over [last] summer, it was one of the things we were hoping to get more comfort on in the spring, and he proved it to us," Robertson said. "It was by far the strongest we've seen his arm, so that last little bit of comfort at the end on the arm strength went a long way. We think it's going to be a strength to his game."