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Here’s the latest with the Orioles from Day 2 of the draft:
Fourth round (124th): Colin Yeaman, shortstop. University of California-Irvine.
Yeaman, 21, was the Big West Player of the Year after batting .336/.447/.591 with 16 doubles, four triples, 13 home runs, 56 RBIs, 38 walks and 53 strikeouts in 60 games. He played two seasons at the College of the Canyons, batting .405 and .443 in a combined 56 games. He also underwent two surgeries on his left shoulder.
A lack of quickness and range, and average arm strength, could lead to a change in positions.
MLB Pipeline ranked Yeaman as the No. 97 prospect in the draft. His best tool is his bat, with a 55-grade hitting.
Fifth round (154th): Jaiden Lo Re, shortstop, Corona del Sol (Ariz.) High School.
Lo Re, 18, is a right-handed hitter listed at 5 foot 11 and 170 pounds. He could move to second or third base He also pitches.
Lo Re helped Corona del Sol to the 6A state championship, delivering a walk-off hit. He has a commitment to BYU.
Sixth round (184th): Caden Hunter, left-hander, USC.
MLB Pipeline ranks Hunter as the No. 149 prospect in the draft. He spent two years at Sierra College, posting a 2.23 ERA as a sophomore before becoming USC’s Friday night starter.
Hunter posted a 5.50 ERA and 1.550 WHIP in 16 games (14 starts), and he averaged 10.1 strikeouts per nine innings.
Hunter’s fastball tops out at 95 mph, though it sits around 91. Good carry leads to solid swing-and-miss, per Pipeline. His best secondary pitch is a low-80s changeup.
Seventh round (214th): Hunter Allen, right-hander, Ashland (Ohio) University.
Allen was 7-1 with a 3.96 ERA in 12 starts, including a complete-game shutout, at the Division II school. He walked 37 batters and struck out 84 in 61 1/3 innings, and he surrendered only three home runs. He spent two seasons at Owens (Ohio) Community College.
Allen, who’s is listed at 6 foot 4 245 pounds, has a fastball that touches 100 mph. It sits at 94-96 mph. His slider velocity is up to 87 mph.
Eighth round (244th): Kailen Hamson, left-hander, University of the Cumberlands.
Hamson, a 23-year-old native of Australia, was 11-1 with a 2.72 ERA in 14 starts. He struck out 127 batters in 82 2/3 innings. Opponents hit .187 against him.
Hamson has won multiple NAIA awards and is praised for his athleticism. The fastball gets to the mid-90s, and he also throws a cutter, curveball, slider and changeup.
MLB Network’s Jim Callis called Hamson an “intriguing” choice.
Hamson can become the fourth Australian to play for the Orioles after pitchers John Stephens (2002), Damian Moss (2003) and Alex Wells (2021-22).
Ninth round (274th): Cam Lee, outfielder, Mineral Area Junior College in Missouri.
Lee has also played second base and pitched, but he’s settled in as an outfielder. He hit .444 with 15 doubles, five triples, 13 home runs. 46 RBIs and a 1.298 OPS and was named NJCAA Region 16 Player of the Year.
Lee has committed to the University of Missouri.
Callis, on MLB Network: "He's a guy who's name popped up late. He's an athletic guy, he's a plus runner, he sticks in center field. How much impact he'll have with the ball at wood bat, that's a little bit of a question."
So far, the Orioles have selected 11 college players among their 13 picks. They’ve chosen five pitchers.
10th round (304th): Dalton Neuschwander, right-hander, University of West Florida.
Neuschwander was 9-4 with a 2.42 ERA in 15 games (12 starts). He walked only 14 batters in 81 2/3 innings.
The Alabama native went 27-8 with a 2.64 ERA in 48 games (43 starts) over his three seasons, and he surrendered only seven home runs. In his first year, he was 10-0 with a 1.87 ERA and 0.987 WHIP in 16 starts.
The fastball can reach 97 mph and his strikeouts per nine innings increased this season to 8.8 after registering 6.8 and 6.1.
So far, the Orioles have selected 12 pitchers among their 14 picks, including six pitchers.
11th round (334th): Holden deJong, left-hander, New Jersey Institute of Technology.
deJong only made six starts this year due to injury and posted a 3.41 ERA. Control seems to be an issue, with 17 walks this season in 29 innings and 5.8 per nine innings in his 43 collegiate games.
deJong, a 6 foot 4 New Jersey native, posted a 6.06 ERA and 1.612 WHIP in three seasons. He has a mid-90s fastball.
Here’s something else: He played for St. Augustine, one of the top-ranked teams in New Jersey during his senior year, and threw a no-hitter with six strikeouts against Millville.
12th round (364th): Daniel Lopez, RHP, Odessa College (Texas).
Lopez had a 4.89 ERA and 1.55 WHIP in 16 games (six starts) in his one season at Odessa. The freshman walked 38 batters and struck out 81 in 49 2/3 innings.
Lopez was named WJCAC Pitcher of the Week after tossing 7 2/3 perfect innings in a combined no-hitter.
He has a mid-90s fastball that can climb a little higher. Today is his 19th birthday.
13th round (394th): Brayden Smith, second baseman, Oklahoma State.
The Orioles took a break from their pitching excursion to take a left-handed hitting second baseman who also can play center field.
Smith spent only one season with the Cowboys but hit .304/.388/.548 with 16 doubles, two triples, 11 home runs and 40 RBIs in 54 games. The Nebraska native played in 111 games in two years at Iowa Western Community College and batted .402/.507/.704 with 28 doubles, 13 triples, 22 home runs and 115 RBIs. He also stole 41 bases.
He was a two-time All-Nebraska selection at Millard South High School. And according to Oklahoma State’s website, climbing Mount Everest is at the top of his bucket list.
14th round (424th): Brayan Orrantia, right-hander, New Mexico Junior College.
More pitching.
Orrantia went 12-3 with a 3.16 ERA and 83 strikeouts in 85 1/3 innings. He committed to Oklahoma as a transfer.
Orrantia, 19, has a four-pitch mix – fastball, cutter, slider and changeup. The fastball is 90-94 mph.
15th round (454th): KK Clark, right-hander, Pearl River Community College (Miss.).
Clark, 20, started out at Mississippi State, where he made two relief appearances in 2024 and allowed four runs and four hits in one inning. He appeared in five games, including four starts, with Cartersville in the Sunbelt Baseball League and allowed seven earned runs (nine total) and 15 hits in 18 innings. He walked eight batters and struck out 25.
Clark flourished at Pearl River, registering a 1.84 ERA and 0.95 WHIP in 88 innings. He struck out 116 batters and walked only 22 while going 12-2.
16th round (484th): Denton Biller, right-hander, Johnson County Community College (Kansas).
Biller went 10-0 with a 4.20 ERA and 1.24 WHIP in 15 starts. He walked 23 and struck out 69 in 64 1/3 innings.
17th round (514th): Braeden Sloan, left-hander, TCU.
Sloan, who’s 6 foot 4, is the 12th pitcher drafted by the Orioles and the 19th college player out of 21.
Sloan, 22, is from Sacramento. He posted a 4.14 ERA and 1.210 WHIP this year in 17 relief appearances, with 76 strikeouts in 58 2/3 innings. He averaged 4.3 walks, 10.7 strikeouts and 0.8 home runs per nine innings in three seasons at TCU.
The changeup is the primary out pitch.
18th round (544th): Cole Johnson, outfielder, Oconee County (Ga.) High School.
The Orioles land their third high school player.
Johnson is a left-handed hitter who committed to Georgia Tech, decommitted and committed to Georgia.
19th round (574th): Jimmy Anderson, shortstop, Heartland Community College in Illinois.
Anderson, 19, played in the Northwoods League this year and hit .340/.447/.447 with two doubles, three home runs, 15 RBIs, 18 walks and 12 strikeouts in 26 games with Madison.
Anderson posted a .439 average and had 18 doubles and 10 home runs with Heartland.
20th round (604th): Connor Gehr, right-hander, Meridian Community College in Mississippi.
That makes 21 college players drafted by the Orioles in 2025. Three high schoolers. And 13 pitchers.
Gehr is an Alabama native who’s also a middle infielder. He posted a 2.31 ERA and 1.24 WHIP in 62 1/3 innings as a freshman. He walked 25 and struck out 83.
Notes: Ryan O’Hearn is batting sixth for the American League in Tuesday night’s All-Star Game at Truist Park in Atlanta.
Catcher David Bañuelos cleared outright waivers and accepted an assignment to Triple-A Norfolk. The 40-man roster is down to 38 players.
Norfolk catcher Samuel Basallo was named International League Player of the Week, and High-A Aberdeen right-hander Cohen Achen was chosen South Atlantic League Pitcher of the Week.
