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Since Mike Elias and company took the reins in 2019, the Orioles have been one of, if not the most, successful drafting teams in the league.
Of course, having some top five selections have helped to solidify that podium placement, allowing Baltimore to draft talents like Adley Rutschman, Heston Kjerstad, Colton Cowser and Jackson Holliday. But, it’s important to note that those high draft picks weren’t necessary to acquire great talent.
In that 2019 draft class, when Rutschman was selected first overall, Gunnar Henderson was drafted by the O’s with the 42nd pick, Kyle Stowers 71st, and Joey Ortiz 108th.
A year later, when Kjerstad was the second overall pick, Jordan Westburg was 30th and Coby Mayo was 103rd.
Great drafts aren’t just made by the drafts themselves, though. Once the players are selected, their new player development system is responsible for getting them through the minor leagues and to the big leagues.
For years, Matt Blood led the O’s player development, one that was arguably among the best in baseball. Starting last year, Blood added domestic scouting to his title, leading the Orioles’ draft operations. With a season under his belt in that new role, Blood is just a few weeks away from his second MLB Draft at the head of the table.
“Year one is always one of the more difficult years in any role that you’re in,” Blood said. “So, year two feels a little more easy, but there are also little things that we want to adjust and try to improve.”
Having so much experience on the player development side of things, Blood carries with him a good understanding of what kinds of players have succeeded in Baltimore’s system.
“The way that we train and the way that we practice, the players that lean into our style of practice usually advance faster than others,” he said. “We like to train very similar to the game, and those players who like that type of thing usually do better. Ultimately, it’s the guys that can play defense, the guys that can hit the ball hard, make contact, make good swing decisions, they usually perform well.”
Each draft class provides a unique set of circumstances and challenges. Ethan Holliday, Jackson’s not-so-little brother, is considered by many to be the best player available. He’s the top ranked prospect in the class according to MLB Pipeline, Baseball America and The Athletic. There could be a lot of high schoolers joining Holliday in the first dozen picks come draft night, but in a class that might just be up the O’s alley, there is plenty of college talent to be found in the middle of the first round. Especially college hitters.
“We feel like it’s a pretty deep class,” Blood said. “We don’t feel like it’s super top heavy. It’s more a large group of players that are all kind of similar. It’s going to be, actually, more difficult I think for us to decide who we like more. But that also means, with those three picks that we have, we should be able to get three shots at somewhat similar upside type players.”
Those three picks that Blood is referring to come at Nos. 19, 30 and 31. The 30th and 31st picks were given to the Orioles with Corbin Burnes and Anthony Santander signing hefty contracts in the offseason.
There, Baltimore will have three chances to bring in some talented young players. Drafting outside of the top few selections, though, you aren’t going to find any “blue chip,” prospects, those without many question marks. Each team will have a different method for evaluating the class, and the O’s are confident in their process.
“Going back to when Sig and Mike first really got this thing going a long time ago, back when we were with St. Louis, I feel like that gives us a competitive advantage,” Blood said.
Now, if you’re pounding the table for the O’s to select a pitcher in the first round, this may not be the draft for you. There are some talented pitchers potentially in Baltimore’s range, and with three picks in the top 31, the possibility of a pitcher being selected certainly increases. Odds are, though, there could be some incredibly talented college hitters, like Jace LaViolette and Wehiwa Aloy, available at Baltimore’s first pick.
The Orioles are committed to selecting the best player available at a position of value, not a position of need.
“The minor leagues, there’s so many players, and it takes time,” Blood said. “It would be foolish to draft for just pure need of where we’re kind of short in the minor leagues, because things can change. It takes enough time to where that’s really not a good strategy. We’re going to go for the best player that we can draft.”
No team is going to have a 100 percent success rate in the MLB Draft, but the Orioles have been about as good as you can be. While this year may not have any massive deviation from their norms, as the saying goes … if it ain’t broke.
For my full conversation with Matt Blood, you can watch our interview here: https://masn.me/4z7dclg9
