The Orioles had four of the first 37 picks in the 2025 Draft. On paper, that fact that looked like it could help jump-start their system once again after flush years of prospect development.
Those Draft board slots have turned into mashers. Catcher/outfielder/first baseman Ike Irish (No. 19 pick) and shortstop Wehiwa Aloy (No. 37) both drilled their first homers of the season during High-A Frederick’s 11-2 win over Winston-Salem at Truist Stadium on Saturday night.
Irish got the green light to swing on a 3-0 count, driving a fastball on the outer third over fence against right-hander Drew McDaniel (White Sox) in the first inning. He added a walk and scored again in the seventh, and he sits with a .988 OPS through his first five games of the year.
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The Orioles’ No. 4 prospect made his second start of the season in right field on Saturday, after making his other three starts at first base. Originally drafted as a catcher, Irish has moved to more traditionally offense-focused positions in an effort to enable his bat to play up. He’s long known that his ability in the batter's box led to him hearing his name called in the first round.
“The biggest thing is my ability to hit,” Irish told MLB.com last July. “I think that’s the biggest thing that the Orioles liked was my ability to hit the ball to all fields and showcase power and have a track record of doing it.”
COMPLETE ORIOLES PROSPECT COVERAGE
Aloy battled through a 1-for-10 start to collect a pair of knocks on Friday, setting the stage for Saturday’s power breakthrough. Facing righty Jake Peppers in the seventh, the Orioles’ No. 5 prospect clobbered a center-cut heater out to right-center and cleared the high wall, coming off the bat at 108 mph.
Both Irish and Aloy got their pro careers started at the end of 2025 with Single-A Delmarva. They enjoyed standout college careers -- with Aloy winning last year's Golden Spikes Award, given to baseball’s most outstanding amateur player -- and have hit the ground running in a system that has churned out Top 100 prospects at a spectacular rate this decade from top picks like Adley Rutschman, Heston Kjerstad and Jackson Holliday to international stars like Samuel Basallo.
Not to be outdone, right-hander JT Quinn (BAL No. 19) -- who was chosen 69th overall in '25 with the club’s Comp. Round B pick -- racked up 10 strikeouts over 4 2/3 scoreless innings in just his second pro start.