In the fourth round of the 2020 MLB draft, the Orioles selected a high schooler out of Coral Springs, Florida, who had been committed to the University of Florida.
The next two years, he missed time due to back spasms and a knee injury. At first glance, it could seem like it was another high school kid destined to linger in the minor leagues.
But Coby Mayo, who earned the 2024 International League Top MLB Prospect Award and recently hit his first long ball in a late June series against the Rays, is an example of how the Orioles can turn Day Two draftees into major league players.
After making seven selections on the first day of the draft, Baltimore now starts the final rounds of the 2025 MLB draft with the hope of finding another late-round star.
The Orioles will have the No. 19 pick in rounds 4-20, positioned behind the Diamondbacks and ahead of the Brewers. Baltimore entered the draft with the largest bonus pool of $19.145 million, the highest total since the bonus pool era in the MLB draft began in 2012.
Baltimore started their Day 1 class by grabbing Auburn’s Ike Irish with its first pick, as well as Coastal Carolina’s Caden Bodine and part-time baseball player, part-time music producer Slater “Lil Slayyy” de Brun.
“We’re thrilled with the talent we got,” said Matt Blood, vice president of player development and domestic scouting. “We feel like we got a bunch of players that we really like, bunch of players that we weren’t expecting to get access to, and just having that many picks on Day One gives you the ability to capitalize whenever these things happen. We’re just really over the moon with the hall that we were able to get today.”
Follow along for notes and analysis for the Orioles’ second day of the MLB draft.
Round 4, 124th overall: Colin Yeaman, University of California – Irvine, SS
Yeaman batted .336 and slugged .591 this year as a shorstop at UC Irvine, where he also knocked 16 doubles and 13 home runs. He reads fastballs well, but Yeaman could use some improvement in hitting secondary pitches, according to Baseball America.
His JUCO years at the College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita, California, are equally as telling: over a .400 batting average. Since his transition between Division I and JUCO went as well as it did, there’s good reason to hope the 21-year-old’s transition will be seamless to a Low-A or High-A affiliate team.
Round 5, 154th overall: Jaiden Lo Re, Corona Del Sol HS (Tempe, Arizona), SS
Lo Re, a 5-foot-11 shortstop out of Tempe, Arizona, committed to BYU before the Orioles selected him in the fifth round. According to his MaxPreps page, he batted .418 across 124 plate appearances with four homers and 14 doubles as a senior. With a walk-off base hit, Lo Re helped Corona Del Sol High School end its season with a state championship.
He played on the 12U USA National Team in 2019, appearing in six games, four of them starts. He had a solid 60-yard dash of 6.89, but like most 18-year-olds, there’s always room for growth and improvement.
Baseball America ranked him as the 413th best prospect in this draft class. “He doesn’t miss frequently and can put the barrel on the ball with a chance for an average hit tool, though his raw power is just fringy,” the site wrote.