Can Orioles get another Henderson or Westburg in the draft?

BALTIMORE—Matt Blood, the Orioles’ vice president for player development and domestic scouting, is in his first year in charge of the Orioles’ draft, and he’s hoping his picks are as good as the ones the team has made in the recent past.

The draft will begin on Sunday night and conclude on Tuesday.

Oriole draft picks under executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias have done well. First-round picks Adley Rutschman (2019), Heston Kjerstad (2020) and Colton Cowser (2021) are with the team, as are Gunnar Henderson, a second-round pick in 2019, and Jordan Westburg, selected 30^th overall in the competitive-balance round in 2020.

“I think we’re going to have some good players to choose from,” Blood said. “I think you’ve got a combination of some interesting college hitters, potentially college pitchers and then some higher upside high school guys that we like.”

The Orioles will pick 22^nd and 32^nd. The 32^nd selection is a prospect promotion incentive pick they received for Henderson winning the Rookie of the Year award. Their 34^th pick in the competitive-balance round was traded to Milwaukee in the Corbin Burnes deal.

“We’ll see what happens. At 22, there’s a lot of different scenarios that could happen, and we’ll be ready for all of them,” Blood said.

In Elias’ first five drafts, the Orioles have never picked a pitcher in the first round.

“Our job is to make the best bet we can,” Blood said. “We’re going to look for the best value, and I think so far, there has never been a pitcher. We’ll see what happens, and we’ll see what pitchers are there when we pick and what position players are there … We’re going to ultimately do what we think is going to provide us the most major league value.”

Blood served as head of player development from 2019-2023 and moved into his new role when Brad Ciolek left the Orioles for the Washington Nationals.

“It’s been a lot of fun to be back involved with the draft in this capacity,” he said. “I’m continuing to learn a lot, and I’m fortunate to have [Elias and vice president and assistant general manager Sig Mejdal] with all the experience they have alongside of me.”

The 22^nd pick is the lowest pick the Orioles have had under Elias, but Blood points to Henderson and Westburg as players who weren’t top-of-the-draft choices.  He’s seen about 45 potential draft choices in person.

“We’re always going to have our system, and we’re going to rank players,” he said. “We won’t know exactly who’s going to be there, but we’re still going to prepared.”

The Orioles have picked college players with their highest choices except for Henderson and overall No. 1 pick Jackson Holliday in 2022.

“You have more information when it comes to college players,” Blood said. “They’re a little bit older. They have a little bit more of a track record. You’re able to maybe feel more confident about drafting them. We’re not necessarily looking for college players. We’re looking for the best bet we can.

“Oftentimes, that turns out to be college players. If you can find an exciting high school player, like a Gunnar Henderson, we’ll absolutely draft that player.”