Can Orioles' first-round draft picks win a championship?

If the Orioles can complete their rebuild project and become perennial contenders, which is how it's supposed to play out, there could be a handful of first-round draft picks to hoist the World Series trophy.

A team can dream.

Adley Rutschman is supposed to be behind the plate for pitchers Grayson Rodriguez and DL Hall. Maybe Cody Sedlock as well, though he's much lower on various prospect lists.

Hunter Harvey could close out the final game, assuming that he earns the role of late-inning specialist. He's a reliever now, with no thoughts of returning him to starter status.

DJ Stewart might be on the roster, whether as a starting outfielder or a backup. Heston Kjerstad, this year's first rounder out of Arkansas, could be in left or right field and in the heart of the order with his tape-measure power.

Or it could take so long, they're all traded at the deadline.

A team can have nightmares, too.

Would you believe that only two of the Orioles' first-round selections have won a World Series with the club? Both of them as second basemen, though only one started.

Rich Dauer is the most recent in 1983, when the Orioles defeated the Phillies in five games for their last championship. He was the 24th overall pick in 1974 out of USC and spent his entire 10-year career with the Orioles.

Dauer went 0-for-14 in the American League Championship Series and 4-for-19 with a double and three RBIs in the World Series.

He was always a glove-first guy, extremely consistent at the position, but he was 5-for-17 with a double and home run in the 1979 World Series against the Pirates.

Dauer also has a championship ring after serving as the Astros' first base coach in 2017. He's always wanted to come back to the Orioles organization and interviewed for the managerial position that went to Lee Mazzilli in 2004.

Dauer was given consideration for the Orioles third base coaching job before they hired Bobby Dickerson on Dec. 13, 2012. The Orioles inducted Dauer into their Hall of Fame over the summer.

The other second baseman who played for the Orioles when they won the World Series? Bobby Grich, a rookie who appeared in 30 games during the 1970 regular season.

An easy guy to overlook with Davey Johnson making all of the starts at second against the Reds.

The Orioles finally traded Johnson to the Braves in 1972 to make room for Grich, who won four Gold Gloves with them and was selected to three All-Star teams before signing with the Angels as a free agent in November 1976.

Dauer made his major league debut in '76, appearing in 11 games, and played in 96 the following season with Grich gone.

The Orioles drafted Jayson Werth as a catcher in 1997. He won a World Series as an outfielder with the Phillies in 2009.

The beard also was a gradual development.

Reliever Jay Powell, taken in the first round in 1993 out of Mississippi State, was on the 1997 Marlins team that won the World Series. He was the winning pitcher in Game 7.

Mike Mussina, the 20th overall pick in 1990 out of Stanford, pitched in 23 playoff games but failed to win a World Series. The Yankees lost to the Diamondbacks in 2001 and Marlins in 2003.