Orioles 2025 MLB Mock Draft Roundup
Who do the experts have the Orioles taking in the 2025 MLB Draft?
Written by: Nick Stevens
We’re getting to the point in the season where outlets like Baseball America and Joe Doyle at Future Stars Series are expanding their draft rankings board to 400 names and 2025 mock drafts are going to become a much more regular exercise for many across the industry.
For this week’s draft piece, I’ve compiled the most recent national mock drafts to take a look at in one place and briefly give my thoughts on each. So much is going to change once conference tournaments and the NCAA Regionals begin here in the next two weeks or so, but here’s where evaluators from around the industry currently see the Orioles going this year.
Most of these mock drafts go through the first 40-50 picks so they include three picks for the Orioles: 19, 30 and 31.
19- Wake Forest SS Marek Houston
So you’re telling me there’s a chance, Jim Callis?! As Jim notes, this represents quite the fall for Houston as Houston was widely considered to be one of the top players to be selected this year for a while now. MLB Pipeline went high school SS heavy in this mock though, which allowed Houston to fall right into the laps of the Baltimore Orioles.
Many view Houston as the top defensive shortstop in college baseball and he’s currently hitting .346 with a 16% walk rate, 14.7% strikeout rate, 10 home runs, and a 130 wRC+. He’s also a perfect 18-18 in stolen base attempts.
Houston’s hit tool and defense have long made him one of the top players in this class, but the power uptick could be a real sign of even more in the tank. He added more than 10 pounds over last offseason the groundball rate has dropped, and the exit velos have creeped up.
19- Tennessee IF Gavin Kilen
In Keith Law’s mock, Summerhill, Irish, and Houston are all gone by pick 19, so Kilen, as Law notes, would very likely be the obvious choice in this example. Kilen has traded in a lot of his doubles power from his time at Louisville into home run power in the SEC, hitting 13 so far this season, with a 159 wRC+, a 14% walk rate and an 8% strikeout rate.
Kilen has lowered his chase rate this season and put up a max EV north of 111 mph. Since watching Jordan Westburg develop, it’s become easy to look at early-round infielders with average/fringe-average power and say “he’s the next Westburg”. I haven’t agreed at all with some recent selections who get tagged with that, but in Kilen’s case, I buy it. Good defender who will stick in the dirt, above-average hit tool, fringe power with some doubters when it comes to developing more at the next level, but enough underlying numbers to believe in a potential breakout.
ProspectsLive.com: Posted April 30th
19- Arizona OF Brendan Summerhill
30- Tennessee SS Dean Curley
31- Tennessee 1B/3B Andrew Fischer
I don’t know if I can accurately articulate how much I love this mock. “But there’s no pitching.” “Another outfielder?” “We already have Gunnar at SS.” I can already see the timeline in shambles if this were to become reality.
I highlighted Summerhill and Fischer in detail on a special MLB Draft podcast episode a couple of days ago (Listen to that episode here!) and discussed why both are special talents.
Before missing a month due to a hand injury, Summerhill (6’2”/LHH) was hitting .417 with 15 XBH, a 16% walk rate and 11% strikeout rate with a 90% in-zone contact rate, 94% contact rate against fastballs 92+ mph, and 87% contact rate against spin. In two games since returning from injury, Summerhill is 3-6 with two doubles and a home run (zero strikeouts). He has a plethora of above-average tools (plus potential hit tool) and he’s successfully started turning his raw power into game power. He’s arguably the top college outfielder in this year’s class.
This particular mock has more college shortstops going early, leaving some prime targets unavailable, but even if you consider Dean Curley a reach here at 30, he’s worth it. The 6’3” RHH has played SS and 3B for Tennessee and possesses one of, if not the strongest infield arm in the class.
A draft-eligible sophomore, Curley started as a freshman last year and was a vital piece for the Volunteers in their national championship season. This year, Curley is hitting .302, has maintained his 17% strikeout rate from last year while increasing his walk rate to 14%, and has popped 11 home runs (hit 12 last year in 60+ more at-bats). His swing is designed for pull-side damage and reports about his personal makeup are off the charts.
As for Fisher, I’ve highlighted why he’s a great pick enough recently. He turns baseballs into dust and has seen his strikeout rate drop from 21% to 13.7% this season.
Baseball America: Posted April 14th
19- Mount Vernon High School 3B Xavier Neyens
30- Arizona State OF Brandon Compton
31- Auburn C/OF Ike Irish
I think this mock and the one below are more directionally accurate than the Prospects Live one, but when you think you have an idea of how the Orioles are going to attack a draft, they do the opposite and surprise everyone.
While I don’t like the Compton pick at all, going high-upside high school bat with a potentially quick-moving power bat, and another college bat with defensive versatility and a very impressive hit tool would be fun. A prep bat like Neyens would add some fun upside to dream on, while the double-dip at college bats could help easily replace what this team could potentially lose at the deadline (assuming the Orioles are buyers).
As for the specific players here, most have Compton profiled as a below-average outfielder defender who moves to 1B/DH and note his struggles to catch up to velo, high swing and miss/chase, and low contact rates last season at Arizona State. He showed improvements and I don’t have hard 2025 data to see if those improvements have continued, but draft-eligible sophomore has struggled this season: 91 wRC+ with just 6 home runs (152 wRC+/14 HR last season). He has cut his strikeout rate from 25% to 19%, but when your carrying tool is your power and you aren’t getting to it this year and with the limited defensive profile, I tend to think this was more just a lazy mock draft pick where they gave the Orioles a LHH power hitter just because it’s the Orioles.
On the other hand, Irish has been hot this season and his bat has been instrumental in Auburn’s lineup. He’s played a good chunk of outfield this season after returning from an injury and looked very good in my two game viewing sample. For more on Irish, including some very fun quotes, listen to my most recent draft podcast here.
With more than 300 D-I college programs, I have no opinions about any of the high school prospects, nor the mental capacity to dive into this group until we get to draft day when I’ll binge all the reading material I can on the top options, but here’s Joe Doyle’s scouting report on Neyens.
Baseball America Staff Picks: Posted April 28th
This isn’t technically a mock draft, but it’s Baseball America staff members making picks based on who they would select, not a projection of what an organization will do.
19- Tennessee SS Dean Curley
30- Oregon OF Mason Neville
31- Corinth Holders HS LHP Briggs McKenzie
As you can see, there are some big believers in Curley (I’ve seen him as high as the 8th ranked college prospect in the class). Getting Curley at 19 with Neville and McKenzie would be very interesting (Happy now?! A pitcher!!)
Mason Neville’s stock has been rising after a very strong season for Oregon and is now in contention for the Golden Spikes Award given to the nation’s top player as others on the watch list have cooled off. The 6’3” LHH outfielder leads the country with 21 home runs, has slashed his strikeout rate from 33.5% to 20%, has seen his walk rate jump from 14% to 21%, and he’s rocking a 171 wRC+. He’s 207 plate appearances into the season and is a 71% above league average bat. Good lord.
According to Baseball America, Neville’s contact rate has improved this season, going from 67% to 76%, he’s made a huge jump in making contact against breaking balls, his chase rate has dropped to 18%, his in-zone contact rate is up to 86% and he’s hammering fastballs in the zone at a 93% clip. Some previously projected Neville to be a Round 3-5 pick, but he’s clearly playing his way into an earlier round with after making very real adjustments at the plate.
McKenzie’s scouting report from Joe Doyle is below. With a big signing bonus pool, if the Orioles were to go college bats like Curley and Neville at 19 and 30, the ammo to convince a prospect like McKenzie to bail on his LSU commitment could be there.
Bleacher Report: Posted April 25th
I hate myself for including this, but people click on Bleacher Report. Here’s another reason to show that Joel does not know ball.
19- Lincoln-Way East HS LHP Jack Bauer
30- Coastal Carolina C Caden Bodine
31- Glenwood HS LHP Cameron Appenzeller
Two high school pitchers and a catcher? I love Caden Bodine. The hit tool is very real, he’s an outlier in terms of contact ability, and there could be potential for him to move around a bit defensively, but I don’t see any scenario where if the Orioles decide to shock the world and go two high school pitchers early on then their lone bat within their top three picks being a catcher.
This Jack Bauer may not be part of the Counter Terrorist Unit, but he does have access to weapons of mass destruction and probably should be a target of the other Jack Bauer. The UVA commit has touched 102 mph from the left side with a 3,000 rpm breaker. The pure stuff is off the charts, but the control issues are also very big.
Appenzeller could be a realistic option. He’s currently sitting in the low-90s, but he’s listed at 6’5” and 185 pounds, so there should be plenty more in the tank as he fills out and gets on a professional strength program. I appreciate the big shots at massive upside, but this mock ain’t it.