BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - MAY 21: Adley Rutschman #35 of the Baltimore Orioles runs down the first base line on a ground out in the second inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on May 21, 2022 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
All you need to know about when was Baltimore Orioles star player Adley Rutschman was drafted into the MLB.
The Baltimore Orioles made what they hope will be a franchise-altering selection in 2019, when they took Oregon State catcher Adley Rutschman with the first overall pick in the Major League Baseball Draft on Monday. This was the second time that the Orioles had the opportunity to select first overall.
The Orioles went with the consensus top collegiate talent in Rutschman, who remained atop most Draft boards for the better part of the past two years. This decision comes thirty years after the Orioles made history by selecting LSU right-handed pitcher Ben McDonald with the first pick in 1989.
Rutschman just finished a dominant two-year stretch for the Beavers, hitting.354 with a 1.225 OPS over the course of 124 games in Corvallis as a sophomore and junior. He is a backstop who hits both left-handed and right-handed and was the Most Outstanding Player of the College World Series in the past. Before being selected in the draught, Rutschman led all Division I players in walks and on-base percentage while hitting.411/.575/.751 in 57 games. He also led the pack with 17 home runs, 76 walks, and just 38 strikeouts. It was said by Jim Callis of MLB Pipeline that he is the best prospect the industry has seen since Bryce Harper. He is regarded as a solid defensive player.
Rutschman is the sixth catcher in the annals of baseball history and the first to be selected first overall since Joe Mauer in 2001. This is the first time that Baltimore has selected a catcher with its first-round choice since it selected Matt Wieters out of Georgia Tech in 2007. This is also the sixth time that Baltimore has chosen a backstop. Rutschman is also the first player ever taken first overall by Oregon State University, and he is the first native Oregonian to be selected first overall since Dave Roberts was chosen by the Padres in 1972.
Throughout his brief tenure thus far in Major League Baseball, the catcher for the Orioles has been phenomenal. The previous season was his first in the major leagues, and he demonstrated why he was considered to be one of the top prospects. In 113 games during the previous season, he had a batting average of.254 with 101 hits, 13 home runs, 42 RBIs, and 70 runs scored.
Sherwood High School in Sherwood, Oregon is where Rutschman received his high school education before being selected by the Seattle Mariners in the 40th round of the 2016 Major In Baseball draught. Instead of signing with the Mariners, he went to Oregon State University, where he was a member of the Beavers baseball team and played college baseball.
In his first season of collegiate football, Rutschman was a member of the Beavers and played the position of placekicker for the team. In his freshman year, he appeared in 61 games and hit.234/.322/.306 with two home runs, 33 RBI, and a slugging percentage of.306 (RBI).
Following the conclusion of the 2017 campaign, he participated in summer collegiate baseball with the Falmouth Commodores of the Cape Cod Baseball League. In 2018, he had a batting line of.408/.505/.628 with nine home runs and 83 RBIs, which helped Oregon State win the College World Series and their third NCAA Division I Baseball National Championship. In addition, he was a member of the Oregon State team that won the 2018 NCAA Division I Baseball National Championship.
As a result of Rutschman’s outstanding performance throughout the College World Series, which included a record-setting 17 hits and 13 runs batted in, the College World Series Most Outstanding Player award was bestowed upon him. He had a batting line of.411/.575/.751 for his junior year in 2019, which included 17 home runs and 58 RBIs.
Rutschman was in contention for a position on the Orioles 2022 Opening Day roster; however, he was unable to participate in the first game of the season due to an injured triceps muscle. On April 26th, he started working with Aberdeen on a rehabilitation mission. On May 21, 2022, Rutschman made his debut in the main leagues after being elevated to a higher level of competition. For his debut game, which took place on the same day, he started behind the plate and caught, and he was the sixth batter in the lineup.
Adley Rutschman had experienced a feeling to play for the Orioles before, when he was wearing orange and black behind the plate. In 2018, Rutschman triumphed in the collegiate competition while playing for Oregon State, a school whose colours are identical to those of Baltimore.
The Orioles catcher has had an outstanding start to his Major League Baseball career, and he is displaying all of the characteristics that indicate he will one day be a superstar. Even though we haven’t even started playing yet, he is already being spoken about as one of the top catchers in the league, and we’ve only just begun.
Rutschman displayed why he and his squad could be feared in the years to come by utterly dominating the Boston Red Sox in the first game of the season. This game was Rutschman’s first of the year. Even though he is only 25 years old, he was able to bring a lot to the Orioles during his rookie season. The Orioles were 16-24 last May when he took the pitch in Baltimore for the first time as a major leaguer, but they ended up getting quite close to making the playoffs because of his contributions.
Upon the hiring of Rutschman, the Orioles went on a 10-game winning streak in the month of July, which contributed to their finish of 83-79, which was the best in the major league and a 31-game improvement from 2021. Rutschman finished in second place in the voting for the American League Rookie of the Year Award, which was ultimately won by Seattle’s Julio Rodriguez. Rutschman led the Orioles in wins above replacement.
Due to this, Rutschman was able to establish himself as the best catcher in the American League almost immediately. He had an on-base plus slugging percentage of.806, which was the highest among regulars in the American League. Despite getting out to a slow start, he managed a batting average of.254 with 13 home runs and 42 runs batted in.
The only American League catcher with more extra-base hits than Rutschman’s 49, and that was Oakland’s Sean Murphy, who was moved to Atlanta in December. We expect big things from both Rutschman and the Orioles this year, as we anticipate them making significant progress as a team.
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