Today, we take a look at Baltimore Orioles top prospect, Adley Rutschman.
The Baltimore Orioles selected switch-hitting catcher Adley Rutschman with the first overall selection in the 2019 MLB draft. As a proven college prospect and now at 22 years old he is not far from the big leagues. We most likely will see him debut in the 2021 season.
With all the hype surrounding Rutschman, the question is just how good will he actually be? First, let’s take a look and see just how amazing he was at Oregon State.
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2018: Sophomore Year
- .408 AVG, 1.333 OPS, 9 HR, 22 2B, 83 RBI
- leads Oregon State to the 2018 College World Series
- named College World Series MOP.
2019: Junior Year
- .411 AVG, 1.327 OPS, 17 HR, 10 2B, 58 RBI
- 2019 Golden Spikes Award Finalist
That’s a pretty amazing resume and shows why he was the clear #1 pick. His pure talent and ability are off the charts.
Fangraphs’ prospect report grades project him to be a future grade of at least 60 on a 20-80 scale for hitting, raw power, fielding, and arm. The scale is based on a grade of 50 being MLB average level.
This means he would be at least a whole standard deviation above league average at 4 of the main components of the game. This shows just how well rounded his game should be once he reaches the majors.
Fangraphs currently gives him a total FV (Future Value) of 60, which is only topped by 3 other prospects.
Based on how Rutschman dominated the NCAA and the projections he’s been given, it’s hard to see him not being at least an above-average player in the majors.
There is no guarantee he will be a superstar catcher in the show, and I think too many people might be putting that on him right now. He still has very little experience in pro ball, so until he gets some more minor league experience and continues to prove his dominance there, it’s tough to put him as any sort of automatic star.
All this being said, the potential for him to end up as a star for the Orioles is absolutely evident with a fairly good likelihood.
As a 6’2″ switch-hitting catcher with great defensive ability, he is an extremely unique talent that could certainly become the face of the Baltimore Orioles and help give this long rebuild a boost.
The 2020 season certainly is going to stunt his development a bit as with all prospects. If baseball were being played we’d certainly have a better idea of when he’d appear and what that’d look like.
Either way, Adley Rutschman is the Baltimore Orioles best chance at turning things around and looks like the future face of the franchise.