Q&A: Adley talks catching, preparing for bigs and more

Adley Rutschman, the No. 1 overall pick from the 2019 Draft, worked his way up to Triple-A and slashed .285/.397/.502 over 123 games in his first full season. The Orioles' No. 1 prospect has performed well early in his career and is close to big league ready.

Jonathan Mayo: Let's dig into last year a little bit. It was such an unusual year because of the pandemic and it was really your first full season. But, you had all of 2020 with the alternate camp. So, did you enter last year unsure about where you were going to be? Just in terms of, how are my skills going to translate? I know you're confident in your ability and all but you haven't played real baseball in quite some time, and that is not something that you are accustomed to?

Adley Rutschman: Yeah, I think just getting a small taste in 2019, after the Draft, playing short season ball a little bit, you get a small sense. So I'm not going into last year, into the season completely on my heels. And I think that was the best part about it. And just being surrounded by the teammates we have and the guys around here, and the coaches and just combining all their experience and knowledge -- they did a great job of really making it easy to transition into the season, and just allowing us to focus on what we needed to. And just, you know, I felt like it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

• O's Spring Training report

Mayo: It still was going through that grind of a first full season, so, for you, was there any hitting of a wall? I know you pride yourself on being prepared, and being a catcher that's particularly important, but were there any times where you were like, 'Oh, this is what they were talking about when they talk about the grind of that first full season.'?

Rutschman: Yeah, I think it's just the showing up on any given day. And in the summer months, whenever it is, and you're just feeling tired, maybe you didn't get a good sleep the night before. And you're showing up to the ballpark. And you just have to find a way to get ready to play and get yourself in the right mindset going into your first AB or first inning of catching whatever it may be. So there were definitely those times and I think finding solutions to where your mindset was at or where your body was at, at that given time was a cool thing to experience and fun to work through at the same time.

Mayo: That's such a valuable learning experience. Because I think when you're young you're probably used to being the best version of yourself all the time. So, you feel like you're going to excel today even though baseball is hard. But, knowing that you can still contribute or help your team win or get better when you're not feeling 100% is probably the biggest thing you're going to have to learn to be ready for the big leagues. Right?

Rutschman: It's so true. I was talking with someone about this the other day, but just the ability to know that even if I have a bad AB, I can still go out and have a good day at the plate. And not just saying that, but actually transitioning into believing that with your whole heart and your mind. And I think that's a big transition. And the more games you play, I think the easier it becomes because you have so many at-bats in a given season that you start to really believe that. But definitely at the beginning of the season, and you know, maybe like two years ago, you say that out loud, but you don't actually believe it. And that's the toughest hurdle to get over. And I think, you know, you're never gonna truly overcome that. But it's definitely something you can work toward.

Mayo: I think in a lot of ways the Futures Game experience is placed right at that time where maybe you're dragging a little bit, maybe a little tired. And then this carrot gets dangled, you know, in this great experience. Tell me a little bit about how that serves as a motivator to be in the big league stadium and get treated like All-Stars for a couple of days, and how that fuels you for the rest of the year.

Rutschman: Yeah, absolutely. The whole experience was unbelievable. From start to finish. And I think everyone who was involved just made it so much about the guys and the players there that you could just feel the love and care that everyone had. And I think that was the biggest part and made for the whole experience getting into the stadium and then seeing the stadium packed and fans there. Taking BP and you're tossing balls up to get people in the stands. And then you know just smiling and yelling back and just having interactions with other guys. It was really just a great event and I think really goes to show like, wow, you're doing it.

Mayo: What were the biggest things you learned at the Triple-A level? I'm wondering because you obviously spent some time at the alternate training site and worked with older guys who maybe had big league experience or were at that top level. Did they help prepare you for what Triple-A was going to be like?

Rutschman: Yeah, I think seeing a lot of guys with big league time -- especially on the pitching side -- and understanding that each guy was there for a reason. And they have something that they're very good at. And just figuring out what that was for each guy, and then trying to utilize that when they're in the game was a very cool part about moving up. And then just the mindset of each guy, with guys with a little more experience, just picking their brain a little bit more, you can just tell the maturity in the way they went about their business. It's sometimes really subtle, but you notice it over the course of a couple of weeks, you're like, wow, I've just noticed this, it's just consistency day in and day out.

Mayo: Catching is obviously a demanding position. What drew you to it, and did you always want to be a catcher?

Rutschman: I'd say no, definitely not. Growing up, I was not a fan of catching. It wasn't until really my senior year of high school that I was really sold on catching. And I think that's when the game started to become bigger than just catch the ball, throw it back, take a sign from the coach to put down. And as soon as I started having conversations with the coaches about why we're throwing the pitchers we're throwing, I really started to get involved with the pitchers and their strengths, weaknesses, kind of what makes them tick. And the game got a whole lot bigger at that point. That's when I started to really fall in love with the position. And that just grew as college went on and into pro ball. So, definitely no, but now it's something as I got older that I definitely grew to love.

Mayo: So somewhere in your heart, you're a shortstop?

Rutschman: Oh, pitcher, shortstop, you know, anything?

Mayo: I mean, we're dreaming here, you could do both at the same time, you know, so...

Rutschman: Why not? Absolutely. You know, that's the best part about youth ball, you play right field one inning, and then you go into play shortstop and close out the game.

Mayo: Tell me a little bit about finding balance. If you're behind the plate, you know, maybe it makes it easier to let go of an at-bat because you have so much work to do. But talk a little bit about finding that healthy balance.

Rutschman: Yeah, I think everyone talks about having a short memory in baseball and we talked about with that believing in, you don't have to have a good BP to hit well in a game. It's just OK, on to the next thing, but truly getting over that AB and just focusing on the next thing is is easier said than done. Definitely catching makes that a little bit easier. For me, in my opinion, just comparing it to playing first base or another position. Just because you have to be so focused and so locked in on the pitcher at that point, and everything else that's going on, you just can't afford to really focus on your last AB past throwing the ball down to second during warm-ups. So I think that does make it easier, but there's definitely a mental hurdle that you have to figure out how to get past as a player.

Mayo: Matt Blood (Orioles director of player development) told me today that he's always been so impressed with your ability to keep your feet where they are. You're in a spot right now where you're knocking on the proverbial door. How do you keep your feet where you are and not try to do too much because the call is going to come at some point?

Rutschman: Yeah, staying present is definitely a difficult thing in life. And, you know, in baseball, of course, for me just going through last year, I think, for me it's not as much about staying present, but more just focus on the next 10 minutes, try and really compartmentalize my days and just focus on how I can get better in that given day, in the given hitting session, and really just try to be intentful in my work, and try to make the most out of the time I have. And if I do that on a daily basis, I'm not gonna have any regrets. And I can be confident in any results that come about from that good or bad. I can live with that.

Mayo: Last question for you. You and Bobby Witt Jr. were one-two in the Draft on almost every prospect list. You guys got to spend some time in the Futures Game too. You aren't playing the same position, but how fun is it to have a guy who entered pro ball at that same stratosphere level as you? You may end up hitting the big leagues at around the same time, so is it kind of cool to know that you guys are going to be maybe impacting the American League at the same time?

Rutschman: Yeah, I didn't know Bobby out of the Draft. And I got a chance to talk to him at the Futures Game a little bit. And we talk over Snapchat, social media sometimes, which is cool. And I've gotten to know him a little bit. And I think the coolest part about it is just seeing what a good guy he is. And I think at that point, you know, the rankings come out, and you kind of just shrug your shoulders and say, OK, it doesn't mean a whole lot to me. You just want to make it to the big leagues, have an impact, and impact the people around you. And I can see that he's in the same mindset of building himself and the people around him up. And so I think it's cool to see a guy like that succeeding at such a high level. And I just really enjoy watching him and seeing him have the success that he has. So seeing him hopefully come up sometime this year would be a really cool thing.