Orioles Draft Pick Possess Elite Bat Control That Could Help Make Him a Star

The 2025 MLB draft presented the Baltimore Orioles with a golden opportunity to upgrade their farm system's talent with some high-upside players.

With seven selections on Day 1 in the first three rounds, the Orioles could be aggressive in some spots if a player they liked unexpectedly dropped to them. That was the case with No. 19 overall pick Ike Irish out of Auburn University and shortstop Wehiya Aloy out of the University of Arkansas with the No. 31 pick.

But, it is the player who was selected between those two, catcher Caden Bodine, who has drawn the attention of R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports.

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In a recent piece, he highlighted each team’s best draft pick after their first selection and who could have the potential to make an impact at the Big League level.

It was the Coastal Carolina product whom Anderson highlighted for the Orioles, with his otherworldly contact skills being the highlight.

“Bodine is a switch-hitting catcher from Coastal Carolina who connected on about 95% of his in-zone swings this season and struck out 3% of the time during conference play,” he wrote.

That kind of strike zone recognition is truly elite regardless of the level he is playing at. If there is one position where knowing the strike zone is of the utmost importance, it is catcher, and Bodine has that ability in spades.

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Not only does he recognize the zone, but when he swings, he almost always makes contact.

Putting the ball in play is easier said than done and his minuscule strike out rate shows just how good he is at it. As a switch-hitter, he will have the platoon advantage every time he steps to the plate as well.

While those are excellent abilities to have, there is one knock against Bodine currently: his lack of power.

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However, Anderson notes that is something that could be unlocked in the future thanks to his bat control.

“The one knock against Bodine is that he hasn't shown much quantified strength, but there are enough recent examples of players with this kind of bat control tweaking their barrel angle or point of contact to hold out hope that he could do the same, allowing him to maximize what power he does possess,” he added.

Smashing home runs like Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners, who is also a switch-hitter and in the midst of arguably the greatest season for a catcher in MLB history, likely isn’t in the cards for the Orioles draft pick.

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But, he doesn’t need to be amongst the league leaders in home runs to have an impact as a professional.

Bodine has a strong skill set base to work with and build upon with the potential to augment his game should the coaching staff successfully tweak his approach and swing slightly.

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