3 biggest draft busts in Baltimore Orioles history

Like most MLB teams, the Baltimore Orioles have had varying levels of success selecting players in the draft. For every Manny Machado or Mike Mussina, there are countless players that some fans probably forgot all about once they were drafted. Even with the best scouting tools available, it is impossible to tell which draft pick will flourish as a prospect and which pick will ultimately become a bust. 

It might be easy for some to label recent first overall draft pick Jackson Holliday as a bust, but it is still way too early to write off his potential, considering he is still just 22 years old. Beyond Holliday, there are three players that the Orioles drafted early who clearly fit the bill as a bust. Four players that make you wish there was a refund option after the draft. 

Chris Smith

7th overall pick in the 2001 MLB Draft. 

This would be a perfectly reasonable time to go “WHO!?” With just 52.2 innings pitched across 24 career minor league games, nobody could blame you. The Orioles selected the LHP out of Cumberland University with the hopes of snagging an effective southpaw who would eventually join the rotation. Instead, the organization would probably just prefer that fans forget all about this draft bust. 

In his limited time on the mound, Smith posted a career ERA of 7.52 to go along with his 2.194 WHIP. With a BB/9 rate of 7.2, the lefty struggled mightily with his control, preventing him from ever really having a chance at a long career. Baseball is a tough sport to master, but a high first-round draft pick should offer a little more upside.     

Matt Hobgood 

5th overall pick in the 2009 MLB Draft 

In the early 2000s, the Orioles clearly felt confident in their scouting department’s ability to recognize high-end pitching talent. Unfortunately, the confidence was unwarranted. Drafted out of high school with the 5th pick, Hobgood won the Gatorade National Player of the Year Award in his senior season. With the buzz surrounding him, the Orioles' front office felt that they had landed a pitcher with tremendous potential. His career 1.482 WHIP in the minors tells a different story. Hobgood was never able to figure things out in pro ball, only reaching Double-A Bowie in 2015 before shoulder surgery ended his disappointing career. 

The selection of Hobgood is made worse by who the Orioles missed out on by a single pick yet again. With the sixth pick, the Giants selected pitcher Zack Wheeler. While he never transformed into a perennial CY Young Award candidate until joining the Phillies years later, he's another example of what could have been for Baltimore. Instead, their selection of Hobgood offered them a double helping of draft bust remorse. We can also ignore a certain fish-themed baseball legend also drafted later in the first round. 

Heston Kjerstad

Second overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft. 

Like countless other prospects who were drafted very early in the first round, Kjerstad has displayed flashes of pure brilliance on the ball field. The problem is, those flashes have only been seen in the minors. In 319 career games across five minor league seasons, Kjerstad is hitting a combined .289 with an OPS of .853. In 2024, the outfielder posted his greatest season as a pro, smacking 16 home runs at Triple-A Norfolk. 

Unfortunately for Kjerstad and the Orioles, he’s just never been able to duplicate that level of production in the big leagues. He’s also been plagued by a number of injuries, including a lengthy battle with myocarditis, which has kept him off the field and likely stunted his development. While he is still only 27 years old, Kjerstad is becoming dangerously close to being labeled as a Quad-A player. 

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