2023 MLB Draft: Orioles draft tracker and day 1 open thread
In sharp contrast to some recent Orioles seasons, the day of the MLB draft is not the most exciting day of the summer for fans of the team. The draft isn’t even the second-most exciting thing to happen to the Orioles here on the day it’s taking place, with the team slugging the stuffing out of the Twins in its final game before the All-Star break, and a report from MASN’s Steve Melewski that 2020 O’s draft pick Coby Mayo is being promoted to Triple-A and later adding that 2022 #1 overall Jackson Holliday is going up to Double-A.
It’s not as imperative as it was when the Orioles picked in the top 5 over the past few years to nail the pick. It’s still going to be important. Now that the Orioles are good and their top pick is increasingly likely to keep coming from the bottom half or even bottom third of each round, it’ll be tougher to find future stars to keep the talent pipeline where it’s been lately. Getting a good one will help.
When and how to watch
Time: 7pm Eastern
TV: MLB Network, ESPN (separate broadcasts)
Streaming: MLB.com, ESPN+
The Orioles picks so far
This section will be updated as the draft progresses. For Sunday night, only Day 1 picks are listed.
First round (#17 overall)
Second round (#53 overall)
Competitive Balance round B (#63 overall)
Some mock draft names to know
We’ll see if the Orioles end up selecting any of these players.
MLB Pipeline (Callis): Arjun Nimmala - SS - Strawberry Crest HS (Fla.)
MLB Pipeline (Mayo): Tommy Troy - SS - Stanford
ESPN: George Lombard Jr. - SS - Gulliver Prep HS (Fla.)
FanGraphs: Colin Houck - SS - Parkview HS (Ga.)
Baseball America: Nimmala
The Athletic: Ty Floyd - RHP - LSU
A couple of other players whose names have come up in these publications through mock draft season are University of Florida right-handed pitcher Hurston Waldrep, and tall two-way high school player from Northern Virginia, Bryce Eldridge. How many of these players even end up making it to the Orioles pick is something of a question. I’ve seen mocks where Waldrep, Nimmala, Houck, and Troy are all gone. The Orioles have not drafted and signed a pitcher earlier than the fifth round in Mike Elias’s tenure as GM.
Mainstream draft big boards
Orioles bonus pool information
The Orioles have a total draft bonus pool of $10,534,800 for this draft class. That is the 14th-highest pool among MLB teams this year. They can exceed this number by up to 5% in signing players with only a tax on the overage. Signing bonuses up to $125,000 for players drafted in rounds 11-20 do not count, with only the total over that number going against the pool.
In two recent drafts, the Orioles have employed an underslot strategy, in which they drafted a player who received less than the pick allotment for their top pick, with the excess pool money being spent in later rounds.
In 2020, that was Heston Kjerstad, which allowed the O’s to go over slot on Coby Mayo and Carter Baumler. In 2021, the underslot pick of Colton Cowser allowed them to go over slot later on John Rhodes and Creed Willems. At the moment, having picked Kjerstad and Cowser looks pretty good without even getting into who else the pool money was spent on. Slot values for the Day 1 picks:
#17: $4,169,700
#53: $1,582,900
#63: $1,243,300
The Orioles have a Day 2 compensation pick coming at #100 (end of the third round) for failing to sign last year’s third round pick, Nolan McLean.
Source: Camden Chat
