Ike Irish, the Orioles’ first-round draft pick in 2025, tore his left meniscus while sliding into second base Wednesday with High-A Frederick. Now the first baseman and outfielder is likely to miss the rest of the season, the Orioles announced.

This serves as a blow to Irish’s development and Baltimore’s trade deadline approach. If the Orioles operate as buyers, Irish may well have attracted interest from other teams.

The 22-year-old, drafted No. 19 overall last year, has performed at a high level for Frederick, hitting .286 with a .915 on-base-plus-slugging percentage. He was drafted as a catcher but has transitioned to first base and the corner outfield.

As part of Baseball America’s midseason rankings, Irish is second on the Orioles’ top 30, behind 2026 first-round pick Eric Booth Jr. The magazine also ranks Irish as the 76th-best prospect in the game.

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Irish is best known for his offensive potential. At Auburn, he produced an OPS over 1.000 across three seasons. He figured to be a fast riser in the minors, too, although it is perhaps a surprise he was still in High-A after 76 games this year, considering how well he was hitting.

Irish was one of two Orioles prospects to take part in this month’s All-Star Futures Game, alongside left-hander Joseph Dzierwa.

Irish isn’t the only hot-hitting prospect at Frederick. He’s joined by infielder Wehiwa Aloy, whom the Orioles drafted with their No. 31 pick last year out of Arkansas. Aloy is batting .305 with an .885 OPS. He ranks seventh in Baltimore’s top 30.

Baltimore also announced that Cobb Hightower, an infielder acquired from the San Diego Padres in the trade that sent Ryan O’Hearn and RamΓ³n Laureano to the National League West last year, underwent left knee ACL reconstruction and meniscus repair with Dr. Leigh Ann Curl in Baltimore.

Hightower, a 21-year-old third-round pick from 2024, has been on the injured list since July 8.