The Baltimore Orioles’ draft track record under president of baseball operations and acting-GM Mike Elias has been something of a roller coaster.
While the organization has produced cornerstone position players such as Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman and Jackson Holliday, identifying high-end pitching early in the draft has proven more elusive.
That may have changed in 2025 with left-hander Joseph Dzierwa.
A 6-foot-8 product of Michigan State, Dzierwa’s collegiate career was a study in progression. As a freshman, he posted a 4.67 ERA across 52 innings, showing flashes but lacking consistency.
His sophomore season brought modest improvement (4.07 ERA), though command issues surfaced, including 27 walks and 11 home runs allowed. Still, his strikeout ability (91) and a reduced opponent batting average (.230) hinted at untapped potential.
That potential materialized during a dominant junior campaign in 2025. Dzierwa recorded a 1.82 ERA over 118.2 innings with 137 strikeouts, while allowing just four home runs.
He opened the season with 17.2 consecutive scoreless innings and finished with four complete-game shutouts, emerging as one of the most effective arms in college baseball and rising to No. 74 on MLB Pipeline’s draft board.
The Orioles selected Dzierwa with the 58th overall pick that year, and while he did not appear in games immediately after signing, he offered an early glimpse of his upside during spring action in 2026. He delivered a clean inning against the Toronto Blue Jays and followed it with three scoreless innings and eight strikeouts in the Spring Breakout game.
Dzierwa has carried that momentum into his professional debut with the High-A Frederick Keys, where he opened the season with six shutout innings on Opening Day.
Through his first four starts, the 22-year-old owns a 3–1 record with a 2.35 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 23 innings, flashing the swing-and-miss arsenal that fueled his collegiate breakout.
Now ranked as the No. 12 prospect in Baltimore’s system, Dzierwa is trending toward a rapid ascent, with a likely promotion to Double-A Chesapeake and a potential path to Triple-A Norfolk before long.
If his early returns are any indication, the Orioles may have finally found their next homegrown impact arm.
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