Orioles 2026 draft pick cracks top 100 list, becoming club's No. 1 prospect

Jacob Calvin Meyer, The Baltimore Sun on Jul 17, 2026

Published in Baseball

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HOUSTON — Eric Booth Jr. hasn’t officially become part of the Orioles organization, but he’s already their top prospect.

Baseball America updated its top 100 prospect list Friday to include the top picks in the 2026 MLB draft. Booth, the No. 7 overall selection by the Orioles, was ranked as the sport’s 65th-best prospect — leapfrogging every player already in Baltimore’s farm system.

The 18-year-old has loud tools with elite speed, earning him the honor of being the top outfielder in the draft class. Rather than maintain the status quo by drafting a college hitter, the Orioles pivoted to select Booth out of Oak Grove High School in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The only other time Baltimore has selected a high schooler with its top pick since Mike Elias took over as general manager nearly eight years ago was when it selected Jackson Holliday, the No. 1 overall selection in 2022.

Booth jumped to the front of the prospect list to give Baltimore three top 100 prospects, according to Baseball America. Outfielder/first baseman Ike Irish, the Orioles top pick in the 2025 draft, came in at No. 77 on the updated list, while left-hander Joseph Dzierwa, the highest-drafted pitcher of the Elias era at No. 58 overall last summer, landed at No. 92.

Booth has yet to officially sign with the Orioles, though it’s assumed the two sides will do so ahead of the July 27 deadline.

Irish has been steady all season for High-A Frederick, hitting .262 with an .843 OPS, 12 homers and 18 stolen bases in 71 games. Dzierwa, meanwhile, has zoomed up prospect lists amid his breakout campaign, posting a 2.30 ERA and 30.9% strikeout rate between Frederick and Double-A Chesapeake. Both players appear ready for the next step on the minor league ladder, though the team might want to wait until after the trade deadline to make that move.

Outfielder Nate George, right-hander Trey Gibson and left-hander Luis De León all opened the season as top 100 prospects, but they fell off on Baseball America’s midseason update that bumped Dzierwa ahead of them.

Booth being slotted ahead of Irish and Dzierwa is an example of how valuable a top 10 pick can be — and how the youngster has a ceiling higher than perhaps any Orioles prospect since Holliday.

The 6-foot, 205-pound left-handed hitter and thrower has a smooth swing and solid power to go along with 80-grade speed — maxing out the 20-80 scale used by scouts — that he utilizes both in the outfield and on offense. He projects as a center fielder in professional baseball. Booth was committed to play at Vanderbilt, the same school that center fielder and 2023 Orioles first-round pick Enrique Bradfield Jr. attended.

“We like a lot about Booth,” draft director Will Robertson said. “He has a huge engine, as we call it. He’s super powerful, both running the bases and moving the bat. That leads to impact outcomes both defensively in center field and offensively with the power-speed combination. Super young for his class and has always hit everywhere he’s gone. He really could adjust the barrel and get to pitches all over the strike zone. He’s very selective with what he wants to swing at, and he’s always been an offensive producer.”

Some scouts questioned whether Booth’s unconventional swing would work in professional baseball or if the Orioles would need to make changes early in his career. Robertson partially dismissed that concern and said the organization wants to “let baseball tell us what it dictates for the swing.” Robertson was noncommittal when asked whether Booth will play in minor league games this season, or if the Orioles will have him work out at their development facility in Sarasota, Florida, while playing in games on the backfields.

“We’re going to start our player development intake process,” Robertson said. “There are a lot of tests, and basically we have to develop a plan from there. So no, we don’t have don’t have an idea yet. We’re just kind of going to see what what all of the information we’re gathering tells us is the best for his development long term.”

Around the horn

• The Orioles on Friday signed third-round pick Dominic Voegele, a right-handed pitcher out of Kansas, to an $897,500 bonus, a source with direct knowledge of the agreement confirmed to The Baltimore Sun. At No. 82 overall, Voegele is the fifth-highest drafted pitcher in the Elias era. The slot value for the selection was just north of $1 million, so the Orioles saved $106,300 with the deal — money they can potentially give to other players in the class who will need to be paid over slot to sign. MLB.com was first to report Voegele’s signing bonus.

• The Orioles also signed two other 2026 draftees on Friday, according to Baseball America. They signed sixth-rounder Zane Adams, a left-hander out of Alabama, and 10th-round pick Carlos Sanchez, a utility player out of NAIA’s LSU Shreveport, for $370,000 and $47,500, respectively. Those deals saved the Orioles $26,300 and $151,400, respectively. Their three signings so far have provided bonus pool savings of $284,000.