Rutschman struggling? O's aren't concerned

This story was excerpted from Zachary Silver's Orioles Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

There was a time when Adley Rutschman struggled, if you can allow yourself to imagine that. He was a freshman at Oregon State, splitting time between serving as the placekicker for the football team and the catcher for the baseball team. For the latter, Rutschman hit .234 with a .629 OPS in 2017. During the ensuing Cape Cod Baseball League that summer, he hit just .164 with a .461 OPS.

Rutschman quit football that summer, fully entrenching himself in baseball. In 2018, he became the biggest sensation on the college circuit and a College World Series champion. In 2019, he became the first overall Draft pick of the Orioles. In the time between then and now, struggles have seemingly escaped him.

But here Rutschman is, hitting .149/.245/.213 (.458 OPS) with no home runs or RBIs across his first 12 Major League games, admittedly a small sample size, yet missing the breakout moment to follow his first career hit (a triple) in his debut. Even still, there’s no worry within the walls of the Orioles’ clubhouse that this is cause for concern, nor from those who remember when he was last searching for results.

“I don't think anybody's worried about it, especially him,” Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan, a teammate of Rutschman’s at OSU, said this week in Baltimore. “He's got, obviously, a great work ethic, a ton of confidence. He'll be fine. I don't think anybody's worried about it.

“You never can tell. He's a consistent teammate, a consistent person. He's going to help the team win in some way.”

Those in Rutschman’s colors agree.

“It’s such a small sample right now,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said on Saturday, when Rutschman sat on the heels of a night game in which he struck out thrice. “You can’t worry about the results. It’s a tough level to break into, and he’s going to be just fine. We just need to be patient and stay positive and support him.”

It’s not a revelation for a player to toil once they reach a new level. But given Rutschman’s pedigree, it’s still stark to see him, for a moment, not yet reaching the lofty expectations set out for him.

That same pedigree is what many believe will guide him in the end.

“He's obviously super physically gifted,” Kwan said. “A lot of guys can just coast with that, have poor habits and get away with it. But I think him, paired with the physical attributes and the work ethic, he's going to be a menace.”

Rutschman’s trend follows that of other top prospects in the big leagues. This past week, the Orioles saw Seattle’s Julio Rodríguez, who hit just .188 across his first 17 career games, be a thorn in their side. Next weekend, they will see Bobby Witt Jr. in Kansas City, now with 23 extra-base hits as of Saturday after owning a .558 OPS in April.

Add onto Rutschman’s layer that he missed the entirety of Spring Training with a right triceps strain, possibly delaying his timing and assuredly delaying his chance to work ahead with Orioles pitchers.

On Friday, Hyde was impressed to walk into the clubhouse to find Rutschman seated at a table with veteran catcher Robinson Chirinos for an hour, studying Cleveland hitters.

“He's trying to catch up, and you're two weeks into the big leagues, and people are expecting you to perform,” Hyde said. “It's hard at this level."

Some luck also plays into it. The four hardest-hit balls Rutschman has put into play -- all over a 102 mph exit velocity -- have gone for outs. Those go along with eight balls he’s put into play over 100 mph, of which only two have fallen for hits. Rutschman’s expected batting average is .215 -- still modest, but 66 points higher than actual average.

A couple of moments in particular stand out to Hyde. On Thursday, after the Mariners scored the automatic runner to go ahead in the 10th inning, the game fell to Rutschman: two outs, tying run at second. Rutschman struck the ball well, hitting it with an expected batting average of .960 but right into the shift to end the game. On Friday, a hard-hit ball he struck sunk into the glove of Cleveland left fielder Ernie Clement.

“For me, that's an unbelievable positive,” Hyde said. “... Those two balls fall, he’s not struggling, according to the box score."

Most notable, though, is that Rutschman has struck out 14 times compared to four walks.

“I'm watching a guy that's really trying, instead of kind of letting the game come to him a little bit,” Hyde added, “that's trying to get the big hit.”

And encouraging amid the toils at the plate has been Rutschman’s work behind it. Though he’s allowed three stolen bases on four attempts, one came in extras on Thursday, when his intentions with Jorge López were solely on the batter. He threw out his first would-be base stealer in the fourth inning of that game, one frame removed from seeing a throw skip past Chris Owings and into the outfield.

Such a moment will only enhance the confidence of Rutschman and, as all hope, boost his performance in the batter’s box. There’s no concern of these early-year bumps following him past what they are. Those who have gotten to know him the past three years have quickly learned that. Those who know him prior have long expected it.

“I remember freshman, sophomore year, his legs were hurting a little bit, he'd eat a full plate of broccoli just to get those nutrients in,” Kwan said. “And sleep in. He’s serious about his sleep. That guy, he's elite. He's elite for a reason. And he's going to have a long, long, successful career.

“He'll be fine,” Kwan added. “He'll be just fine.”