Orioles select Auburn catcher Ike Irish with 1st draft pick; Bodine, another catcher, taken next

The Orioles selected Auburn University catcher Ike Irish with the 19th overall selection in the Major League Baseball draft’s first round on Sunday night. Irish, a 21-year-old left-handed hitter and native of Michigan, hit .364 with a 1.179 OPS along with 19 home runs and 58 RBIs. He stole 11 bases in 12 attempts.

In three seasons with the Tigers, Irish hit .350 in 160 games with 39 homers and 167 RBIs and a 1.060 OPS.

He played 12 games at catcher and 45 in the outfield, 41 in right field.

It’s the second time since 2019 that the Orioles selected a catcher with their first pick. Adley Rutschman was the overall first choice in executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias’ first draft in 2019.

The Orioles took another catcher, Caden Bodine, from Coastal Carolina, with the 30th selection, the compensation for losing pitcher Corbin Burnes to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Bodine, a native of Mount Holly, New Jersey, is a 21-year-old switch-hitter. He hit .318 with a .915 OPS, five home runs and 42 RBIs this season. In three years at Coastal Carolina, he hit .337 with 25 homers and 160 RBIs and a .915 OPS.

Wehiwa Aloy, a 21-year-old shortstop from the University of Arkansas, was taken with the 31st selection as compensation for losing outfielder Anthony Santander to the Toronto Blue Jays. The right-handed hitting Hawaiian hit .350 with a 1.107 OPS, 21 home runs and 68 RBIs this season.

Outfielder Slater de Brun, an Oregon high school player, was selected with the 37th pick in competitive balance round A. The Orioles received the 37th pick from Tampa Bay on Thursday in exchange for reliever Bryan Baker.

The Orioles selected college pitchers with the next two picks. In the second round, they took 6-foot-8 left-hander Joseph Dzierwa from Michigan State. The 21-year-old was 8-3 with a 2.36 ERA in 15 starts with 104 strikeouts and 22 walks in 91 2/3 innings for the Spartans.

JT Quinn, a 6-foot-6 right-hander from Georgia, was the 69th pick in competitive balance round B. Quinn was 1-1 with a 2.75 ERA and a save in 17 games, seven starts. He struck out 49 and walked 17 in 36 innings.

Vanderbilt outfielder RJ Austin was the Orioles’ third-round selection, the 93rd overall. Austin hit .257 with a .736 OPS, two home runs and 42 RBIs. He stole 22 bases in 27 attempts.

Rounds 4-20 are on Monday.

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