Orioles may dip back into UVA talent pool, plus more MLB Draft notes
After taking two UVA hitters last year, will the Orioles come back for more?
Written by: Nick Stevens
Believe it or not, the 2025 NCAA D1 college regular season is half over. For this week’s draft notebook, I watched two highly entertaining series: Stanford at Virginia and Auburn at Georgia.
After taking UVA teammates Griff O’Ferrall and Ethan Anderson last year, the Orioles should be interested in dipping back into the Charlottesville talent pool, which was on full display this weekend against a quality Stanford opponent.
Stanford at UVA
The Cavaliers entered the year as favorites to end the 2025 season in Omaha at the College World Series, but it’s been a rough season that’s seen UVA struggle to stay above .500. Not only did they right the ship with a sweep over Stanford after getting swept by Duke last weekend, UVA’s lineup piled up 33 runs, with a number of high-profile draft talents on full display.
Back in December, I highlighted former high school teammates turned college teammates IF Henry Godbout and IF/OF Henry Ford as two potential first-round targets for the Orioles.
Godbout is a 6’2” RHH who likely ends up at second base at the next level. With elite bat-to-ball skills, a 60+ grade hit tool, a max EV north of 110 mph with more in the tank, and a truly elite ability to hammer fastballs with very little swing and miss in his game, Godbout is one of the more fun hitters in the country to watch. He’s also sporting a 6% K rate with a 14% BB rate.
He picked up five hits over the weekend, including a three-hit day on Saturday. One of his more impressive at-bats came in the series opener on Thursday night against RHP Matt Scott, one of the better pitching talents in this year’s class, when he took a 90 mph slider and drove it into centerfield with two outs to score two runs.
OF Henry Ford belted 17 home runs as a freshman last season, but the draft-eligible sophomore has just 2 halfway through the season right now. Standing 6’5”/220 pounds, Henry is getting run in the OF now, adding to his draft profile which already features an above-average arm, average hit tool, and plus pull-side power (112+ max EV). He’s still hitting .364 and has dropped the K rate from 18% to 12%, but the power outage has stood out. Ford is still a high-ceiling bat teams will be willing to bet on this summer.
Two other Wahoo bats that really stood out: UT/LHP Chris Arroyo and OF Aidan Teel. Arroyo was a two-way JUCO star (also graduated from the same high school as Coby Mayo), with a fastball he can run up to 95 mph, and a slider/change that all profile as average to above-average offerings. At the plate, he’s a powerful LHH with a max EV north of 112 mph. Arroyo homered twice over the weekend, giving him 7 on the season. You can see the power on full display below.
I entered the weekend not overly intrigued by OF Aidan Teel, brother of White Sox prospect Kyle Teel, but after getting the chance to sit and really pay attention to him, I’m in love. Teel has dropped pitching and has gracefully taken over centerfield duties, showcasing plus speed and a strong arm. The 6’0” LHH destroyed the Northwoods League last summer (11 HR/1.126 OPS), and while it’s been a slower start with just one HR this season, all Teel did was hit this weekend. Teel picked up 5 hits with 4 RBI, 2 walks, and 0 strikeouts.
His biggest hit came in the 10th inning on Saturday, a walk-off hit to complete the sweep over Stanford.
On the pitching side, RHP Jack O’Connor showed a 92-95 mph FB, 85 mph change with drop, and a quality 80-82 mph curveball and former Orioles and UVA pitcher Tyler Wilson was a big fan during the broadcast. A lat injury limited him last year and he’s logged just 5 IP this season, but the once highly-touted arm is very intriguing. As is LHP Evan Blanco. A wisdom tooth infection has limited him this season, but his 79-81 mph changeup is a beauty. His fastball sits in the low-90s with high IVB. The command is very good and he’s a proven innings-eater.
But the story of the weekend was RHP Jay Woolfolk. The former UVA QB sticks to baseball now, tried to transition to the rotation last year in what was largely a mess, but he seems to have found his footing as the Friday night guy now.
Woolfolk went 6 IP with 5 K and 1 BB, giving him a career-high 30% strikeout rate with a career-low 8% walk rate, and a 2.54 FIP. Errors and soft contact were the only real issues in this start. Woolfolk sat 92-93 mph but was reaching back to touch 95 mph a few times as the pitch count eclipsed the 70 pitch mark. He gets sink and about 19 inches of IVB on the offering, while also throwing a mid-80s slider, changeup, and cutter.
The energy is infectious.
On the Stanford side, I was hoping for a big outing from RHP Matt Scott. The 6’7” former Team USA arm dominated Duke a few weeks ago (6 IP, 1 R, 1 BB, 8 K), but he’s struggled mightily elsewhere in ACC play. On Thursday night, Scott gave up 3 ER on 6 H with 2 BB/3 K in 3.2 IP. The command and control were not there for the most part, serving up sliders on a platter when he was able to find the zone. Scott sits 91-93 mph and can get up to 98 mph, with a slider that shows real potential and a changeup with 10+ mph separation from his fastball, but Scott has been unable to put it all together this year to shine in ACC play. I still would love for a team like the Orioles to take a flyer on him to see if they can harness his potential.
Every week seems to feature an Australian-born talent and this week is no different. IF Jimmy Nati had a blazing hot start, then cooled off, then came out with two home runs this weekend, including a 106 mph/424 foot blast of LHP Evan Blanco.
I also really like IF Trevor Haskins. The 6’1” RHH is a quality defender with good pop. His 7 home runs are already a career-high, while his 8.5% BB rate is nearly double his career-high and he’s dropped his strikeout rate from 22% to 10% this season. Both Stanford bats will be interesting draft follows.
Auburn vs Georgia
The 11th-ranked Auburn Tigers made it a fun series in Georgia, but the #2-ranked Bulldogs, armed with one of the most explosive offenses in college, were too much to stop as Georgia completed the three-game sweep.
The Orioles likely won’t use a first-round pick on one of the top catchers in the class like UNC’s Luke Stevenson, Coastal Carolina’s Caden Bodine, or Auburn’s Ike Irish, but I certainly wouldn’t be mad about any of them joining the organization.
Irish is working his way back from an injury so he’s playing more 1B/OF right now, but the bat continues to be explosive. The 6’2” LHH has plus power with a strong hit tool and showcased both this weekend. Irish had a plethora of hits over 100 mph+ over the weekend, including two home runs. The one below was 107 mph off the bat against RHP JT Quinn. With plus bat-to-ball skills and defensive versatility in his tool box, he could be an attractive option for the Orioles if he falls to a comfortable range. ]
3B Eric Snow has been referred to as a “model darling” with his microscopic in-zone whiff rate, career-low 6% strikeout rate, 110 max EV, and “professional hitter” approach. He stands just 5’8” but packs a punch at the plate, played a very good third base this weekend with quick reactions and a strong/accurate arm. SS Deric Fabian isn’t the prospect his brother is, but he strikes out way less. RHP Samuel Dutton looked really good against this dangerous Georgia lineup, giving up two home runs but both off a hanging slider and hanging curveball, his only two real mistakes of the game. Dutton sits 92-93 mph with a low-70s curve and low-80s slider. The former LSU arm is striking out nearly 30% of hitters with a sub-5% walk rate.
Reliever LHP Carson Myers had the best weekend on the bump between both teams. The 6’3 lefty pitched 4.2 shutout relief innings, allowing 2 hits with 0 walks and a career-high 10 strikeouts. He allowed just one hard-hit ball. Myers throws a low-90s sinker with a low-80s slider and a changeup with bite. He put up one of the more underrated performances in the entire country this weekend.
Last but not least, a look at the top draft prospects who stood out for the second-ranked Georgia Bulldogs. Unfortunately, OF Tre Phelps did not play this weekend due to a hamstring injury. Phelps is a real option for the Orioles with one of their first three picks. He’s a 6’2” RHH draft-eligible sophomore with plus power, above-average fielding and speed, high chase, but low strikeout and whiff rates, and was one of Team USA’s best hitters last year. Shoutout to fellow On The Verge host Zach Spedden who called his Tre Phelps shot before the season started.
2B/OF Robbie Burnett (5’10”/LHH) has already matched his 13 HR/11 SB in 50 fewer at-bats while playing in the SEC now after transferring from UNC-Asheville and IF/DH Rylan Zaborowski is giving SEC pitchers Charlie Condon flashbacks. Zaborowski stands 6’6” and is a grad transfer from Miami-Ohio, but he’s taken off at the plate at such a blistering rate, he’s put himself on the map as a draft prospect. He’s one of the top power hitters in the country with 14 HR, a sub 15% K rate, and a wRC+ over 200. He also instituted a toe tap and studied Condon’s swing.
OF Devin Obee handled centerfield well and drilled a hanging slider deep over the fence at 107 mph this weekend. The Duke transfer entered the weekend with a 24% walk rate. There’s swing and miss here, but real pop in the bat. Possible late-round option with his power and athleticism.
Last two names to highlight: RHP Brian Curley and LHP Alton Davis. Curley is a former VCU standout and 16th round pick of the Pirates last year. He was pumping 100 mph with the biggest personality in the sport to begin the year, but he’s now working in the weekend rotation for Georgia. He stands just 5’9”, but Curley’s fastball is up a few ticks, now sitting 95-96 mph, with an upper-80s slider, curve, and change. The fastball is a true big league offering, he’s holding velo deep into outings, and has a deep pitch mix. Curley should see his draft stock rise.
As for Davis, the tall, lanky lefty (6’5”/185 pounds), is a two-time Team USA invitee and had former Orioles reliever Gregg Olson mystified as to why his baseline stats are as dreadful as they are this year. Davis sits 93-95 mph with his fastball (T98 mph) with a sweeper that devours LHH. There are a lot of moving parts and real control issues, but a fun ceiling to dream on.
There are plenty more names and more notes/data on additional players from these four teams available in our Discord! Check out the #MLBDraft channel within the private Patron section of our Discord for my full spreadsheet. You can become a Patron here and take advantage of our 25% monthly or yearly discount which is available for the next month!
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