Orioles finish Day 1 of MLB draft by selecting UNC outfielder Mac Horvath, Florida State pitcher Jackson Baumeister

The Orioles’ first two picks in the 2023 MLB draft Sunday night weren’t surprising. The third was.

After taking Vanderbilt center fielder Enrique Bradfield Jr. No. 17 overall, the Orioles selected North Carolina’s Mac Horvath with the 53rd pick in the second round, continuing the organization’s prioritization of position players over pitchers in the draft since executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias took over in November 2018.

But with their third pick, the Orioles bucked that trend, choosing Florida State right-handed pitcher Jackson Baumeister. At No. 63 overall in the Competitive Balance Round B, Baumeister is Baltimore’s highest-drafted pitcher since it selected Grayson Rodriguez in the first round of the 2018 draft — before Elias took over.

In 96 1/3 innings at Florida State in 2022 and 2023, Baumeister, who turns 21 Monday, posted a 5.23 ERA and 1.464 WHIP. But the 6-foot-4, 224-pound righty struck out 31.4% of the batters he faced and cut his 15.8% walk rate in 2022 down to 9.4% in 2023.

Orioles director of draft operations Brad Ciolek said Baumeister’s fastball sits 93-94 mph but can reach 98 mph.

“We’ve been monitoring Jackson for a while now, ever since high school. We’ve always liked the arm that he has,” Ciolek said. “I think the thing that really made us intrigued with Jackson is how the fastball plays. We think that we can maximize his arsenal by having him pitch further up in the zone with his fastball. He also has a complete repertoire as far as starting pitcher is concerned. A [sweeping] slider that is conducive to getting chases for right-handed hitters, curveball’s a little bit of a softer breaker, but we think we can add some velocity to improve that, and we’re going to also look to up his repetition of his changeup.

“So just really intrigued overall as far as the arm strength and the secondary weapons are concerned.”

Baumeister was ranked by Baseball America as the 69th best prospect in the draft pool. As a 19-year-old freshman reliever in 2022, Baumeister posted a 5.60 ERA and walked 20 batters in 27 1/3 innings. He entered Florida State’s rotation as a sophomore this spring, ending the year with a 5.09 ERA and 95 strikeouts in 69 innings.

The only other time Elias and company have selected a pitcher in the first four rounds was in 2022 with Oklahoma State’s Nolan McLean in the third round, but the Orioles and the right-hander didn’t come to an agreement after the draft. In 2019, Baltimore didn’t take its first pitcher until the eighth round. In 2020 and 2021, it wasn’t until the fifth round.

While Horvath was a less surprising selection, his production in his final college season is what makes him stand out. After hitting below .270 in his first two college seasons, Horvath broke out in 2023 with a .305/.418/.711 slash line — good for a 1.129 OPS. In 60 games, the 6-foot-1, 200-pound junior hit 24 home runs and stole 25 bases.

In his three-year college career, Horvath, ranked as the 67th best draft prospect by Baseball America, hit .275 with a .387 on-base percentage and 40 doubles, 47 home runs and 44 steals in 169 games.

Horvath, 21, exclusively played third base in his first two seasons at UNC, but in 2023, he started 32 at third, 20 in right field and eight in center. He also mostly played outfield in the wood-bat Cap Cod Baseball League in the summer. Ciolek said the Orioles plan to play Horvath, who attended IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, for high school, at both center field and third base to “capitalize on his athleticism.”

“I think the first thing that really stands out about his game in general is just how good of an athlete he is,” Ciolek said. “He’s a plus runner, he has a plus arm, he split some time this year between third base and center field. … As far as the production this year offensively with North Carolina, over 20 doubles, 20 home runs, 20 stolen bases. That just kind of goes to show you the kind of athlete we’re getting here. We’re really excited to add him here to our farm system.”

Ciolek was “ecstatic” about how the Orioles fared on Day 1 of the draft. He said Bradfield had the tools to be a “catalyst at the top of the lineup” and was happy to stack two players with some success in the Atlantic Coast Conference on top of their first-round pick who exceled in the Southeastern Conference.

“Really happy with how things turned out for the first night,” Ciolek said.

The Orioles will add nine more players Monday in Rounds 3-10 and 10 more in Rounds 11-20 on Tuesday.

MLB draft

At Seattle’s Lumen Field

Rounds 3–10: Monday, 2 p.m.

Rounds 11–20: Tuesday, 2 p.m.

TV/Stream: ESPN (Round 1), MLB Network, ESPN+

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