TAMPA - The Orioles signed another first-day draft pick today, Arkansas shortstop Wehiwa Aloy, the 31st-overall selection.
Aloy receives the full slot value of $3,042,800, as reported by MLB.com’s Jim Callis.
The club already inked catchers Ike Irish and Caden Bodine, the 19th and 30th selections. The deadline for signings is July 28 at 5 p.m.
Aloy, 21, fell to the Orioles and they pounced. A native of Hawaii, he won the Golden Spikes and Southeastern Conference Player of the Year awards this year by slashing .350/.434/.673 with 19 doubles, two triples, 21 home runs, 68 RBIs and 81 runs scored.
In three seasons, Aloy hit .332/.406/.609 with 43 doubles, seven triples, 49 homers and 170 RBIs in 181 games.
Irish signed his contract yesterday and arrived earlier today at the Sarasota complex to begin his professional career.
“It’s a super stressful time in the draft,” he said during a video call with the media. “It’s just a ton of emotions that are running through you because you don’t really know what’s going to happen. I know this is a great organization. I know that they develop especially left-handed hitters with the best of them. And I’ve got a couple of former Auburn teammates - Trace Bright, Chase Allsup and Christian Herberholz - that just cannot say enough good things about it. So I’m really looking forward to it.”
Many of the mocks had Irish going earlier in the draft. He had "a ton of family over" to share the moment.
“Talk about some time that takes forever is the time from about 5:30 to 6 o’clock when the draft starts," he said. "Yeah, the minutes went by pretty slow, but overall it was a ton of fun. We couldn’t be happier.”
Where Irish plays will become more apparent later. He’s a catcher and outfielder with first base experience, and the Orioles could try to develop him at multiple positions.
They do like to showcase a player's versatility.
“We haven’t had specific conversations,” he said. “I just flew into Sarasota last night and doing some just medical stuff, just trying to get back on a field. So no, we haven’t had those conversations yet. And to be honest, wherever they think is best. If they think that catching is the best route, I’m all in. If they think the outfield is the best route, I’m all in. And if they think that a combination of it, then I’m all in.”
The work behind the plate was put on hold this spring after Irish was hit by a pitch in March and fractured his scapula.
“It’s a funny injury,” he said. “Nobody hears about fracturing a scapula. No, I don’t feel it now. It’s totally healed. Did it impact me. I mean, yeah, I couldn’t catch after it, so that’s why I started playing in the outfield, but outside of that, no, it does not affect me.”
The consensus with Irish is that he’ll hit no matter where he is, with a bat that ranks as his top tool. MLB Pipeline had him No. 11 among draft prospects with 60-grade hitting.
“I think that the biggest thing is my ability to hit,” he said. “I think that I can hit to all fields and I think that it’s just that I through three years at Auburn it’s been a pretty consistent performance that I put together. So 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.”
And the areas to improve?
“I think my defense is definitely the biggest thing that I need to put a ton of time into,” he said. “Catching’s all about receiving. So if I’m gonna catch, I’ve got to put a ton of time into receiving. If I’m in the outfield, I’ve got to put a ton of time into just learning how to play the outfield. The outfield is something I picked up my sophomore year in college and so I think both positions I just have to really work on my defense.”
Contact skills seem to come naturally to Irish, who drew 33 walks and struck out 37 times this season in 258 plate appearances.
“I think for me it’s just kind of a mentality of not wanting to strike out,” he said, “trying to do damage early in a count and then kind of back it down and go to a more gap-to-gap approach later in counts.”