Ike Irish Opens Up on What Pushed Him Away From Catching

Fans who follow the Baltimore Orioles farm system know outfielder Ike Irish as a bat-first prospect, but most of them probably did not know why he really stopped catching.

In an interview with FanGraphs' David Laurila published on Sunday, the 2025 first-round pick said he has dealt with the yips behind the plate since his junior year of high school, and he talked about how much better the game has felt since he moved to the outfield and first base.

Irish told Laurila that the yips came and went through high school and his freshman year of college, and that he talked with mental performance coaches and tried brainspotting while doing everything he could to get rid of them.

Nothing worked, but the problem only showed up when he was catching, and he said he was totally fine in the outfield or at first base.

The Orioles took him 19th overall in 2025 out of Auburn, and he caught just seven games for Single-A Delmarva that summer.

He did not catch at all in 2026, and he said in the FanGraphs interview that leaving the position changed how the whole game feels to him.

"With catching, it never felt like I could play the game with freedom. As soon as I got away from that position, the game felt free again," Irish said.

Irish hit .286 with a .388 on-base percentage, 16 home runs, 59 RBIs and 20 stolen bases in 76 games for High-A Frederick this season, and he was picked for the Futures Game.

His season ended early in late July when he had surgery on a torn meniscus in his left knee, according to Matt Weyrich, which is a big reason he is in the Arizona Fall League now, and he is off to a good start there, going 3-for-9 with a home run in his first two games for the Peoria Javelinas.

MLB Pipeline ranks Irish as the No. 5 prospect in the Orioles system, and the whole system got good news when six Orioles prospects landed on the latest Top 100 list earlier this month.

That gives Baltimore options after a 79-82 season that left the team fourth in the American League East.

Some people might see a first-round catcher moving off the plate as a loss of value, but the way Irish told it, a weight came off his shoulders.

I will take a relaxed hitter who is enjoying the game over one who is stressed out every time he has to throw the ball back to the pitcher.

The Orioles do not need him to catch anyway.

Catcher Samuel Basallo is already in the majors, and a left-handed bat like Irish fits best at a corner spot.

The club has plenty of bats to sort out, like third baseman Coby Mayo, whose season at the plate made a case for everyday at-bats, and third baseman Jordan Westburg, who is working back after missing the year.

Irish and the Javelinas play at the Scottsdale Scorpions on Wednesday night.

A strong fall would make up for the time he lost to the knee injury and keep him moving toward Baltimore.