Rutschman rocks White Sox with HR, career-best 3 RBIs

CHICAGO -- Adley Rutschman is starting to get a feel for this whole Major League thing.

After a rough start to his rookie season, MLB Pipeline’s No. 1 prospect is starting to turn a corner. Rutschman launched his second home run of the season and drove in three Orioles runs in a 4-0 win against the White Sox on Thursday night at Guaranteed Rate Field.

“Two huge hits with the homer and the double,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “Johnny Cueto is a tough matchup for young or veteran-type hitters and how he changes speeds, changes delivery and messes up with your timing, so I was really impressed with Adley’s at-bats.”

Rutschman got the scoring started on a two-run shot off Cueto in the fourth inning. The Orioles catcher crushed it for a Statcast-projected 402 feet with an exit velocity of 107 mph after working a 2-2 count.

And as he approached his teammates in the dugout, he put on the classic O’s home run chain around his neck for the second time this season.

“It’s great,” Rutschman said. “I talk about process a lot and it’s how I go about my business every day.”

Rutschman also added an RBI double in the sixth inning to notch a career-high three RBIs. He entered the game with four RBIs.

Those two at-bats are just a window into how the rookie is finally settling in.

“He’s swinging the bat extremely well,” Hyde said. “He is getting more comfortable in the big leagues and is starting to see [the ball] more.”

In Rutschman’s first 15 games as a Major Leaguer -- from May 21 to June 9 -- the rookie struggled. He had just eight hits across 56 at-bats (.143 average), no home runs, no RBIs and struck out 15 times. The top prospect simply didn’t look like himself.

“He’s really talented and there’s always an adjustment period in the big leagues and he’s always going to have his ups and downs,” Hyde said. “But, [he’s] got big-time tools and a ton of abilities.”

That adversity turned into a learning experience for the 24-year-old and his performance on Thursday continued to show just the type of force that Rutschman can become.

“It’s a learning process,” the catcher said. “There’s going to be a lot of ups and downs in baseball, so you’re trying to stay as consistent as you can.”

That learning process has helped the young catcher adjust to the game and bat an impressive .304 (14-for-46) with eight doubles, two home runs, seven RBIs and just six strikeouts over his past 12 games.

“I’m just trying to be the best I can every day,” Rutschman said. “Prepare as well as I can and have that good mindset going into each at-bat.”

It’s also not uncommon for rookies to struggle once they hit the Majors -- it’s a learning curve. The game is different, the speed is different and of course, the young prospects are facing some of the best pitchers in the world.

Just compare the top three 2022 prospects (according to MLB Pipeline) who made their debuts this season. Along with Rutschman, Bobby Witt Jr. (No. 1) and Julio Rodríguez (No. 3) also didn’t come out of the gate like fans probably imagined.

Witt started the season batting .128 (5-for-39) with just three RBIs in his first 10 games, while Rodríguez hit just .136 (6-for-44) with two RBIs in 12 games.

But all three players have started to live up to their hype, including Rutschman, who has lifted his batting average from .143 to .222 in the past 12 games.

“I think whether you have a good day at the plate or bad day at the plate, there’s always things that you can do to contribute to the team,” Rutschman said.

More importantly though, in those past 12 games that Rutchsman has started to turn it around, the Orioles are 8-4 and haven’t lost a series since the beginning of June.

“He’s the type of talent that can change the dynamic of a clubhouse,” said starting pitcher Dean Kramer, who lowered his ERA to 1.71 on the season after 5 2/3 innings. “He’s definitely a game-changer behind the dish and at the plate.”