Baltimore Orioles Following Model Of Recent World Series Champs

The Baltimore Orioles are following in the footsteps of a recent World Series champion.

Apr 23, 2024; Anaheim, California, USA; Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson (2) is greeted after a home run. / Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

The Baltimore Orioles just keep winning. With their 6-5 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday, they're now 16-8, good for the third-best record in the American League.

The Orioles' hot start has been fueled by elite production from their young hitters. Among AL position players, Baltimore has three of the top 10 in terms of FanGraphs WAR. Gunnar Henderson is first at 1.9, while Colton Cowser is fifth (1.5) and Jordan Westburg is tied for seventh (1.3).

All three of those guys were drafted and developed by the Orioles, and they're not the only ones. So were Adley Rutschman, Ryan Mountcastle, Cedric Mullins, Austin Hays and Heston Kjerstad -- practically the entire starting lineup.

Building a team almost exclusively out of young homegrown talent is virtually unheard of in the modern MLB given the prevalence of trades and free agency. It speaks to the organization's remarkable drafting success under GM Mike Elias, not to mention the coaches and instructors at every minor league level.

Baltimore's draft strategy has emphasized taking position players out of college, which are usually the safest picks because. They're more developed and pro-ready than high school players and are less injury-prone than pitchers, making them smarter investments.

That approach has paid off in spades for the Orioles, similar to how it did for Theo Epstein's Chicago Cubs last decade.

The @Orioles' recent draft history is unprecedently good 📈

BK, Tom Verducci and @markdero7 discuss the success and their focus on taking position players. #MLBNow pic.twitter.com/tZpjq4I4YE

— MLB Now (@MLBNow) April 23, 2024

Similar to Elias, Epstein centered his rebuild on developing a talented core of position players. With Kris Bryant, Kyle Schwarber, Javy Baez, Anthony Rizzo, Ian Happ, Addison Russell, Jorge Soler, Willson Contreras and others, the Cubs' talent was staggering.

When that nucleus was ready, Epstein put it over the top by acquiring veteran pitchers like Jon Lester, John Lackey, Jake Arrieta and Aroldis Chapman, all of whom helped Chicago end its 108-year championship drought in 2016.

Based on the recent acquisitions of Corbin Burnes and Craig Kimbrel, Elias seems to be following a similar pattern. Don't be surprised if it yields the same result.