The mock draft world kept spinning the Orioles toward an outfielder today with the seventh-overall pick.

It wasn’t wrong.

The Orioles chose Eric Booth Jr. of Oak Grove High School in Mississippi, the fifth time that an outfielder was selected first by the organization since Mike Elias moved into the front office. Elias is 2-for-8 in taking prep players, including shortstop Jackson Holliday in 2022.

They Orioles also have the 46th, 82nd and 110th selections today. They traded their Competitive Balance A Round pick (33rd overall) and four minor leaguers to the Rays for starter Shane Baz.

The majority of draft experts and enthusiasts saw the Orioles taking Booth or Georgia Tech outfielder Drew Burress if still on the board. Burress seemed to gain prediction momentum based on the assumption that Booth would be gone. Baseball American’s final mock had Burress with the Orioles.

However, the Pirates took LSU outfielder Derek Curiel No. 5, and the Royals grabbed Louisville outfielder Zion Rose at No. 6. They were the first curveballs of the draft – not expected to be the first outfielders off the board.

The Athletics chose Burress at No. 8.

Baseball America ranked Booth, who turned 18 this month, as the top outfielder in the draft. He’s 6 foot, 205 pounds with 80-grade speed. He ran the fastest 60-yard dash at 6.33 seconds at last year’s East Coast Pro showcase.

Booth can play center field and is a plus defender. And he batted .481 (37-for-77) with a .669 on-base percentage and .922 slugging percentage as a senior.

Booth won the home run derby last July at the Perfect Game All-American Classic.

MLB Pipeline wrote: “Booth has an unconventional setup and pumps his hands away from his body, sometimes leaving him with a choppy-looking left-handed stroke. He nevertheless makes consistent contact and barrels balls while displaying a good sense of the strike zone. His bat speed and strength translate into impressive exit velocities and could result in 20-25 homers per year if he smooths out his stroke and launches balls in the air more regularly.

“One of the fastest runners in the 2026 high school class, Booth can get from home to first in a little over four seconds and ran the quickest 60-yard dash (6.33 seconds) at the East Coast Pro showcase in August. To make the most of his plus-plus speed, the Vanderbilt recruit will need to hone his basestealing instincts and improve his reads and routes in center field, and he’s making strides in both areas. He has addressed the biggest weakness in his game, working to improve his arm strength to average.”

Booth committed to Vanderbilt.

The slot value of the No. 7 pick is $7,327,200. The Orioles have $13,114,000 in their bonus pool.

The Orioles hired Elias in November 2018 and his first draft picks each year have included catcher Adley Rutschman in 2019, outfielder Heston Kjerstad in 2020, outfielder Colton Cowser in 2021, Holliday in 2022, outfielder Enrique Bradfield Jr. in 2023, outfielder Vance Honeycutt in 2024 and catcher Ike Irish in 2025. Holliday moved to second base. Irish is a first baseman and outfielder.

Rutschman made his third All-Star team this year after going one-one in ’19.

The White Sox had the first-overall pick today and used it on UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky. The Rays followed with Fort Worth Christian High School shortstop Grady Emerson. They were the popular 1-2 projections, though Emerson was viewed as having a chance to go first.

Georgia Tech catcher Vahn Lackey was third to the Twins as expected. The Giants selected pitcher Jackson Flora from UC Santa Barbara at No. 4.

Then, it got a little crazy, which seemed to work to the Orioles’ advantage. MLB Pipeline had Booth ranked as the No. 6 prospect.