Opening beer cans for Orioles fans during Saturday’s Birdland Caravan happy hour, Adley Rutschman got hasty, prompting a Checkerspot Brewing Company employee to jokingly remind him to make sure the patrons paid for their drinks. A nearby fan offered a reason the Orioles’ catcher should have been able to get away with it.
“He can do what he wants,” she said. “He’s Adley.”
Such a viewpoint is likely common among Baltimore’s fanbase after Rutschman’s arrival miraculously spurred the Orioles into contention. With Rutschman putting up numbers that eventually resulted in Most Valuable Oriole honors and a runner-up finish in American League Rookie of the Year voting, the Orioles played at an 89-win pace with him on their roster. They finished three games out of a playoff spot despite preseason expectations they would be the majors’ worst team for the third time in five years.
The first of those seasons netted them Rutschman, the first overall pick in the 2019 draft and soon after the top prospect in baseball. Long viewed as the player who would turn the Orioles’ rising tide, Rutschman delivered while hitting .254 with an .806 OPS and 13 home runs, setting a franchise rookie record for doubles.
Now, like his team, even more is expected of him. He’s ready to take it on.
“My goal is always to be the best version of myself, best baseball player, best human, and because of that, there’s always gonna be room to improve,” Rutschman said. “That’s the thing about baseball and life is you’re always gonna have things to improve on, and so take the offseason, work as hard as you can, and then we’ll see how this year goes.”
He didn’t have an exact answer for what the best version of Adley Rutschman is, saying it’s “something I’m always chasing.” But the version Rutschman has achieved thus far is a player who’s already considered one of the top talents in the majors heading into what will be his first full major league season.
The projection systems Steamer and ZiPS have Rutschman earning between 5.6 and 5.8 wins above replacement, respectively, totals ranking in the top 10 in baseball and a full win ahead of any other catcher. In Steamer’s view, the only players who will be more valuable than Rutschman this season are the San Diego Padres’ Juan Soto, the New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge, the Seattle Mariners’ Julio Rodríguez and the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Mookie Betts.
The Orioles, meanwhile, are being discussed internally and externally as a playoff contender. As someone who’s faced pressure since he was a potential top draft pick at Oregon State, Rutschman said his teammates are equipped to handle it, too.
“It’s more exciting than anything,” Rutschman said. “The perspective we have is on what we can do together and just trying to elevate each other.”
Baltimore has made modest improvements to its roster from this time last year, but the most significant upgrade could come in the form of a full season from Rutschman, whose debut was pushed to late May thanks to a right tricep strain suffered early in spring training. He said Saturday he “went through what I went through for a reason,” though the Orioles were 16-24 when he was called up and 67-55 afterward. Rutschman alone won’t be responsible for any team improvements, with the farm system he once spearheaded continuing to produce top talents and a core of established players around him, but his position behind the plate provides leadership opportunities he’s willing to embrace should they pop up.
“Leadership, for me, is one of those things that has to come authentically,” Rutschman said. “I’m just going to try to be myself and help guys in the best way that I can.”
Rutschman heads to Sarasota, Florida, in the coming days, arriving before pitchers and catchers’ Feb. 15 report date for spring training. He enters camp assured of being the Orioles’ starting catcher and a fixture of the middle of their batting order if healthy, a welcome adjustment coming off his impressive debut.
“It definitely is different knowing what you’re going into, kind of having the experience of last year,” Rutschman said. “Knowing what to expect this year is definitely a different feeling than the last couple of years because you’re always chasing the unknown of what the big leagues is gonna hold. Hopefully this year, going in knowing a little bit more, we can just kind of build off the last year.”
Spring training
Pitchers and catchers report: Feb. 15
First full-squad workout: Feb. 21
Grapefruit League opener: Feb. 25 vs. Twins
