When the O’s turned a corner toward winning baseball in 2022, there were questions as to whether Mike Elias and Co. could continue to dominate the draft process without the benefit of yearly Top 5 picks. Elias fired off a resounding “yes” to those questions in the most recent MLB Draft, putting together a class that should compete with the 2019 class for the title of best Elias draft.
Headlining that impressive haul were the first three selections: C/OF Ike Irish, C Caden Bodine and SS Wehiwa Aloy.
While the three new additions to the Orioles’ deep minor league system only got small tastes of professional baseball in 2025, each showed promise of exciting things to come as they make their way toward Baltimore.
Irish was a surprising addition to the Orioles’ latest draft class when he was drafted with the 19th overall pick last July. MLB.com rated the former Auburn Tiger as the 11th-best prospect in the draft and several prognosticators had him vying to be a Top 10 pick. Instead, the O’s walked away with a draft-day steal and Irish joined the likes of Enrique Bradfield Jr., Jordan Westburg and Heston Kjerstad on the list of Orioles’ top draft picks from the SEC.
The 21-year-old Michigan native was seen by many as the top college bat in the draft, as his plus hit tool and above-average power saw him slash .364/.469/.710 in his final season at Auburn while blasting 19 HRs in 55 games.
The only question mark with Irish was where he’d find a defensive home as a professional. He spent the majority of his first two seasons with the Tigers as a catcher, but after a scapula injury early in his junior season, he played almost exclusively in right field for the rest of his college career. Many draft experts assumed that Irish would find a permanent home in the outfield once he got drafted to better maximize his offensive upside.
The biggest positive of Irish’s 20-game debut with Delmarva this year was that he got an opportunity to show his defensive versatility. Across those 20 games, he started 5+ games at C, 1B and RF as the Shorebirds moved him all around the field. Behind the dish, he caught 42 error-free innings while throwing out three of nine base stealers. If Irish can continue to grow and develop his game at multiple positions, it may help fast-track his road to Baltimore. The O’s will have to get creative if they want Irish to one day share a roster with Adley Rutschman and Samuel Basallo, and the 21-year-old’s ability to play both 1B and the OF could be the key to making that dream a reality.
Offensively, Irish left a little to be desired as he adjusted to Low-A pitching. Across 74 ABs, he hit .230 with a less-than-ideal .594 OPS. It was a case of starting hot for Irish and fading, as he slashed .306/.375/.417 across his first 10 games at Delmarva, but hit only .158 over his next 10 contests. He did show off some pop with his lone homer, a two-run shot in his sixth-ever minor league game.
After taking Irish with the 19th pick, the O’s doubled up on catcher when they selected Coastal Carolina’s Caden Bodine with the 33rd pick. Bodine was hardly as big a surprise as Irish, as MLB.com ranked him the 32nd-best player in the 2025 class. Along with Irish and Tennessee infielder Gavin Kilen, Bodine was competing for the title of best hit tool among college bats in the most recent draft.
Bodine presents a somewhat odd profile as a prospect in that his contact skills are top-notch, but he doesn’t back them up with much power. His athleticism limits him as a base runner and in his movement as a catcher, but he already offers defensive upside thanks to his excellent framing. If he maximizes all his best attributes, he has the profile to become a switch-hitting Alejandro Kirk.
Of the Orioles’ three first-round picks that played for Delmarva, Bodine acclimated himself the quickest. The switch-hitting backstop .326 in 11 games with the Shorebirds, before ending his season on the IL thanks to a bruised hand. The former Chanticleer did leave a lot to be desired in the power department, however, only notching one extra-base hit in 43 ABs.
While the two catchers certainly had their bright spots for the Shorebirds, it was the final of the Orioles’ first three selections that produced the most with Delmarva. If Irish was a steal, SS Wehiwa Aloy was draft grand larceny by the Orioles front office. The 2025 Golden Spikes winner was ranked as the 17th best prospect in the 2025 draft by MLB.com, but slipped all the way down to the Orioles at the 34th pick.
Aloy was a do-everything infielder for the Razorbacks and the catalyst for an offense that led Arkansas to its 11th College World Series appearance. The Hawaii native slashed .350/.434/.673 while leading the SEC in hits and runs scored, tying for fourth with 21 home runs and finishing fifth with 68 RBIs.
The reigning SEC player of the year built upon his amazing final year in college by hitting the ground running in pro ball. Aloy hit safely in 14 of his 20 games for the Shorebirds, while putting up seven multi-hit games. He showed more power than either Irish or Bodine, launching nine doubles, a triple and two home runs.
Even though his speed was the least impressive part of his game in college, the 21-year-old showed an increased aggressiveness on the base paths with Delmarva. After swiping only nine bases in 65 games for the Razorbacks, Aloy picked up six steals over 20 contests for the Shorebirds. Despite showing a little too much swing and miss (25 Ks in 80 ABs), the Orioles’ new top infield prospect impressed overall with a .288 average and .856 OPS.
MLB.com’s end-of-year prospect rankings had all three draft picks in the Orioles’ Top 10, with both Irish and Aloy cracking the Top 5. Given that each had 160+ games of college experience, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them advance quickly through the system in 2026. All are currently projected to make their MLB debuts in 2028, but it wouldn’t be surprising if a successful 2026 season sees them knocking on the door of an MLB call-up two years from now.
