Orioles Select College Gold Glove Winner in MLB Draft First Round

The Baltimore Orioles added another future star with its first pick in the 2024 MLB draft on Sunday evening.

Jun 18, 2024; Omaha, NE, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels center fielder Vance Honeycutt (7) celebrates after hitting a three-run home run against the Florida State Seminoles during the fifth inning at Charles Schwab Field Omaha. / Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports

The Baltimore Orioles selected North Carolina center fielder Vance Honeycutt in the first round of the 2024 MLB draft on Sunday night.  

Honeycutt was a consensus First-Team All-American and won the ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove award for his junior season with the Tar Heels.

He started all 177 games he played with UNC and left with 65 home runs and 70 stolen bases. His home run count was a UNC record and was fourth most in ACC history.

He was among the Tar Heels career Top 10 in several statistical categories. He was also a two-time ACC Defensive Player of the Year in league history, one of three Tar Heels to be named to six All-America teams in the same season and had a 56-game on-base streak across the 2023 and 2024 seasons.

The Orioles also have a compensatory pick after the first round, No. 32 overall, for Gunnar Henderson winning the AL Rookie of the Year award last season.

Baltimore selected outfielder Enrique Bradfield Jr. in the first round (No. 17 overall) last year. The former Vanderbilt star is batting .274 with High-A Aberdeen.

It’s another solid pick for general manager Mike Elias and his team, which has done exceptional work in recent years to replenish Baltimore’s farm system and make it one of the best in baseball.

The Orioles have done great work in the first round for nearly a decade, dating back to their 2015 first-round selection of Ryan Mountcastle with the No. 36 overall pick, which was a supplemental selection. Mountcastle is now the Orioles’ starting first baseman. The other first-round pick that year was outfielder D.J. Stewart, who played five years for the O’s before he joined the New York Mets.

Each of the Orioles' last seven first-round selections between 2016 and 2022 have reached the Majors. Pitcher Cody Sedlock was selected in 2016 with the No. 27 overall pick and reached the Majors in 2022.

Pitcher DL Hall, who was selected No. 21 overall in 2017, made the Majors with the Orioles and is now with the Milwaukee Brewers.

From there the selections picked up steam. Pitcher Grayson Rodriguez is part of the Orioles’ rotation for the second straight season after he was selected No. 11 overall in 2018. Baltimore’s first-round pick in 2019, catcher Adley Rutschman, is headed for his second straight All-Star Game.

Heston Kjerstad, the O’s first-round pick in 2020, is on a tear with the O’s heading into the All-Star Break. The first-round pick in 2021, outfielder Colton Cowser, is a candidate for AL Rookie of the Year this season.

Jackson Holliday, the Orioles’ first-round pick (No. 1 overall) in 2022 made his MLB debut in April and is back with Triple-A Norfolk working on consistency at the plate.

The Orioles wrapped up the first half of the season with a 6-5 win over the New York Yankees at Camden Yards on Sunday. The win pushed their record to 58-38 and put them a game ahead of the Yankees in the American League East.

Baltimore won the AL East last year for the first time in nearly a decade.

The Orioles will send five players to Tuesday’s All-Star game. Henderson, Corbin Burnes, Jordan Westburg and Anthony Santander will join Rutschman.

The rest of the Orioles will be off for four days before they resume the season. The Orioles are expected to be players in the trade market this month as they hope to bolster their team for another run at the playoffs. Most notably, they lost three starting pitchers to season-ending injuries in June.

With new ownership led by David Rubenstein, the hope is that the Orioles may be able to take on more salary in a trade than in years past under the Angelos ownership group.