Well-rounded catcher Irish highlights O's 7-player Day 1 haul

BALTIMORE -- Anyone who has followed the Orioles’ MLB Draft strategy closely in recent years shouldn’t have been surprised by what happened when they were on the clock at No. 19 for the first time in the opening round of the 2025 edition of the event Sunday.

• Here's every Orioles pick from 2025 Draft

To begin a night on which Baltimore had a whopping seven selections, the O’s immediately landed what has been their preferred archetype -- a left-handed-hitting college position player.

Auburn catcher/outfielder Ike Irish went at No. 19 to the Orioles, who were thrilled to land MLB Pipeline’s No. 11 prospect in the class at that spot on the board.

“When I saw him in person, I walked away thinking, ‘This guy is one of the best pure hitters in the Draft, and he’s not going to get to us,’” said Matt Blood, Baltimore’s vice president of player development and domestic scouting. “I told our group, ‘This guy is too good to get to us.’”

Yet Irish was there for the taking for the O’s, becoming the seventh consecutive position player to be taken with Baltimore’s top Draft pick since Mike Elias was hired as general manager prior to the 2019 season (and the sixth from that group to come from the college ranks).

Top Orioles Draft picks in Elias era (since 2019)
2019: C Adley Rutschman, Oregon State (No. 1)
2020: OF Heston Kjerstad, Arkansas (No. 2)
2021: OF Colton Cowser, Sam Houston State (No. 5)
2022: INF Jackson Holliday, Stillwater (Okla.) High School (No. 1)
2023: OF Enrique Bradfield Jr., Vanderbilt University (No. 17)
2024: OF Vance Honeycutt, University of North Carolina (No. 22)
2025: C Ike Irish, Auburn University (No. 19)

Irish was announced as a catcher, but the Orioles believe he can also play in the corner outfield -- which he did for much of his 2025 season at Auburn after fracturing his right scapula. The 21-year-old also has the ability to play some first base.

“We’re pretty big on defensive versatility, so we’ll probably explore all those options,” Blood said.

Baltimore had four picks between the Nos. 19 and 37 selections, taking position players with each of them. However, the O’s later took two college pitchers (Michigan State left-hander Joseph Dzierwa and Georgia righty JT Quinn) after taking only one pitcher on Day 1 of a Draft from 2019-24 (Jackson Baumeister in Competitive Balance Round B in 2023).

Here’s more on the six players taken by the Orioles after Irish on Day 1:

Caden Bodine, C, No. 30 pick

• Bats/throws: S/R
• School: Coastal Carolina University
• Calling Card: Ranked as the No. 32 prospect in the class, Bodine had some of the best contact skills of any Draft-eligible player this year, hence his 60-grade hit tool. The 21-year-old is equally proficient from both sides of the plate.
• Quote: “When you think about him being a switch-hitter and having really high contact rates and hitting line drives and just being a guy who’s going to be productive, you start to add all that up and think, ‘Yeah, this is a guy who’s going to be a Major Leaguer.’” -- Blood

Wehiwa Aloy, SS, No. 31 pick

• Bats/throws: R/R
• School: University of Arkansas
• Calling Card: Aloy (No. 17 prospect in class) was the 2025 Golden Spikes Award winner and has a well-rounded skill set. There’s a ton of power potential in the 21-year-old’s right-handed swing (55 grade), and he’s also a smooth defender.
• Quote: “We really like just the way he goes about playing the game, and his skill set. So we see a lot of upside with him, and we did not expect him to get where we were able to draft him.” -- Blood

Slater de Brun, OF, No. 37 pick

• Bats/throws: L/L
• School: Summit High School (Ore.)
• Calling Card: The 5-foot-10 de Brun (No. 24 prospect) has 65-grade speed and a 60-grade glove, but he has a solid bat, too (55-grade hitting). The 18-year-old Vanderbilt commit has strong bat-to-ball skills and a good eye at the plate.
• Quote: “Another one of these contact guys who also walks.” -- Blood

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Joseph Dzierwa, LHP, No. 58 pick

• Bats/throws: R/L
• School: Michigan State University
• Calling Card: The 6-foot-8 Dzierwa (No. 74 prospect) has a 55-grade fastball that sits 90-93 mph and can touch 95. His 55-grade control helps him miss bats, while his 60-grade changeup is the best offering in his four-pitch mix.
• Quote: “When you combine the size and stuff and the pitchability, and then also some sort of upside for building out more of his arsenal, we feel like this was an upside play for us.” -- Blood

JT Quinn, RHP, No. 69 pick

• Bats/throws: R/R
• School: University of Georgia
• Calling Card: At 6-foot-6, Quinn (No. 127 prospect) has a 60-grade fastball that sits in the mid-90s and has maxed out at 98. The 21-year-old righty also has a 55-grade slider and a 40-grade curveball, and he has operated exclusively from the stretch.
• Quote: “He’s been a big 'stock up' guy in the second half of this season.” -- Blood

RJ Austin, OF, No. 93 pick

• Bats/throws: R/R
• School: Vanderbilt University
• Calling Card: The No. 112 prospect in the class, Austin has good bat-to-ball skills (50-grade hit tool) that pair well with his 60-grade speed. The 21-year-old was teammates with Bradfield (O’s No. 2 prospect) at Vandy in 2023.