Breaking Down The Most Interesting Picks From Baltimore’s 2024 Draft Class

While fans and players across Major League Baseball enjoyed a much needed reprieve from the highs and lows of a 162 game baseball season, 30 front offices were hard at work this week selecting the next crop of prospects. For Baltimore, the draft represented a recommitment to the phrase “grow bats, acquire arms”, as Mike Elias and his team selected position players with each of their first four picks and six of their first seven. Among those selected were some of the top hitters in college baseball, a number of high upside pitchers, and a couple of fascinating prep players who will add to what is already the consensus top farm system in baseball. Let’s take a look at five of the most intriguing players in Baltimore’s draft class and what they will bring to the table as they prepare to begin their professional careers. 

Round 1, Pick 22: Vance Honeycutt – OF – University of North Carolina 

For the second consecutive year, the Orioles used their first selection of the draft on an electrifying center fielder with elite defensive traits. Born just 100 miles from Chapel Hill, Honeycutt was destined to become a Tar Heel from the first time he picked up a baseball bat. It was less clear, however, that he would become one of the best players to attend the University of North Carolina in the school’s history. During his three years in the ACC, Honeycutt compiled a slew of accolades including back-to-back ACC Defensive Player of the Year awards, First Team All-American honors, and three appointments to the All-ACC Academic Team, while also tallying the most home runs in a career in UNC history. It was a truly historic run for the centerfielder and one that culminated in an appearance at the College World Series, during which Honeycutt crushed a walk-off home run to take down the University of Virginia in the first round of the tournament.  

Between his power, speed, and defensive prowess, there’s not much to dislike about Honeycutt’s game. However, there are concerns about his hit tool, as he displayed a significant amount of swing-and-miss throughout his collegiate career. He struck out in 83 of his 302 plate appearances (27.5%) as a junior this past season, showing regression from a sophomore campaign in which he struck out just 20.4% of the time. Baltimore has not been afraid of drafting players with strikeout concerns (see Jud Fabian in 2022), and given that each of his other four tools grade out at 60 or above, he was certainly worth taking a chance on. That being said, fans will have to be patient with Honeycutt as he is likely to undergo some swing changes over the next calendar year that may lead to slow production out of the gate.  

Consensus Pre-Draft Projection: Mid/late first round pick 

Prediction for where he will start 2025: Aberdeen Ironbirds 

Question from the pick: What might this pick mean for Baltimore’s willingness to part with some of its outfield prospects at the trade deadline? 

Round 1, Pick 32 (PPI): Griff O’Ferrall – SS – University of Virginia 

With the pick they received when Gunnar Henderson won the 2023 AL Rookie of the Year award, Baltimore selected a player who is the antithesis of Honeycutt. A three year starter at the University of Virginia, Griff O’Ferrall recorded just eight home runs and 88 strikeouts throughout his collegiate career, both numbers that were exceeded by his first round counterpart during his first season at the collegiate level. Where Honeycutt was thought of as a high-risk high-reward prospect, O’Ferrall was considered one of the safest players in the draft thanks to his patient approach and elite bat-to-ball skills. He never displayed much power throughout his time as a Cavalier but was still a thorn in the side of opposing pitchers, finding ways on base more often than not and causing problems on the basepaths. He also displayed excellent glove work at one of the sport’s premier positions, one of the few qualities he shares with the UNC center fielder.  

Another quality he shares with Honeycutt is a track record of awards and accolades. O’Ferrall was a member of the ACC All-Freshman team in 2022 and a First Team All ACC selection in 2023 before topping off his collegiate career by winning the Brooks Wallace Award, which is bestowed to the nation’s top shortstop by the College Baseball Hall of Fame, in 2024. He also broke the Cavalier record for hits (107) and runs (76) in a single season, an honor that surely meant a lot to him given that he was born just an hour from Charlottesville. The ceiling for O’Ferrall is much lower than many of the other players Elias has targeted over the past few years, but his high floor and track record of success make him an interesting addition to the organization nevertheless and a candidate to move quickly through the ranks of the farm. While he will likely start next season alongside Honeycutt in Aberdeen, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him batting leadoff and manning shortstop in Bowie by this time next year. 

Consensus Pre-Draft Projection: Early/mid second round pick 

Prediction for where he will start 2025: Aberdeen Ironbirds 

Question from the pick: Is there room for O’Ferrall to add enough power to elevate his ceiling as a prospect? 

Round 2, Pick 61: Ethan Anderson – C – University of Virginia 

Baltimore doubled down on UVA players with its third selection, taking switch-hitting catcher Ethan Anderson towards the end of the second round. A highly-touted prospect out of Frank W. Cox high school in Virginia, Anderson spent his three years in the ACC terrorizing opposing pitchers to the tune of a .341/.441/.560 career slash line. Though he did not compile a resume quite as impressive as either of the Orioles’ first two picks, he still finished his career with plenty of nods in the UVA record book, landing in the top ten in career doubles, home runs, runs scored, and total bases. Much like his teammate O’Ferrall, Anderson’s success at the collegiate level stemmed from good plate discipline and an elite hit tool as he walked more times than he struck out in each of the past two seasons. Furthermore, his ability to hit from both sides of the plate makes him a perfect fit for an organization that places opposite-handed matchups at the top of its list of priorities. 

The biggest concerns regarding Anderson’s transition to the next level relate to his lack of a clear position. After playing primarily as a first baseman during his first two years at Virginia, Anderson started 26 games behind the plate this past season, filling the void left by Red Sox top prospect and former Cavalier Kyle Teel. With Adley Rutschman and Samuel Basallo already within the organization, Baltimore may not need Anderson to stick at catcher long-term in order to contribute to the big league team’s success. However, it’s hard to imagine Elias using a second round pick on a player he doesn’t believe will play a premier position moving forward. While Anderson can certainly hit, he doesn’t possess the raw power necessary to become a top prospect if he moves back to first base, so the Orioles will need to hope that the traits they identified to make them believe in his ability to play catcher convert to the next level.  

Consensus Pre-Draft Projection: Early third round pick 

Prediction for where he will start 2025: Delmarva Shorebirds 

Question from the pick: What do the Orioles see defensively that leads them to believe Anderson will be able to stick at catcher moving forward? 

Round 4, Pick 127: Chase Allsup – P – Auburn University 

The Orioles’ decision to take Allsup in the fourth round was highly reminiscent of the team’s selection of Jackson Baumeister with the 63rd overall pick in last year’s draft. Both pitchers had mediocre college statistics backed by intriguing underlying metrics that led scouts to believe they could find greater success as professional players. For Allsup, the difference maker is his devastating slider, which he relied upon to strike out 159 batters in 141 innings while at Auburn. The right-hander split time between the starting rotation and bullpen throughout his college career, so it remains to be seen where he will be utilized moving forward. However, given the draft capital that they invested into him, the Orioles seem to believe Allsup has the potential to be a legitimate starter and if he can follow a similar trajectory to Baumeister, who has pitched to a 3.11 ERA with 83 strikeouts in 66.2 innings this year, he will prove them right.  

It should be noted that while Allsup has some interesting characteristics, this pick was seen as a reach by many analysts. After getting off to a horrific start to the 2024 season as Auburn’s Friday night starter, the Alabama native saw his draft stock plummet as questions arose about his ability to shut down quality lineups. Despite a strong finish to the year, Allsup was never quite able to reestablish himself as an elite prospect, so it came as a surprise to see Baltimore select him in the fourth round as their first pitcher off the board. Furthermore, the fact that the Orioles passed on a number of more highly-touted prospects to take him, including right-hander Connor Foley (No. 106 on MLB Pipeline’s big board), southpaw Tristan Smith (No. 73), and a highly-touted prep arm in Cameron Sullivan (No. 118), raises further questions about Allsup’s worthiness of being taken with the 127th pick. It’s certainly possible that the Orioles will alleviate any of these concerns by signing him under the slot value, but if they fail to do so, expectations will be high for the right-handers ability to make good on the investment. 

Consensus Pre-Draft Projection: 6th-8th round pick 

Prediction for where he will start 2025: Delmarva Shorebirds 

Question from the pick: Can Allsup find success as a rotation piece or will he be relegated to the bullpen as was the case at times during his collegiate career? 

Round 6, Pick 189: DJ Layton – SS – Charlotte Christian HS 

Under the Elias regime, the Orioles have shied away from selecting prep bats during the first ten rounds of the draft, instead preferring to take on known commodities with proven track records in the NCAA. In fact, over the last four years, Baltimore has drafted just three hitters out of high school prior to Round 11 – Jackson Holliday, Coby Mayo, and Creed Willems. Two of those three are among the top 25 prospects in all of baseball and the third has flashed immense potential in the lower levels of the minor leagues, so it goes without saying that Orioles fans should be excited about what Layton could bring to the organization. A switch-hitter out of North Carolina, Layton was considered one of the top 500 high school players in the 2024 class according to Perfect Game thanks to his athletic build and strong swing from both sides of the plate. It seemed likely that he would make good on his commitment to the University of Southern Mississippi and spend the next three years in Hattiesburg, but after a transformative senior season in which he displayed improved power and raised his batting average from .307 to .449, Layton put himself in position to bypass the collegiate level and begin his professional career.  

Considering that he is still just 17 years old, it will be years before Layton appears on any top prospect lists. However, the organization has proven that it can turn young raw hitters into elite prospects, so I have little doubt that Elias and his team will set him on the right path towards becoming a major league baseball player. It will require patience, but given his profile, athleticism, and upside, I have a feeling Layton could turn out to be one of the most significant contributors acquired by Baltimore in the 2024 draft.  

Consensus Pre-Draft Projection: 11th-20th round pick 

Prediction for where he will start 2025: FCL Orioles (Rookie ball) 

 Question from the pick: Will Layton continue switch hitting or will the Orioles encourage him to focus his approach on one side of the plate?