In the wake of his lowest high draft choose as Orioles basic supervisor, Mike Elias quipped that the group’s continuous promotions of its high prospects would quickly start to hamper its standing because the majors’ top-ranked farm system.
But Tuesday, as he and the Orioles formally launched the participant chosen with that No. 17 choice — Vanderbilt outfielder Enrique Bradfield Jr. — Elias stated he believes Baltimore may meld that recognition with its rise on the main league degree.
“I’ve used the word ‘healthy’ a lot, but to me, that’s how I would describe the state of the Orioles organization right now,” Elias stated. “We’ve acquired a younger, gifted main league workforce that’s not going anyplace, after which we’ve acquired a traditionally good group within the minor leagues that’s coming and now, we’ve acquired guys like [Bradfield].
“We want to keep picking down here. That’s the goal. Hopefully, we’re in the 20s and stay there for a while. Hopefully, we can demonstrate we can keep feeding our organization with low first-round picks. For me, I think this is an important step for us, his pick, and I’m very confident it’s going to go well.”
Regarded as an elite runner and defender in heart discipline, Bradfield turned the Orioles’ lowest first-round draftee underneath Elias, with the 4 precedents all being chosen within the first 5 picks. Two, 2019′s No. 1 Adley Rutschman and 2021′s No. 5 Colton Cowser, at the moment are within the majors, a part of a workforce that holds baseball’s third-best document. The others, 2020′s No. 2 Heston Kjerstad and 2022′s No. 1 Jackson Holliday, are each within the higher minors as a part of that well-regarded farm system, with Holliday considered as baseball’s high general prospect even earlier than his ascension to Double-A at 19 years previous.
Given the place he was picked, Bradfield didn’t even make the highest 100 of most publications’ lists within the wake of the draft, however he landed with a corporation that has a confirmed functionality of getting him there. About a dozen Orioles prospects have appeared in a given high 100 record over the previous six months, with half of them reaching the majors sooner or later this yr.
“When I look around and see the younger guys on the team in the major leagues, everybody’s maximizing their potential,” Bradfield stated. “I feel like with the coaching staff and the coaches in this organization, I’m going to be able to find that next step and maximize my potential. I’m really excited to see what that journey looks like for me.”
Seated between Elias and signing scout Trent Friedrich in Camden Yards’ auxiliary clubhouse, Bradfield acknowledged that he has steps to soak up his offensive recreation, searching for “more consistency” particularly. He felt he had already grown in a number of areas in his time at Vanderbilt, describing himself as a “timid” base runner as a Florida highschool participant earlier than creating into one of many high base-stealing threats within the premier Southeastern Conference. Over three seasons, he stole 130 bases whereas being caught solely 13 occasions and posted a profession slash line of .311/.426/.447. He hit solely 15 house runs, although Elias expressed after the draft that the Orioles felt he had sufficient energy to suit his top-of-the-order profile.
After signing for his slot worth of slightly below $4.17 million, Bradfield is a part of a corporation that has proven a flair for creating hitters.
“Being a part of this organization, having the right coaches, the mentors to be able to guide me in the right direction is going to be really fun,” Bradfield stated. “I think I’m going be able to do it rather quite quick.”
The Orioles are in no rush to get him to the majors, with a strong younger workforce that includes a longtime outfield during which each participant is underneath workforce management for not less than yet another season. But Elias stated it’s important for Baltimore to proceed to restock its minor league rosters by way of the draft, even because it hopes to proceed its success on the main league degree.
This yr’s workforce has proven the effectiveness of its drafting efforts to this point, with extra expertise en route. The draft turns into significantly necessary when contemplating the Orioles’ degree of funding in exterior gamers — each by way of expenditures totally free brokers and prospects given up in trades — has been comparatively low, although the latter of these avenues may change dramatically earlier than the Aug. 1 commerce deadline.
Should Baltimore half with any minor leaguers within the coming weeks, there’s a excessive likelihood it will likely be somebody drafted underneath Elias. In Bradfield and the 21 gamers chosen after him within the workforce’s 2023 draft class, the Orioles have a bunch out there to replenish a minor league system that has already misplaced a handful of prospects to promotions and figures to have extra losses coming, both in the identical vogue or by way of the strikes the entrance workplace makes to enhance this yr’s main league group.
“This is kind of the lifeblood of our organization, what we do, and it’s shown up on the field here for the Orioles, the importance of the draft and the strength of our drafts,” Elias stated. “And this yr is not any completely different.
“It’s important for us to keep feeding that pipeline because I know how good our competitors are at doing the same thing, and to me, this is the path for this franchise to continue to be successful, really doing a great job with scouting and player development, so we’re always going to keep that close to heart.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com