The Orioles’ first two picks within the 2023 MLB draft Sunday evening weren’t stunning. The third was.
After taking Vanderbilt heart fielder Enrique Bradfield Jr. No. 17 general, the Orioles chosen North Carolina’s Mac Horvath with the 53rd decide within the second spherical, persevering with the group’s prioritization of place gamers over pitchers within the draft since government vp and basic supervisor Mike Elias took over in November 2018.
But with their third decide, the Orioles bucked that pattern, selecting Florida State right-handed pitcher Jackson Baumeister. At No. 63 general within the Competitive Balance Round B, Baumeister is the very best Baltimore has taken a pitcher since deciding on Grayson Rodriguez within the first spherical of the 2018 draft, earlier than Elias took over.
In 96 1/3 innings at Florida State in 2022 and 2023, Baumeister, who turns 21 Monday, posted a 5.23 ERA and 1.464 WHIP. But the 6-foot-4, 224-pound righty struck out 31.4% of the batters he confronted and lower his 15.8% stroll fee in 2022 all the way down to 9.4% in 2023.
The solely different time Elias and firm have drafted a pitcher within the first 4 rounds was in 2022 with Oklahoma State’s Nolan McLean within the third spherical, however the Orioles and the right-hander didn’t come to an settlement after the draft.
Horvath, 21, largely performed third base at UNC and labored out within the infield on the MLB draft mix in June, however he was drafted as an outfielder, a place he performed within the wood-bat Cape Cod Baseball League in the summertime.
After hitting under .270 in his first two faculty seasons, Horvath broke out in 2023 with a .305/.418/.711 slash line — good for a 1.129 OPS. In 60 video games, the 6-foot-1, 200-pound junior hit 24 house runs and stole 25 bases.
The Orioles will add 9 extra gamers Monday in Rounds 3-10 and 10 extra in Rounds 11-20 on Tuesday.
This story can be up to date.
MLB draft
At Seattle’s Lumen Field
Rounds 3–10: Monday 10, 2 p.m.
Rounds 11–20: Tuesday 11, 2 p.m.
TV/Stream: ESPN (Round 1), MLB Network, ESPN+
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Source: www.bostonherald.com