Orioles Sign First-Round Pick Ike Irish
The Orioles announced that they have signed their first-round pick from this year’s draft Ike Irish. Jim Callis of MLB.com reports that the signing bonus was just over $4.4MM, right around slot value for the 19th overall pick.
Irish spent the past three years with Auburn. He was primarily a catcher in his earlier years with the Tigers but spent more time in right field this year. That was due to a fractured scapula he suffered when he was hit by a pitch, but there were already questions about his ability to stick at the position even before that happened.
There appear to be less questions about the bat. He slashed .350/.435/.625 across his three seasons at Auburn, with a .364/.469/.710 line this year. He also has some experience with a wood bat, having played in the Cape Cod League in 2023 and 2024 with a combined .307/.414/.396 line.
Keith Law of The Athletic ranked Irish fifth in the class. MLB Pipeline and ESPN both had him at #11 and Baseball America at #13. All outlets praise his left-handed swing, which can produce hard contact to all fields, though his future power potential is a bit less certain.
As mentioned, it’s a question whether or not Irish should be behind the plate or if he should be moved to right field or perhaps first base. For what it’s worth, the Orioles announced him as a catcher, so it seems the door is still open for him to be a backstop.
The Orioles have Adley Rutschman behind the plate, though he’s only controlled through the 2027 season. Samuel Basallo is at Triple-A and is considered one of the top prospects in the league, though there’s a chance he ends up at first base in the long run.
Photo courtesy of Mickey Welsh, Imagn Images
2025 MLB Draft, First Round Results
This year’s amateur draft is officially underway, and we’ll be updating this post throughout the night with every first-round selection. More details and scouting reports on all these young players are available in pre-draft rankings from Baseball America, Fangraphs, MLB Pipeline, The Athletic’s Keith Law, and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel. As well, Pipeline has the breakdown of the slot values assigned to each pick in the first 10 rounds, as well as the bonus pool money available to all 30 teams.
Here are the first-round selections….
- Washington Nationals: Eli Willits, SS, Fort Cobb-Broxton (OK)
- Los Angeles Angels: Tyler Bremner, RHP, UC Santa Barbara
- Seattle Mariners: Kade Anderson, LHP, LSU
- Colorado Rockies: Ethan Holliday, SS, Stillwater High School (OK)
- St. Louis Cardinals: Liam Doyle, LHP, Tennessee
- Pittsburgh Pirates: Seth Hernandez, RHP, Corona High School (CA)
- Miami Marlins: Aiva Arquette, SS, Oregon State
- Toronto Blue Jays: JoJo Parker, SS, Purvis High School (MS)
- Cincinnati Reds: Steele Hall, SS, Hewitt-Trussville High School (AL)
- Chicago White Sox: Billy Carlson, SS, Corona High School (CA)
- Athletics: Jamie Arnold, LHP, Florida State
- Texas Rangers: Gavin Fien, SS/3B, Great Oak High School (CA)
- San Francisco Giants: Gavin Kilen, SS/2B, Tennessee
- Tampa Bay Rays: Daniel Pierce, SS, Mill Creek High School (GA)
- Boston Red Sox: Kyson Witherspoon, RHP, Oklahoma
- Minnesota Twins: Marek Houston, SS, Wake Forest
- Chicago Cubs: Ethan Conrad, OF, Wake Forest
- Arizona Diamondbacks: Kayson Cunningham, SS, Johnson High School (TX)
- Baltimore Orioles: Ike Irish, C, Auburn
- Milwaukee Brewers: Andrew Fischer, 1B/3B, Tennessee
- Houston Astros: Xavier Neyens, SS/3B, Mount Vernon High School (WA)
- Atlanta Braves: Tate Southisene, SS, Basic High School (NV)
- Kansas City Royals: Sean Gamble, OF/2B, IMG Academy (FL)
- Detroit Tigers: Jordan Yost, SS, Sickles High School (FL)
- San Diego Padres: Kruz Schoolcraft, LHP, Sunset High School (OR)
- Philadelphia Phillies: Gage Wood, RHP, Arkansas
- Cleveland Guardians: Jace LaViolette, OF, Texas A&M
The first round officially consists of only 27 picks since the Mets, Yankees, and Dodgers all had their first-round selections dropped back by 10 slots. The three teams surpassed the third luxury tax tier in 2024, and thus their punishment included a 10-slot drop in their opening draft choice.
The 2025 draft is split up over two nights. Rounds 4-20 will take place tomorrow, while the draft’s first 105 picks will come off the board tonight. Those 105 picks consist of the first three proper rounds, the two Competitive Balance Rounds, and two sets of compensatory rounds (giving picks to teams who lost qualifying offer-rejecting free agents), and the Royals getting the 28th overall pick due to the Prospect Promotion Incentive. The evening’s 105th and final selection will be a compensatory pick to the Angels for not agreeing to a deal with 81st overall pick Ryan Prager.