Orioles bold Ike Irish decision brings a hidden skill to the forefront amid AFL surge

The 2025 MLB Draft board could not have fallen better for the Baltimore Orioles. With five selections in the first 58 picks, the Orioles landed Auburn catcher/outfielder Ike Irish, Coastal Carolina backstop Caden Bodine, Arkansas shortstop and Golden Spikes winner Wehiwa Aloy, high school outfielder and Vanderbilt commit Slater de Brun, and Michigan State lefty Joseph Dzierwa, a true control artist. 

Bodine and de Brun were quickly traded to Tampa Bay as part of the package for right-handed pitcher Shane Baz, giving the Orioles a much-needed major-league starter with upside, who they instantly locked in with a five-year, $68 million extension. Aloy followed up his Golden Spikes season by winning Orioles Minor League Player of the Year honors. And Joseph Dzierwa emerged as a top-100 prospect in baseball, winning the Jim Palmer Orioles Minor League Pitcher of the Year award. 

But don’t forget about first-rounder Ike Irish, who appears poised to make some serious noise in 2027. 

Irish hit .286 with 20 doubles, 16 home runs, and a 135 wRC+ in 76 High-A games during his first full season of pro ball this year, but his season ended abruptly due to a torn meniscus in late July. 

A little more than two months later, Irish was sent to the Arizona Fall League to make up for lost at-bats. Not only has Irish been one of the more productive bats in the league, but we have also learned something important about Irish and his development that appears to have unlocked his offense and taken it to another level. 

A positional move for Orioles prospect Ike Irish could pay off big dividends

Irish spent a significant amount of time catching while at Auburn, seeing more time in the outfield during his junior season due to an injury. He made a brief debut in Single-A after being drafted in 2025 and saw more time behind the plate after Caden Bodine’s season ended prematurely due to an injury. However, it appears that Irish’s days behind the plate are over.

Early in the AFL season, Irish told FanGraphs that beginning in college, he developed the yips behind the plate, significantly struggling with things like safely getting the ball back to his pitcher. More recently, Irish spoke with Jim Callis of MLB Pipeline.

"I'm kind of relieved that I'm done with catching," Irish said. "I like to do one thing, and that's I like to hit. That's what we kind of came to was we believe in the bat a lot, and let's just let the bat play, and positionally, hey, we'll figure it out. It's more about let's bang and then the cards will fall where they may. Let's just free up the bat," Irish said.

The Orioles could have attempted to work with Irish on the mental side of his game and continued to develop him as a catcher, but the decision to just nix catching could end up paying bigger dividends. Moving full-time to an outfield/first base role will put more pressure on Irish’s bat to perform, but the Orioles are clearly betting that the offensive upside is worth the defensive gamble.

It’s not just the bat that needs your attention. His .328 average, seven extra-base hits, and more walks than strikeouts in the AFL showed that he hasn’t missed a beat after missing the final two-plus months of the regular season, but Irish has also shown off both his speed on the basepaths and outfield arm. 

As noted by MLB’s Jesse Borek, Irish unloaded a throw from the outfield at 94.5 mph to hold a runner, which would have ranked in the 99th percentile among major league outfielders in 2026. Any question about whether or not he has the arm to handle right field seems to have been answered. 

Irish has also unlocked more speed as he’s been able to transform his body after moving from behind the plate. He stole 20 bases in High-A, but the green light seems to remain on at all times down in High-A for Orioles prospects the last few seasons as they look to take advantage of catchers in High-A still working on their arm strength and accuracy. 

However, maybe we shouldn’t be so quick to dismiss his 20 stolen bases this season. Irish added five more stolen bases in the AFL and told Jim Callis that he’s been able to reshape his body and thinks he can be more of a threat on the bases moving forward. 

Irish will likely begin 2027 in Double-A, but shouldn’t be there long. If he continues to play as well as he has, don’t be surprised if he’s knocking on the doors of the major leagues by the end of the year. If Irish’s AFL performance is any indication, Baltimore may have unlocked an impact bat and a much more athletic player than anyone expected when they drafted him 19th overall.

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