With the 2025 MLB Draft and July 31 trade deadline in the rearview mirror, MLB Pipeline has decided now is the time to update its prospect rankings. It was a busy July for the Baltimore Orioles, though, not in the way they would have envisioned at the start of the season. The overall impression is that general manager Mike Elias did well during the draft, but his deadline strategy was questionable at best.

Along those lines, in ranking the farm system of every Major League team, the Orioles landed in the middle of the pack at No. 15, the same place they were at the start of the season.

“The Orioles are holding serve here. They were VERY busy at the Deadline as sellers of big league talent with the season in Baltimore not going as planned. So while Basallo is their lone Top 100 representative, it’s a deeper system than it’s been in a while. They brought in 15 total prospects via trade, six who are on the new Top 30.”

Prospect rankings reveal huge start for Orioles’ latest draft class

While it was an underwhelming ranking for the Orioles, there is some hope when you look at where their draft class has landed throughout their top 30 list. Four of the Orioles’ 2025 draft picks–Ike Irish, Wehiwa Aloy, Slater de Brun, and Caden Bodine–find themselves within the top 10. Beyond those four, Joseph Dzierwa, Colin Yeaman, and JT Quinn are scattered throughout the top 30 list.

Now, to be clear, this can’t be something that Elias can point to as a reason to keep his job. Especially when you consider that for most of these prospects, 2028 is the earliest in which they may arrive to the Major League level. That timeline is the primary reason why there is some concern over the prospects the Orioles targeted at the deadline.

Nevertheless, this year’s draft class is something Orioles fans can point to as something that went right, but there remain several issues with this front office moving forward.