Baltimore Orioles Defying Odds With Risky Roster Approach

The Baltimore Orioles have hit the jackpot with their young core.

Nov 7, 2023; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; Baltimore Orioles general manager Mike Elias speaks to the media during the MLB General Manager's Meetings at Omni Scottsdale Resort & Spa. / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Many MLB teams have tried to build through the draft, but few have succeeded.

Based on the Baltimore Orioles' enviable position, it's fair to say they knocked it out of the park.

They have a team that won 101 games last year and the best farm system in baseball. With the exception of a few recent additions like Corbin Burnes and Craig Kimbrel, the Orioles' roster is almost entirely homegrown.

Under the leadership of general manager Mike Elias, Baltimore has done an incredible job drafting and developing talent over the last few years. Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman are already legitimate superstars while Jackson Holliday, Colton Cowser, Jordan Westburg and others have similar ceilings.

The Orioles have made it look easy, but that's not always the case.

In fact, it's "exceedingly rare," according to MLB Network's Brian Kenny.

Teams like the Detroit Tigers, Pittsburgh Pirates and others have routinely flubbed high draft picks.

"What the @Orioles are doing is exceedingly rare."

BK digs into Baltimore's elite core of prospects, then compares them to a few other organizations with a successful draft history. #MLBNow pic.twitter.com/y2HsUCiou4

— MLB Now (@MLBNow) April 10, 2024

That's because the MLB Draft is still largely a crapshoot.

For all the advanced statistics and analytics that have permeated the game over the past few decades, it's still incredibly hard to project how amateur players will fare in the big leagues.

Elias appears to have cracked the code, however, based on his past drafting success with the St. Louis Cardinals and Houston Astros. In particular, he's done a phenomenal job choosing position players, hence his team's current logjam of talent.

Only a few other teams in recent memory have assembled a young, homegrown nucleus on par with Baltimore's. The Chicago Cubs, Kansas City Royals and Elias's Astros are the only comparable teams from the past decade.

All of them won a championship, so don't be surprised if the Orioles do too.