The 2025 MLB Draft is now in the rearview mirror, and there’s little doubt that Mike Elias and the entire Baltimore Orioles front office have to be feeling pretty good about their most recent haul.

Many draft experts and pundits lauded the Orioles front office after Baltimore secured several top talents from both the college and high school ranks.

But while Elias and Co. are undoubtedly feeling rather confident after walking away with the likes of Ike Irish, Caden Bodine, and others, something was missing from the Orioles’ early-round selections.

Despite having four of the first 37 picks in the 2025 MLB Draft, Baltimore failed to land a pitcher until Round 2.

While the O’s ultimately walked away from the draft with 13 new hurlers, those impact arms that Baltimore so desperately needs were gobbled up early on.

While talents like Irish, Bodine, and Wehiwa Aloy were almost too good to pass up, there were opportunities to help solidify one of the weakest areas of the O’s farm system.

Orioles landed draft steals early, but failed to land an impactful pitcher

The “best player available” strategy applied almost universally to the MLB Draft. Unlike the NFL and NBA, rarely will fans see players make their Major League debut during the same year in which they were drafted.

But for a team like Baltimore, who has an obvious need on the mound, it would’ve made a ton of sense to draft at least one pitcher within the first 37 picks.

When the O’s selected Irish at No. 19, players like Gage Wood and Zach Root — both of whom pitched for the Arkansas Razorbacks during the College World Series — were still on the board.

University of Louisville pitcher Patrick Forbes was selected just before Baltimore drafted Bodine and Aloy.

But Tennessee hurler Marcus Phillips, Alabama starter Riley Quick, and Anthony Eyanson of LSU were all still available.

High school pitchers take a lot more time to develop, and there’s oftentimes risk involved, but Angel Cervantes, Landon Harmon, and Johnny Slawinski had yet to be selected when the O’s were making their first four picks on Sunday night.

Baltimore did add Joseph Dzierwa and JT Quinn with their next two picks of the draft, but both are likely to top out as middle-of-the-rotation starters.

The Orioles need an ace, but didn’t find one during the MLB Draft, meaning that Elias may need to trade some of these high-upside position player prospects in order to secure a top-flight arm for the future.