Rutschman’s maiden MLB voyage has been ‘an awesome experience’
Rookie catcher Adley Rutschman, shown here with Jorge Lopez, has shown “nice leadership skills behind the plate,” Baltimore Orioles manager Brandon Hyde says
SEATTLE — The Baltimore Orioles dressed quietly in the visitor’s locker room at T-Mobile Park Wednesday afternoon after taking a 9-3 thumping by the Seattle Mariners.
As I waited for Adley Rutschman to be made available, I asked teammate Ryan Mountcastle about the catcher’s progress in his rookie season.
“He is settling into his own,” said the centerfielder, who socked 33 home runs last season and is probably Baltimore’s best hitter. “Seems like all the pitchers love him behind the plate. He is a great clubhouse guy. He is pretty mature -- more so than the average rookie. He fits in well with this club. He has a nice career ahead of him.”
With All-Star potential, I wondered?
Mountcastle smiled.
“Oh yeah,” he nodded. “For sure.”
For sure, Rutschman is off on the right foot. The former Sherwood High and Oregon State standout has hit only .220 in 32 games since making his major league debut on May 21. But the No. 1 pick of the 2019 MLB draft has made an immediate impact with his new team while making a transition to the big time. And he has had fun doing it.
“It has been an awesome experience so far,” said Rutschman, 24. “The guys are great. I’m very blessed to be here. I just have to continue to learn and get better every day.”
After a poor start at the plate — he had no RBIs through his first 20 games — Rutschman found his groove three weeks ago. Going into Wednesday’s finale of a three-game series in Seattle, he was slashing .310/.365/.638 over his previous 16 games, going 18 for 58 with 10 doubles, three homers and nine RBIs.
Rutschman had hits in nine of 10 games. He hit a double in five consecutive games, the longest streak by an Oriole hitter since 2009, and he tied a franchise record with an extra-base hit in six straight contests.
The 2018 College World Series Most Outstanding Player and 2019 National Player of the Year started Monday’s 8-2 win over the Mariners with a run-scoring single and then a solo home run, pointing toward the stands as he rounded third base. That was in the direction of his parents, Randy and Carol, along with grandfather Ad Rutschman — the Hall of Fame former Linfield coach — and a small but feisty group of other relatives, friends and former teammates. Also, former OSU coach Pat Casey.
“Just acknowledging the people who came to see me,” Adley said. “That was the section my family and everyone was sitting in.”
It was Baltimore’s only visit to Seattle this season.
“Three things made it exciting for Adley,” Randy Rutschman said. “One, being back on the West Coast. He misses the smell of the Pacific. Things just smell different here. Two, a bunch of his best friends came up to the games. And three, this was the first major league park he visited.”
Adley has been in what is now called T-Mobile Park many times. He accompanied his father to many games to watch the Mariners play through his childhood. He competed in a regional Pitch, Hit and Run competition there when he was eight years old. Adley played a couple of games with Oregon State against Minnesota and Coastal Carolina during a mini-tournament his junior season. And before the 2019 draft, there was a workout for the Mariners.
“It’s great to be back, having the opportunity for people I know to come out here,” he said. “It was always a dream of mine to play in the major leagues. This was a full circle moment.”
After the two early hits in Monday’s opener, Rutschman went 0 for 10 the rest of the series. He was 0 for 4 Wednesday, with three ground-outs and a flyout.
“Adley had a tough day at the plate today, but he is doing great,” said Brandon Hyde, Baltimore’s fourth-year manager. “He is getting used to the big leagues. He has gotten some big hits for us. He has been taking really good at-bats through the last couple of weeks.”
Rutschman has been catching about two out of every three games, filling the designated-hitter role and taking off about one game a week.
'He is catching great,” Hyde said. “He calls a good game, blocks extremely well, makes good throws, receives well. And he has nice leadership skills behind the plate. I have been impressed with him so far.”
Calling pitches is an extra responsibility that requires a great deal of preparation, including daily meetings with the starting pitcher and the pitching coach.
“We have a whole staff that is really dedicated to figuring out what’s best for the pitchers, what’s best for the plan of attack for the hitters we’re facing,” Rutschman said. “We have our scouting reports and meetings where you go over everything. We mesh it all together.”
Rutschman has had the benefit of the experience of backup catcher Robinson Chirinos, 38 and in his 10th big-league season. Soon after Adley’s call-up, they had a conversation.
“I want to make it clear: You and I are not in competition,” Chirinos told him. “When I was coming up, I had a guy who mentored and helped me along the way. I want to be that person for you.”
Said Rutschman: “All the guys have been great so far. (Chirinos) has been especially good. He has so much experience at the catcher position. I’ve had good talks with him.”
After losing the 2020 minor league season to Covid and excelling at both the Double-A and Triple-A levels in 2021, Rutschman seemed poised to start the 2022 campaign with the Orioles. But he suffered a tricep injury during spring training that laid him up for three weeks. Rutschman then went through the Orioles’ system in rehab, going from High-A Aberdeen to Double-A Bowie to Triple-A Norfolk before his call-up to the big club.
Part of the transition to the major leagues has been getting used to an older set of teammates.
“He has a lot of buddies from his Double-A and Triple-A teams — some life-long friends there,” his father said. “He went to the weddings of some of those guys. He gets up to the big-league squad and most of the guys are married or have kids. Big adjustment. If you want to go hang out with these guys, you have to be a babysitter.”
Randy laughed, then added: “He is getting used to it. He is learning about all the savvy that goes with this. There are some really neat guys on this Oriole team. He is becoming more and more comfortable with the whole deal.”
Adley’s rookie season reminds me of his freshman campaign at Oregon State, where he hit .234 with two home runs in 61 games. Casey stuck with him all the way. I remember him telling me this: “Adley is already a great catcher, and he is going to be a great hitter for us. And he is going to do it all the way to the major leagues.”
Darn if the skipper didn’t know what he was talking about.
On Wednesday, a Baltimore newspaper columnist posed the possibility of Rutschman winning the AL Rookie of the Year Award. He has plenty of competition, including former OSU teammate Steven Kwan of Cleveland and Julio Rodriguez, the Mariners’ promising 21-year-old slugger.
“I don’t know about all that stuff,” said Rutschman, deflecting the subject. “To me, it’s all about the daily process of getting better. If something happens that becomes a byproduct of that, that’s great. But it’s really about the journey and the every day.”
Baltimore is 35-42 after going 52-110 last year, tied with Arizona for MLB’s worst record. The Orioles are 14-12 in June, guaranteeing them their first winning month since August 2017.
They are getting better. Adley Rutschman is going to help them in that endeavor.
And I’ll second Ryan Mountcastle’s assertion. The kid from Sherwood is going to be an All-Star.
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