Adley Rutschman

Adley Stan Rutschman

Bats Both, Throws Right
Height 6' 2", Weight 216 lb.
School Oregon State University
High School Sherwood (OR) High School
Debut May 21, 2022

Born February 6, 1998 in Portland, OR USA

Biographical Information[edit]

Catcher Adley Rutschman was the MVP of the 2018 College World Series, when he led Oregon State University to the title. A year later, he was the first overall pick of the 2019 amateur draft, by the Baltimore Orioles.

His selection by the Orioles was not at all a surprise, as he had been the favorite to be picked first for months before the draft, with high school shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., who was picked second by the Kansas City Royals, the only other name who was in the conversation. he had earlier been selected in the 40th round of the 2016 amateur draft, coming out of high school, by the Seattle Mariners, but had declined to sign with them in order to go to college. He collected a bevy of honors in his junior year at Oregon State in addition to his College World Series trophy, including being named a first or second team All-American by various organizations, being named to the Pacific-12 Conference All-Star team and to its all-defensive team while receiving an All-Academic Honorable Mention, and being a semi-finalist for both the Dick Howser Trophy and the Johnny Bench Award. As a senior in 2019, he hit .411 and had an OBP of .575 and won the Golden Spikes Award, the Dick Howser Trophy and the Buster Posey Award (the new name of the former Johnny Bench Award). He also hit 17 homers, as his power continued to develop. As a freshman, he was a kicker on the football team, but gave that up to concentrate on baseball.

On June 24, 2019, it was reported that he had signed with the Orioles for a bonus of $8.1 million, the largest ever, eclipsing the $8 million given by the 2011 Pittsburgh Pirates to Gerrit Cole. He made his pro debut with the GCL Orioles on July 20th, although he was expected to move quickly up the ladder. On August 19th, playing for the Aberdeen IronBirds of the New York-Penn League he had a five-hit game with a home run, a triple and 5 RBIs. Overall, he played 37 games for three different teams in his first pro season, also suiting up for the Delmarva Shorebirds of the South Atlantic League, for a batting line of .254/.351/.423, with 4 homers and 26 RBIs. He then spent all of 2020 at the Orioles' alternate training site as the minor leagues were shut down by the Coronavirus pandemic.

He returned to game action in 2021, being promoted straight to AA and the Bowie BaySox of the renamed Double-A Northeast, where he hit .270 in 80 games and was selected to play in the 2021 Futures Game at Coors Field. On August 8th, he was promoted to the AAA Norfolk Tides for the final month of the season. In mid-August, he was officially promoted to the status of #1 prospect in baseball by MLB, following Wander Franco's graduation from the list. He finished the year with a combined batting line of .285/.397/.502 in 123 games, with 25 doubles, 23 homers, 86 runs scored and 75 RBIs, making it clear that he was ready to show his stuff in the Show.

Hee hit a snag in spring training in 2022 as a right triceps strain sent him to the injured list to start the year. He made his season debut on April 26th on a rehabilitation assignment with Class A Aberdeen, then was promoted to AA Bowie after 4 games. He hit over .400 in both short stops, totaling 7 games, then moved up to AAA Norfolk for 12 games. After hitting .233 with 3 homers in 12 games, he got the call to Baltimore that everyone was expecting. He made his debut on May 21st, starting behind the plate and hitting sixth against the Tampa Bay Rays. He went 1 for 3 with a walk in a 6-1 loss. The hit was a triple off Ralph Garza in the 7th inning. He was batting just .153 after 16 games on June 11th when he had his first three-hit games, including a pair of doubles, in a 6-4 wn over the Kansas City Royals. He had 7 runs scored at that point, but was still looking for his first homer and RBI. He finally connected for a long ball on June 15th, off José Berríos of the Toronto Blue Jays. He ended the year at .254 in 113 games for a much improved Orioles team, with 13 homers and 42 RBIs. His OPS+ was an excellent 128 and he also did excellent work on the defensive side of the game, resulting in his finishing second in the voting for the 2022 American League Rookie of the Year Award, behind Julio Rodríguez of the Seattle Mariners.

He opened the 2023 season on a great note as he homered in his first at-bat of the year for the Orioles against Corey Kluber of the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on March 30th. He went on to collect four more hits for his first career five-hit game in a 10-9 win. George Springer of the Toronto Blue Jays also had a five-hit game that day, making it the first time two batters had collected that many on opening day. He was named to his first All-Star team that year and took part in the Home Run Derby. While he lost in the first round, he became the first player to ever bat from both sides of the plate during the event, taking swings as both a right-hander and left-hander.

His grandfather, Ad Rutschman, was the baseball and football coach at Linfield College. His father, Randy, played at Linfield, and has been an assistant coach at George Fox University since 2004 (as of 2022).

Notable Achievements[edit]

2022 Topps All-Star Rookie Team
AL All-Star (2023)
AL Silver Slugger Award Winner (2023)
20-Home Run Seasons: 1 (2023)

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Adley Rutschman

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