That’s been Mike Elias’s strong preference so far for first round picks, so it won’t be a surprise to see another.
With the way that the Orioles have played over their first 37 games, the 2025 season is shaping up to be one of those years where one of the most interesting times ends up being the draft, when we can spend time dreaming about future players rather than thinking too much about the struggling bunch in front of us. The draft is still a bit more than two months away, which isn’t too early for the prospect writers to start hashing out mock drafts and guessing which team might take which player.
Keep in mind that, although the Orioles suck right now, their 2025 first round pick is based off of losing in the wild card round a year ago, so they won’t be drafting until #19. No dreams about Ethan Holliday being drafted to play alongside of his brother Jackson some day. The younger Holliday has long been thought to be a possible #1 overall pick and that’s still in play at this juncture.
Marek Houston, SS, Wake Forest
Houston, a 6’3” righty batter, is the mock pick to the O’s from MLB Pipeline’s Jim Callis. Houston ranks as the #12 prospect on Pipeline’s ranking of the draft prospects, which would make him a strong value pick at #19. Their take on Houston as a prospect:
Houston earns solid-to-plus grades for his quickness and arm strength, and some evaluators will go even higher than that on his ability to play shortstop. He has smooth actions and plenty of range to both sides and should be a high-quality defender at the big league level. Should he not hit enough to merit an everyday role, he has the tools to play almost anywhere on the diamond as a utilityman.
Houston’s batting numbers for the Demon Deacons so far this season, for what that’s worth: 346/.457/.575, with ten home runs.
Gavin Kilen, SS, Tennessee
The Athletic’s Keith Law released a mock draft on Thursday with Kilen as the pick to the Orioles. Of the O’s thought process, he writes:
This just seems way too obvious a match – a player with Kilen’s performance and batted-ball data shouldn’t even get this far, and the Orioles typically pounce on guys like that. … I haven’t heard them on pitching at all, and just a little with high school pitchers.
To Law’s point of Kilen being too good to fall that far, Pipeline’s mock has him drafted at #18 by the Diamondbacks right before the Orioles pick. The 5’11” lefty batter is hitting .389/.476/.777 for the Volunteers so far this season, with 23 walks and only 14 strikeouts through 37 games. I won’t get my hopes up about him lasting to where the O’s pick.
The Orioles also have draft picks #30 and #31, the compensation that they received for departing free agents Corbin Burnes and Anthony Santander. The fresh mocks aren’t going that deep yet. Baseball America took a mock draft that far nearly a month ago, so it’s obviously old info, but if you want a couple of names to think about for that area:
Brandon Compton, OF, Arizona State
BA’s mock notes that the Orioles have put a premium on left-handed power and Compton brings that to the table, though they also note it’s a “lack of on-base ability and corner outfield profile” that could cause him to slide down that far.
Ike Irish, C, Auburn
That’s a great baseball name. He is batting .340/.455/.661 in the SEC so far, and although BA’s note is that he’s maybe less likely to stick at catcher compared to some other prospects, that kind of hitting might get him drafted before the Orioles pick. In Pipeline’s fresher mock, Irish goes at #21 to the Astros.
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A lot can change in two months when it comes to the draft. Hopefully one of the things that changes is the Orioles’ 2026 first round draft position. The O’s entered this weekend’s series in Anaheim with the fourth-worst record of all MLB teams.