The Red Sox have selected Middleton (Idaho) High School right-hander Robert Orloski with their 20th-round pick in the 2023 MLB Draft at No. 598 overall.
Orloski was ranked by Baseball America as the No. 465 prospect in this year’s draft class. The 18-year-old righty is currently committed to play college baseball at Texas-San Antonio.
Orloski is looking to become the first high school pitcher out of Idaho to sign with a club after being drafted in the bonus pool era. The Gem State native is coming off a dominant senior season in which he went 7-1 with a 1.38 ERA and 92 strikeouts to 19 walks in 11 appearances spanning 56 innings of work. He was named the Gatorade Idaho Baseball Player of the Year for his efforts.
Listed at 6-foot-2 and 175 pounds, Orloski “has a high-energy windup and fast arm, with a few moving parts and some effort throughout his finish,” per his Baseball America scouting report. “He has mostly pitched in the 88-92 mph range, but will sit in the low 90s early in starts with bat-missing qualities to his fastball.
“During the 2022 Area Code Games, Orloski showed a 79-81 mph slurvy breaking ball that varied in shape but lacked hard bite, though scouts this spring have spoken more positively about his breaking ball and think it could become a solid secondary pitch. He has also flashed a decent low-80s changeup that has shown well versus left-handers.”
Speaking with Michael Lycklama of the Idaho Statesman on Tuesday, Orloski said that the Red Sox scouted him “heavily” throughout his high school career. He also indicated that the club has yet to offer the kind of money he is looking for with the signing deadline a little less than two weeks away.
“It’s all good,” Orloski said. “I’m still kind of waiting. I haven’t received the money I wanted. So we are still waiting to see if I can get that. If not, I’ll go to college.”
Orloski, who turns 19 in October, is likely in search of a bonus that exceeds the slot value for his pick ($150,000). The Red Sox can offer him more than that, but they would have to dip into their bonus pool in order to do so.
When speaking with reporters (including The Boston Globe’s Greg McKenna) on Tuesday, Red Sox amateur scouting director Devin Pearson said he was unsure whether the club would be able to sign Orloski — as well as 15th-rounder Phoenix Call — away from their college commitments
Regardless of that, Orloski is the first prep pitcher Boston has drafted since 2021, when it took Puerto Rican righty Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz in the fourth round out of Leadership Christian Academy.
That concludes this year’s installment of the draft. All told, the Red Sox took eight right-handed pitchers, four left-handed pitchers, five infielders, four outfielders, and one catcher over this three-day period. Of Boston’s 22 selections, 16 are out of college, one is out of junior college, and five are out of high school.
The Red Sox have $10,295,100 in bonus pool money to work with this year. As highlighted by SoxProspects.com’s Mike Andrews, they can spend past that amount but would incur different penalties in doing so.
For instance, if the Red Sox exceed their pool by 0-5%, they will be charged a 75% tax on the excess. If they exceed their pool 5-10%, they will pay the same tax and will also lose its first-round pick next season. If they exceed their pool by 10-15%, they will be charged a 100% tax on the excess and lose their first- and second-round picks next season. And if they exceed their pool by more than 15%, they will be charged a 100% tax on the excess and lose their next two first-round picks.
The signing deadline is 5 p.m. eastern time on July 25.
(Picture of Robert Orloski: Darin Oswald/The Idaho Statesman)
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