Early preview of next year’s Orioles pre-Rule 5 draft 40-man roster decisions

The Orioles added top pitching prospect Grayson Rodriguez and four other prospects to their 40-man roster to keep them protected from this year's Rule 5 draft. The team has added at least five players in this way in each of the last three November. Next year, the team will have to make tough decisions about who to protect and who they leave off.

The 2020 college draft was truncated at five rounds due to the pandemic. The Orioles have a bigger crop of undrafted free agents to consider. Noah Denoyer was signed this week.

The Orioles are making a 40-man roster decision next year. The #2 overall pick in 2020, Kjerstad was drafted two years ago. He played in the Arizona Fall League this month and last. His batting line was .223/.312/.362 in 43 games.

Jordan Westburg was drafted by the Orioles with their second pick of this draft. He's one of the top five prospects in the system according to MLB Pipeline. Westburger played in Double-A and Triple-a this year.

Hudson Haskin was picked in the second round in 2020. He played for Delmarva and Aberdeen in 2021 and Bowie this season. Hasksin hit 15 home runs this year.

Anthony Servideo is a third-round draft pick from this year's draft. He's been injured and is not considered a 40-man addition candidate.

Ryan Watson and Brandon Young were undrafted free agent signings. Watson made it to Triple-A this season. Young only made three starts for the Baysox this year.

Gunnar Henderson and Darell Hernaiz are the Orioles' only high school players in 2019. Henderson ascended to the top of prospect lists and to MLB late this season. HERNaiza was drafted in the fifth round out of Puerto Rico and played for Delmarva and Bowie this year.

Jean Pinto was acquired by the O's in the deal that sent José Iglesias to the Angels. He spent last season pitching for Aberdeen and he struck out 103 batters in 91.2 innings.

Antonio Velez was traded from the Marlins to the Orioles as part of the Cole Sulser and Tanner Scott trade. He started just 13 games for the team this year and was hurt for part. Velez needs to improve his performance to get back into the 40-man picture for next year's draft.

Kyle Brnovich and Zach Peek are Tommy John survivors. They are Rule 5 draft-eligible for the first time this year. The Orioles left them unprotected. They might be selected next month. If they come back from surgery looking good, they'll be 40-man candidates next November.

The Orioles are going to add Kjerstad, Haskin, and Hernaiz to the 40-man roster next year. They are not going for a pitcher. There are no players who will become free agents after the 2023 season. The O's have no freebies. The team has less 40 players than before. It is going through the Rule 5 draft. A surprise reliever could emerge from somewhere.