2026 MLB Draft

Orioles sign 1st-round pick, outfielder Eric Booth Jr.

Oak Grove outfielder Eric 'EJ' Booth Jr. (3) is patted on the back after falling on the ground while catching a ball during the game against Northwest Rankin in Flowood, Miss., on Tuesday, March 24, 2026.

A week after they made him the seventh overall pick in the 2026 Major League Baseball draft, the Orioles signed outfielder Eric Booth Jr. According to MLB.com, Booth’s bonus is $7,324,700.

Booth, who turned 18 on July 4^th, is a graduate of Oak Grove High School in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. He throws and bats left-handed.

In his senior year, Booth hit .481 with five home runs with a 1.591 OPS. He was the first high school player chosen by the Orioles with their first-round pick since Jackson Holliday was the overall No. 1 choice in 2022.

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Booth, who had committed to Vanderbilt, is the first draft pick signing that the Orioles have announced. On Friday, Callis reported that right-handed pitcher Dominic Voegele, their third-rounder from the University of Kansas, signed for $897,500.

The deadline for signing is July 27^th at 5 p.m.

Call for questions: I answer Orioles questions most weekdays. Please send yours to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com

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Rich Dubroff

Rich Dubroff grew up in Brooklyn as a fan of New York teams, but after he moved to Baltimore, quickly adopted the Orioles and Colts. After nearly two decades as a freelancer assisting on Orioles coverage for several outlets, principally The Capital in Annapolis and The Carroll County Times, Dubroff began covering the team fulltime in 2011. He spent five years at Comcast SportsNet’s website and for the last two seasons, wrote for PressBoxonline.com, Dubroff lives in Baltimore with his wife of more than 30 years, Susan.