Baltimore Orioles’ Draft History Proves Front Office Needs New Priorities

The offseason was filled with talk about the Baltimore Orioles pitching staff. After letting Corbin Burnes walk, the team with one of the most exciting offenses also had virtually nothing to show for it in their rotation. Yes, they missed out on what was a deep free agency class, which is proving to be a big mistake, but that isn't the heart of the problem. The drafting and development of pitchers is.

On The Roundtable, a podcast from The Athletic, Sam Miller showed a huge problem that Baltimore has in their draft strategy.

"Mike Elias, front office, took over late 2018, so their first draft was 2019. So they've had 26 picks during that time that were in the first, second or third round... The Orioles in that time, 26 draft picks, have taken three pitchers," Miller explained.

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Baltimore has proven that they can quickly and very successfully develop a bat, whether it's a high school or college player. That has come at the expense of pitching, and now it's become a serious problem.

The three pitchers the Orioles have drafted in the first three rounds in that time frame have been Nolan McLean in 2022, along with Kiefer Lord and Jackson Baumeister in 2023, none of whom are in their top 30 prospects, according to MLB Pipeline.

McLean didn't sign, Baumeister is on the 7-day IL and has a 6.86 ERA in Double-A, while Lord has not thrown a pitch since 2023. For an organization that has drafted many high round bats, this small track record of pitching gives them no reason that they should ignore it.

Sure, the Orioles have pitching in their top thirty, some have even made it to the big leagues. The problem, though, is that none have really produced.

Grayson Rodriguez looked like a future ace while he was coming up, but has not lived up to it thus far in his career. In 43 starts, the right hander has a 4.11 ERA and is currently on the 60-day injured list.

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Chayce McDermott, their third overall prospect, has an ERA of 9.31 in six starts in the minor leagues this year. Four of their top ten prospects are pitchers, but they are all at Single or Double-A.

The major league staff has a 5.27 ERA, the fourth worst in the league, and there is no immediate help from the system on the way.

Mike Elias has built one of the best lineups in baseball from the draft, but it's time to put his focus elsewhere. Frankly, three pitchers in the first three rounds since he was hired is malpractice. The lineup won't matter if the pitching can't help support it.

The Orioles desperately need to spend more premium picks on pitching. Whether it is a college pitcher who can move quickly that has a high floor, or a high upside high schooler, their focus should be pointed in that direction.

They don't need to limit it at just that, either. Think of what the Cubs did before winning the world series. They developed the lineup and the pitching, but they also went out and got a premium arm in Jon Lester.

Not only will a free agent or two help them immediately, it doesn't take them out of contention while they wait for pitchers in the minor leagues to develop and move through the system.

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