NASHVILLE – The Orioles weren’t eligible for today’s draft lottery but moved up two spots for next year’s first selection.

They went from holding the 24^th to the 22^nd because of luxury tax penalties imposed on the Yankees and Padres.

“That’s a pretty high pick coming off a 101-win season,” said executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias.

It’s the lowest for the Orioles since pitcher Cody Sedlock was taken 27^th overall out of the University of Illinois in 2016.

They also have the 32^nd selection, a prospect promotion incentive pick for Gunnar Henderson winning the American League’s Rookie of the Year Award, and the 34^th in the Competitive Balance A round.

The 2023 MLB Draft is over and the Nationals have their new class of young prospects.

The Nats made 20 picks in this week’s draft, highlighted by No. 2 overall selection Dylan Crews, the highly touted outfielder from Louisiana State University and Golden Spikes Award winner.

Of their 20 selections, the Nats drafted three outfielders, four infielders, two catchers, nine right-handers and two left-handers. They drafted 18 players from the college ranks and two high school players.

Nine of the players the Nationals drafted in the first 10 rounds came from college programs, with righty Travis Sykora, taken in the third round, the lone exception.

“There were a lot of college bats, a lot of really good college hitters. Not a lot of pitching,” vice president of scouting Kris Kline said. “You had three or four college pitchers, so there wasn't a ton of depth. Those guys were gonna fly off the board fast. There were a lot of high school kids as well. But yeah, it was an unusual year as far as the depth of the college hitters, position players went.”

The 2023 MLB Draft concludes on its third day this afternoon leading up to tonight’s All-Star Game.

Before we see if Josiah Gray gets to pitch in the Midsummer Classic, the Nationals have their final 10 picks to make, one to start each of the remaining rounds.

Through the first 10 rounds, the Nats have selected two outfielders, four infielders, one catcher, two right-handers and one left-hander. Righty Travis Sykora, the third-rounder, was the only pick out of high school, with the other nine coming out of college.

Vice president of scouting Kris Kline and assistant director of amateur scouting Mark Baca said at the conclusion of the 10th round last night that the Nationals are confident they will sign all 10 of their first picks, including Sykora, who has a commitment to Texas. And they’ve already started.

The Nationals announced this morning the signing of five of their picks from yesterday:

MINNEAPOLIS - A four-game win streak by the Orioles as the first half is about to end today was a nice response to a 1-6 stretch. Where some feared they could get swept by the Yankees after losing Monday and Tuesday in the Bronx, they are 4-0 since and have outscored their opposition 29-7.

They've won a couple of close games, one in extra innings, gotten four games of clutch hits, had one resounding blowout and one comfortable win and otherwise showed a nice finishing kick. 

They are who you thought they were if you thought that was a solid playoff contender and one with one of MLB's best records. 

Some of Birdland's angst and panic by a few recently was unfounded.

And last night, Atlanta beat Tampa Bay 6-1, handing the Rays a seventh straight loss. The Orioles moved to within two games of first place and the O's and Rays both now have 35 losses. 

The first four drafts under Mike Elias and his staff with the Orioles saw the club select No. 1, No. 2, No. 5 and No. 1 overall in the MLB draft. That was from 2019 through 2022. They got Adley Rutschman, Heston Kjerstad, Colton Cowser and Jackson Holliday.

So yeah, pretty good.

You hope to hit it big at the top of the draft. It’s no guarantee, but the Orioles may have done just that. Clearly that foursome has been a big part of the Orioles' farm moving up the ranks the last few years and now having the No. 1 farm in MLB.

And now, as another MLB draft approaches starting Sunday night, the Orioles are no longer in rebuild mode and they are looking at a farm system with several of their top prospects playing at higher levels and five top 100s at Triple-A right now.

That leads some to wonder if the Orioles will look to take more high school players early in this coming draft to fortify the lower levels? Does having a farm stacked at higher levels impact draft strategy this year?

After picking in the top five of the MLB Draft the last four years – and picking No. 2 or higher in three of those four years and selecting No. 1 twice  – the Orioles will find this coming draft very different.

They have the No. 17 pick in round one of the draft, which begins a week from tonight. It will take place over three days and 20 rounds beginning next Sunday evening. 

Along with picking No. 17, the Orioles will also select at No. 53, No. 63, No. 86 and No. 100, so five of the top 100 selections.

“It’s a very deep draft,” Orioles director of draft operations Brad Ciolek said Saturday at Camden Yards. “I would say, in terms of the composition, a lot of folks saw what the power arms did in Omaha (at the College World Series). Whether it’s Hurston Waldrep (of Florida), Paul Skenes (of LSU), Rhett Lowder (Wake Forest). There is a lot to like on that front. The college hitting board is also good as well. I know that’s been our flavor the last few years here. And then the high school infield demographic is very good. Lot of very polished high school hitters in terms of plate discipline.”

The draft prep for the Baltimore scouting staff has been intense as always in the buildup to draft day.

The Nationals made a flurry of roster moves last week to begin the offseason, thanks to two deadlines. Earlier in the week, they had to remove players from the 40-man roster and add eligible prospects they wanted to protect from the Rule 5 draft. Then a week ago today, they needed to tender or non-tender contracts to their 10 arbitration-eligible players.

In all, they removed seven players from the 40-man roster (Tres Barrera, Francisco Pérez, Seth Romero, Yadiel Hernandez, Jackson Tetreault, Evan Lee and Tommy Romero) and added six Rule 5-eligible prospects (Jake Alu, Jeremy De La Rosa, Jackson Rutledge, Jake Irvin, Matt Cronin and Jose Ferrer). They then agreed to terms with Ildemaro Vargas on his 2023 salary, tendered seven contracts to arbitration-eligible players (Lane Thomas, Victor Robles, Kyle Finnegan, Carl Edwards Jr., Hunter Harvey, Tanner Rainey and Victor Arano) and non-tendered Erick Fedde and Luke Voit.

A lot of movement to keep track of in one week of the offseason.

Two of those moves, however, are the latest examples of an underlying issue the Nats have had in roster construction over the last decade. Fedde and Seth Romero are the newest names added to a growing list of failed first-round draft picks made under Mike Rizzo’s tenure as general manager.

Fedde was non-tendered in his second year of arbitration eligibility after parts of six seasons with the Nationals. He was the 18th overall pick in the 2014 MLB Draft out of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (just days after having Tommy John surgery) with expectations of being a part of the big league rotation for years to come.

ARLINGTON, Texas – The trade deadline passed yesterday and Orioles executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias hopped on a flight last night to join the team in Texas to explain the moves he made, and to express his desire to seize a wild card spot. To clear the air before they played another game with the roof closed.

He didn’t quit the chase. He just stuck with the plan of strengthening the organization from top to bottom.

A core group of veterans met with Elias in manager Brandon Hyde’s office, including outfielders Cedric Mullins and Austin Hays, and first baseman Ryan Mountcastle.

The day begins with the Orioles 1 ½ games out of the final playoff berth. Trey Mancini and Jorge López were traded over the past two days. Elias wanted to make certain that the message didn’t come across as mixed.

“I wanted to, as I’m emphasizing right now to the public, there’s a plan in place,” Elias said. “It’s going exceptionally well. We’ve got a very bright future ahead of us. I don’t want us utilizing the opportunity of the trade deadline the way we did the last couple of days to speak to the fact that this is a team that is going to have to be reckoned with from now, and this point forward, in our division. We’re going to have to scout and develop and manage the roster a certain way to maintain it that way. We’ve seen our competitors do that and we’re there. We’re at that point.

ARLINGTON, Texas – Jordan Lyles is still listed as the Orioles' starter tonight. Anthony Santander is in left field, Cedric Mullins is in center and Austin Hays is in right. Rougned Odor is the second baseman.

A little over an hour before the trade deadline arrives and the Orioles haven’t made another move.

Terrin Vavra is the designated hitter. Adley Rutschman is catching.

The Orioles are 52-51 to match last year’s win total, and they’re 2 ½ games out of the last wild card spot.

Santander extended his hitting streak to 12 games last night.

The first reaction everyone had upon seeing Elijah Green on Friday was universal.

“Big kid,” Nationals manager Davey Martinez said.

“Obviously, he’s a big dude,” first baseman Josh Bell added.

The Nationals’ first-round draft pick indeed is big, certainly for his age. How many 6-foot-3, 225-pound 18-year-olds do you know? And then how many of them can put on a clinic in batting practice, then chase down everything hit his way in center field?

“For me, it’s not just one tool. It’s everything he can do,” Martinez said. “I watched a lot of video of him before we drafted him. He can run, he can hit, he can hit for power. His defense, it looks like his first step was really good. For me, it’s exciting to have a kid that has that many tools.”

He ended the season at Clemson as the ACC Player of the Year. But when the year started for the Tigers, third baseman Max Wager, who hit just .214 in the 2021 college season, was not even in the starting lineup. But once he got in, he stayed in.

His big year led him to that ACC honor and to becoming the third MLB Draft selection by the Orioles on the the first night of the draft. They selected him in round two, No. 42 overall. Not bad for a kid from Green Bay, Wis., who had an OPS of just .651 in 2021.

The Orioles announced the signing of Wagner today, officially their third signed selection following Cal outfielder Dylan Beavers (No. 33 overall) and University of Florida outfielder Jud Fabian (No. 67).

The club announced this afternoon that it will hold a press conference tomorrow to introduce their No. 1 overall selection, high school shortstop Jackson Holliday.

Wagner talked to O's reporters today in a dugout interview about the amazing improvement he made this year at Clemson.

The 2022 MLB Draft concludes today before tonight’s All-Star Game. The Nationals have 10 picks this afternoon, one in each of the remaining rounds.

Through the first 10 rounds, the Nats drafted two third basemen, one shortstop, three outfielders, one catcher, two right-handers and one left-hander. They selected three high school players, highlighted by 18-year-old outfielder Elijah Green out of IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., with the No. 5 overall pick Sunday night, and seven players from the college ranks.

“There's gonna be some kids out there that maybe got their feelings hurt a little bit,” assistant general manager and vice president of scouting operations Kris Kline said on Zoom call with reporters at the conclusion of yesterday’s selections. “Maybe you want to circle back and they may really want to play. So we'll go back and talk to them about, you know, the guys that said no, we'll go back and talk to all of them that said no, and ask them where they stand, how they feel now. And put the board together to the best of our ability. But that being said, I thought this first two days of the draft was really, really good. A really positive thing for the organization that's kind of in a rebuilding process. Guys did a great job.”

With their first pick of the day, the Nats selected right-hander Luke Young out of Midland College in Texas with the 321st overall pick in the 11th round. He’s listed as 6-foot-3 and 170 pounds.

A reliever for Midland, the 20-year-old went 9-4 with a 3.95 ERA, 110 strikeouts, 27 walks and only three home runs allowed over 79 ⅔ innings this year.

The Orioles began the second day of the draft and selected Oklahoma State pitcher Nolan McLean. He becomes the highest pitcher selected by the club under Mike Elias. The previous highest had been in the fifth rounds in 2020 with Carter Baumler and 2021 with Carlos Tavera.

McLean, who also was a position player as an infielder for Oklahoma State, went 2-1 with a 4.97 ERA and five saves out of the bullpen. In 25 1/3 innings he allowed 20 hits with 13 walks, 39 strikeouts and a .206 batting average against. In 64 games as a hitter he batted .285/.397/.595 with 16 doubles, 19 homers and 47 RBIs. 

He is a right-handed hitter and thrower and was a draft-eligible sophomore. MLB.com rated him No. 115 in this draft class.

The Orioles are making selections today through round 10, and they have eight picks over the eight rounds through the 10^th. The slot amount for the third-rounder at No. 81 is $793,600 of a total O’s draft pool of $16.924 million. The slot amount for their No. 1 pick is $8,842,200, and it is $2,313,900 for their second selection, No. 33 overall.

In Round 4: The O’s drafted University of Texas catcher Silas Ardoin, a redshirt sophomore. In 69 games for the Longhorns he batted .271/.391/.513 with 20 doubles, a triple, 12 homers and 50 RBIs. He walked 39 times and fanned 54.

When the Orioles made their third No. 1 overall MLB Draft pick in team history on Sunday night, the pick was a popular one with a couple of the MLB Network analysts. They reacted quite favorably on the telecast when the O’s selected high school shortstop Jackson Holliday from Stillwater, Okla.

The son of long-time big league outfielder Matt Holliday, Jackson was Baseball America’s national High School Player of the Year. Holliday, who gets 60 grades from scouts for his hit tool, running and arm, is age 18 and hit .685/.749/1.392 (89-for-130) with 29 doubles, six triples, 17 home runs, 74 runs scored, 79 RBIs and 30 stolen bases in 40 games during his senior season. His 89 hits set a national high school record.

He follows Ben McDonald in 1989 and Adley Rutschman in 2019 as O’s 1/1 picks and is the first high school position player the team made its top draft pick since Manny Machado in 2010.

The slot amount to sign Holliday is listed at $8,842,200.

“They didn’t cut a deal here,” said Jim Callis of MLBPipeline.com on the MLB Network draft telecast. “They took one of the best players. I think Jackson Holliday is probably the best combination of hitting ability and ceiling in this draft. He plays on the infield, Druw Jones (drafted second) is an outfielder, there is defensive value here. I like Harold's (Reynolds) Bobby Witt Jr. parallel. He is a five-tool shortstop. I can’t think of too many players - and Jackson Holliday is one - that got better in every phase of the game (this season). Better hitter, stronger, faster, better arm, better shortstop as a senior. He was a good player coming in and he’s a great player now. I love this pick for the Orioles.”

For the third time in club history tonight the Orioles had the overall No. 1 selection in the MLB Draft. And after taking Ben McDonald in 1989 and Adley Rutschman 30 years later, the O’s went into the high school ranks tonight to select shortstop Jackson Holliday from Stillwater (Okla.) High School.

He is the first high school player the O’s selected with their top pick since pitcher Grayson Rodriguez in 2018, and first high school position player they spent their top pick on since Manny Machado was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2010 draft.

As it turns out, Holliday, 18, found out he would be an Oriole about the same time the rest of us did.

“I kind of found out as they were saying it,” he told O’s reporters on a team Zoom call. “That was kind of cool. My dad didn’t really tell me. He was on the phone and then he’s like ‘All right, just going to find out.’ That was very, very neat and something I’ll never forget. I didn’t know it was a possibility, to be honest, going into the high school season. I just wanted to help my team and hopefully put myself into a good position heading into today.”

Holliday said his dad, former big leaguer Matt Holliday, was on the phone with his representative, Scott Boras.

The Orioles had five players on their board through the final weeks leading to tonight’s MLB Draft. They stuck to it, deliberated with scouts and front office personnel in a series of meetings, had a Zoom call with manager Brandon Hyde to bring him into the loop and settled on Oklahoma prep shortstop Jackson Holliday.

Holliday committed to Oklahoma State, but he’s ready to turn professional. Like his father, former major league outfielder and seven-time All-Star Matt Holliday.

The left-handed hitting Jackson, who’s 18 and listed at 6-feet-1 and 175 pounds, set a national record with 89 hits in 41 games at Stillwater High School, passing J.T. Realmuto, while batting .685 with 29 doubles, six triples, 17 home runs, 79 RBIs, 74 runs scored, a .749 on-base percentage and a 1.392 slugging percentage.

He has a knack for putting the barrel on the ball, as noted just about everywhere.

It's no wonder that Holliday was named Oklahoma's prep player of the year.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Orioles are playing their final game of the first half this afternoon, entering the All-Star break two games above or at .500, depending on the result. A chance to win another series. A chance to remind everyone that these aren’t the same Orioles, though that much already should be clear.

Players will bolt from the clubhouse to catch their own flights. The charter back to Baltimore is going to echo.

At least four Orioles can drive from St. Petersburg to their Florida homes, including outfielder Austin Hays and reliever Joey Krehbiel. The team is expected to open the ballpark Thursday for workouts. Knock off any rust.

The relaxation period this week will be delayed for the front office and scouts. The MLB Draft begins tonight with the first and second rounds, and the Competitive Balance A and B rounds.

The Orioles hold the first overall pick, along with the 33^rd, 42^nd and 67^th.  It’s going to be a late night.

The Orioles will be picking first overall in the MLB Draft for the third time in the organization’s history on Sunday. One option with the No. 1 overall pick is Georgia high school infielder Termarr Johnson. 

“I don’t know too much about what’s gonna happen in the next couple days, but it’d mean a lot to me," Johnson said about the possibility of going No. 1. “Being selected with the Baltimore Orioles means that, you know, Baltimore gets a ring in a couple years.”

Johnson is rated as the No. 4 prospect in this year’s draft class, according to MLB Pipeline. Most scouts and draft experts rave about Johnson’s advanced bat for an 18-year-old, including Baseball America’s Carlos Collazo. 

“He’s easily the best high school hitter that I’ve seen,” Collazo said. “It’s a special, special bat.”

Baseball America ranked Johnson the No. 1 high school baseball player in the country last spring after he hit .417 with nine home runs, 23 stolen bases, eight doubles and five triples for Benjamin E. Mays High School in Atlanta.