We are now one week away from the start of the 2026 MLB Draft.

The first four rounds will be selected on Saturday July 11 beginning at 1:30 p.m. in Philadelphia. Rounds five through 20 go off on Sunday July 12.

The Steve on Baseball podcast returned today with a great guest - Baseball America national writer Carlos Collazo. He heads up BA’s draft coverage and you will also see Carlos as part of the national television coverage on July 11 seen on NBC and MLB Network.

A 2016 UNC grad, Carlos has been with Baseball America since 2017.

We covered a lot of ground in this podcast, getting his in-depth thoughts on what the O’s might do with the No. 7 overall pick and all the ramifications and factors at work for the pick. This is the first time the O’s have selected No. 7 since they drafted Nick Markakis with that selection in 2003.

We discussed various scenarios for the No. 7 pick and I asked Carlos how the board looks for other O’s top picks at No. 46 and No. 82.

We discussed the O’s seeming hesitancy to draft a pitcher with their top pick and what may be behind that.

Late in the podcast I asked Carlos to explain what a draft model is? Spoiler alert, the O’s are one of many teams that seem to be reliant on their model.

Enjoy this latest edition of the Steve on Baseball podcast.

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