Slater de Brun to Bypass College Route, Sign With Baltimore Orioles

Vanderbilt outfield commit Slater de Brun will sign with the Baltimore Orioles rather than fulfilling his commitment to Vanderbilt, the Orioles announced Thursday.

De Brun was selected by the Baltimore Orioles with the No. 37 overall pick in this year’s draft and has chosen to pursue the professional route rather than coming to school despite some noise that he'd end up at Vanderbilt. Players in de Brun’s position rarely make it to campus, but he was selected 13 spots below where he was ranked by MLB Pipeline and was selected by the Baltimore Orioles–who selected four players between the first round, compensatory round and competitive balance round. 

The Bend, Oregon, native was expected to make an immediate impact for Vanderbilt. 

MLB Pipeline gave de Brun a 55 hit tool, a 60 grade on his fielding tool, a 45 on his power, a 65 on his running ability and a 50 on his arm. 

“He has very impressive bat-to-ball skills with an advanced eye at the plate, understanding that his job is to put the ball in play and get on base,” MLB Pipeline’s evaluation says, “Then using his well-above-average speed on the basepaths. Power may never be a huge part of his game, but while some evaluators worried about impact, de Brun showed up this spring with added strength and more ability to drive the ball from the left side of the plate.”

De Brun will now bring his skillset to the Orioles rather than to Vanderbilt as an unlikely addition to its 2026 class.