The Orioles used the fifth overall pick in the MLB draft on Sunday to take Sam Houston State’s Colton Cowser, selecting a college position player in the first round for the third straight season and an outfielder for the second year in a row.
Cowser follows catcher Adley Rutschman and outfielder Heston Kjerstad as Baltimore’s top selections under executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias. Each ranks among the Orioles’ top four prospects, though Kjerstad has yet to play a professional game after developing myocarditis (inflammation of the heart) last fall. Rutschman, meanwhile, is the organization’s top prospect and the highest-ranking prospect in the sport among those who have yet to play in the majors.