The Orioles have agreed to terms with their first-round selection of the 2018 First-Year Player Draft, right-handed pitcher Grayson Rodriguez, from Central Heights (Texas) High School. Rodriguez was selected with the 11th overall pick in the first round of the 2018 First-Year Player Draft.
Rodriguez, 18, was a 2018 Rawlings-Perfect Game First Team Senior Preseason All-America selection and was named to the Texas-All Region First Team. In 2017 as a junior, he helped lead Central Heights (Nacogdoches) to the Texas 3A State title. Rodriguez went 14-1 with a 0.38 ERA and 178 strikeouts and was named the Texas Sports Writer's Association (TSWA) Player of the Year. He was also named a Rawlings-Perfect Game Preseason Underclass All-America honoree in 2017. As a sophomore, Rodriguez was named a First Team Pitcher on the TSWA All-State Team. Additionally, he was named a Rawlings-Perfect Game High Underclass All-America selection in 2016.
Rodriguez was ranked as the No. 13 overall pitching prospect and the No. 22 overall Draft prospect by MLB Pipeline. He becomes the second straight high-school pitcher to be selected by the Orioles in the first round of the Draft, joining DL Hall in 2017. Eight of the past 10 Orioles first-round selections have been pitchers, including five from the high school ranks.