Baltimore Orioles 2024 MLB Draft Review
Following the 2024 MLB Draft, we’re taking a deeper look at each individual draft class. Below, find one overarching takeaway from the draft, plus a full scouting report on the most interesting pick on days two and three. You can see all 30 draft reviews here.
Draft Theme: Premium Position Bats
Baltimore used seven of their first 11 picks on the first two days on hitters, each of which play and profile at up-the-middle defensive positions. First-round OF Vance Honeycutt is the best defensive center fielder in the draft, SS Griff O’Ferrall was the shortstop for Team USA last summer and is as reliable as they come and third-round OF Austin Overn is a double-plus runner who should also be a plus defender in center field. The three catchers the Orioles drafted out of four-year universities was more than any team, and the Orioles also drafted as many players from California (5) as anyone (tied with the Tigers and A’s). This is also the second straight year where the Orioles haven’t drafted a single high school pitcher.
Most Interesting Day 2 Pick: OF Austin Overn, 3rd round
One of the best athletes in the class, Overn played for USC’s football team during the 2022 fall and then turned in a first team Freshman All-American season on the baseball field after leading the nation with 14 triples in 2023. He didn’t quite replicate that performance during his draft-eligible 2024 season and after two years with the program is a career .291/.376/.495 hitter with 12 homers and 33 stolen bases. A 6-foot, 175-pound center fielder, Overn is a contact hitter who will need to spray balls into the gaps and take advantage of his double-plus running ability. Scouts thought he was pressing more frequently this spring and noted that his swing looked a bit more rigid, though at his best he shows an ability to smoke hard line drives to all fields. Overn is a bit aggressive at the plate and could stand to walk a bit more frequently. Defensively, he should be a safe bet to stick in center field where his speed and athleticism will allow him to be a plus defender with a fringy arm. His speed plays on the bases where he has gone 33-for-42 (78.6%) in his two seasons with USC. After a disappointing and brief stint in the Cape Cod League in 2023, Overn headed to the Cape again in 2024 before the draft and hit well through his first 10 games.
Most Interesting Day 3 Pick: OF Nate George, 16th round
An under-the-radar prep prospect entering the 2023 showcase period, George’s raw toolset and performance during Perfect Game’s fall Jupiter tournament put him on the national radar. George is a 6-foot, 195-pound righthanded hitting outfielder with present physicality and double-plus speed. While scouts have some uncertainty about the pure quality of his hit tool, he went 8-for-17 (.471) with a double and four stolen bases as a member of a stacked Chicago Scouts Association travel roster in Jupiter. He has a simple swing with solid bat speed and strength and the ability to drive hard line drives to all fields, but his approach has been overly aggressive at times. George has run track and played football in high school and he’s committed to Northwest Florida.
