BALTIMORE ORIOLES TOP 10 PROSPECTS
1. ADLEY RUTSCHMAN, C
AGE: 24. B-T: B-R. HT: 6-2. WT: 216. DRAFTED: Oregon State, 2019 (1st round). SIGNED BY: Brandon Verley.
TRACK RECORD: The Orioles were made to wait longer than expected to see the No. 1 overall pick in 2019, who they signed to a record $8.1 million bonus, tear through the minors the way a generational amateur talent is expected. A College World Series champion and Most Outstanding Player for Oregon State in 2018 and the BA College Player of the Year in 2019, Rutschman got a late start to his 2019 pro debut due to illness, then spent the summer of 2020 at the Orioles’ alternate training site refining his swing and beginning to build rapport with some of the top pitching prospects in the organization. His delayed first full season, however, could not have gone better. Beginning at Double-A Bowie, Rutschman was the top prospect in Double-A Northeast and appeared in the Futures Game before ending his season with Triple-A.
Rutschman’s calling card at the plate is his elite plate discipline, with his 14.5% walk rate the best in the organization and in the top 10% of all qualified hitters in the high minors. He paced the Orioles’ internal swing-decision metrics and rarely swings and misses, with a 6.7% whiff rate. His uncanny understanding of the strike zone means his already-modest strikeout numbers could fall as he advances to the majors and higher quality umpires. In the midst of his one rough stretch of the season, he and the Orioles identified an issue with his load and
