May 30: Two HRs, seven RBIs in doubleheader
Adley Rutschman wasn't satisfied after recording a home run and three RBIs in the first game of a doubleheader Sunday. The Orioles' top prospect homered again and racked up four more RBIs in the nightcap as Double-A Bowie secured a doubleheader sweep with a 9-2 win.

Rutschman broke the game open by blasting a three-run shot to right field in the fourth inning. He added a sacrifice fly in the sixth.

In total, Rutschman went 5-for-6 on the day with two homers, seven RBIs and 11 total bases. That raised his slugging percentage from .464 to .573. Rutschman is up to six home runs and 20 RBIs for the season and has doubled both of those totals over his previous six games. More »

May 30: Rutschman rakes for Bowie
Adley Rutschman put together a three-hit performance at the plate in Game 1 of Double-A Bowie’s doubleheader on Sunday, blasting his fifth home run of the year to go with a pair of base hits and three RBIs. MLB Pipeline’s No. 2 overall prospect lined a 3-2 pitch into left for a base knock in the opening frame. Two innings later, the 23-year-old launched a shot to left-center for a three-run blast. Rutschman added another single right back up the middle on the first pitch he saw in the fifth. The Orioles' top prospect is sporting a .274 average. Gameday »

May 27: Rutschman reaches four times
Adley Rutschman reached base four times, drawing a trio of walks while also recording a single as part of a 1-for-2 night. It is the third time this season he has drawn three walks in a game. During his current eight-game on-base streak, Rutschman is sporting a .500 on-base percentage and has tallied only four strikeouts. Gameday »

May 26: Doubles and scores in shortened game
Adley Rutschman got back into the hit column for Double-A Bowie, going 1-for-3 with a double and a run scored in a seven-inning win over Harrisburg. The No. 2 overall prospect extended his on-base streak to seven games and is now hitting .239 on the year. Gameday »

May 25: Extends on-base streak to six
After a huge game Sunday, Adley Rutschman had a much more modest Tuesday performance, walking and scoring in Double-A Bowie's 10-6 loss. Rutschman ended the game 0-for-3 with a strikeout, but his OPS now stands at a solid .877 on the year. He has now reached base in each of his past six games. Gameday »

May 23: Comes through in the clutch
Rutschman crushed a game-tying three-run homer with two outs in the top of the ninth for the Baysox as the exclamation point to his first three-hit day of the season. Rutschman drove in three runs, scored twice and walked in Bowie’s come-from-behind 5-4 victory over Richmond. More »

May 22: On-base streak extends to four
Rutschman manned first base for Bowie and went 0-for-2 at the plate with a walk and a hit by pitch. It was the fifth time this year Rutschman has held down first base, compared to 10 games behind the dish. Despite just a .211 batting average, Rutschman continues to see the ball well and now boasts a .408 on-base percentage. Gameday »

May 21: Walks and scores in loss
Adley Rutschman recorded a walk and a run scored in an 0-for-3 night in Double-A Bowie's 9-4 loss to Richmond. It was yet another quiet game for Rutschman, as the 23-year-old catcher is hitting .218 on the year for the Baysox. Gameday »

May 20: Goes 2-for-4 in solid night
Adley Rutschman collected two singles in Double-A Bowie's win over Richmond. Rutschman ended the night 2-for-4 with two strikeouts. His batting average is slowly recovering from his recent rough patch and now sits at .231 on the year. Gameday »

May 19: Collects hit, walk in quiet game
Adley Rutschman bounced back nicely following his 0-for-5 night, going 1-for-3 with a single, a walk and a run scored Wednesday night. His single came in the first inning of Double-A Bowie's 2-1 win. A run scored on the play, but Rutschman was not credited with an RBI as the runner scored via error. Gameday »

May 18: Struggles in 0-for-5 night
After homering off his own face in his last game, Adley Rutschman couldn't find his swing Tuesday, going 0-for-5 with three strikeouts in Double-A Bowie's 6-5 loss. Rutschman also stranded six runners on base. His batting average dipped down to .205 and he also snapped a 10-game on-base streak. Gameday »

May 16: Hits long HR ... off his own face
Adley Rutschman's two-run homer on Sunday landed in a unique spot: His own face. Rutschman's ninth-inning blast for the Bowie Baysox was stopped only by the stadium's videoboard and nailed his own image as it sailed over the wall in right-center. The homer was Rutschman's third of the season. He is hitting only .231 in 11 games at Double-A, but the Orioles' top prospect has done plenty of damage at the plate as five of his nine hits have gone for extra bases. He sports an impressive .444 on-base percentage thanks to 13 walks. He has walked 10 times in his past five games. Gameday »

May 15: Records two-run double in comeback win
Adley Rutschman's two-run double proved to be the difference for the Bowie Baysox as they topped the Reading Fightin Phils, 7-5, on Saturday. Rutschman's rocket into right-center field capped a four-run seventh inning for Bowie. The No. 2 overall prospect in baseball went 1-for-3 on the night. He also drew a walk in the first inning and now has nine walks in his past four games at Double-A. He has scored six runs during that span and owns a .438 on-base percentage for the season. Gameday »

May 14: Works three walks for second night in a row
Adley Rutschman is showing off his plate vision for Double-A Bowie, as the No. 2 overall prospect worked three walks for the second night in a row. Rutschman went 1-for-2 on the day with a single, an RBI and two runs scored. The Orioles farmhand has worked eight walks in his past three games. Gameday »

May 13: Walks three times in hitless game
Adley Rutschman saw the ball well tonight, working three walks against Double-A Reading. Rutschman ended the night 0-for-2, but managed to score twice in Bowie's 9-3 win. The game pushed his OBP on the season to .385. Gameday »

May 12: Swats second Double-A homer
Adley Rutschman left the yard for the second time this season Wednesday night in Double-A Bowie's 9-0 win. Overall, baseball's No. 2 overall prospect went 1-for-3 with a solo shot and two walks. Rutschman has now reached base in six straight games since his hitless Opening Night performance. Gameday »

May 11: Notches hit, keys starter's outing
Adley Rutschman went 1-for-4 with a single and two strikeouts Tuesday following an off-day and a postponement. The 2019 No. 1 overall Draft pick didn't contribute much offensively in Bowie's 6-1 win, but Rutschman is still getting his feet wet at the Double-A level and starting pitcher DL Hall deemed the backstop essential to his big night. More »

May 8: Walks in hitless game
Adley Rutschman went hitless for Double-A Bowie as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 Draft drew a walk in an 0-for-4 night. Rutschman also struck out once and his batting average dipped below .200. Gameday »

May 7: Collects hit in uneventful night
After a swatting a homer and a double Thursday, Adley Rutschman had a much more quiet Friday night, going 1-for-4 with two strikeouts. Rutschman's lone hit was a single in the third. Gameday »

May 6: Adley drives in three in huge night
Adley Rutschman showed why he is baseball's No. 2 overall prospect tonight. After a first-inning homer, Rutschman followed it up with a two-run double in the seventh to collect his second and third RBIs on the night. The catcher ended the night going 2-for-4 and added a walk as well. It's his best performance at the Double-A level so far and his OPS sits at a solid .872 following his offensive explosion. More »

May 6: First Double-A homer
One pitch. That was all Adley Rutschman needed to hit his first homer of the season for Double-A Bowie. Rutschman, the No. 1 overall pick from the 2019 Draft, put Bowie on the board with an opposite-field homer in the first inning of their game against Altoona. He later added a two-run double to complete his first multihit performance of the season. The Orioles' No. 1 prospect hit four homers over 130 games in his 2019 professional debut. More »

May 5: First hit of the season
After going 0-for-5 on Opening Night, Adley Rutschman got on the board with an RBI single in the third inning of Bowie's win over Altoona. The single was not only Rutschman's first hit of the year, but it was also his first at the Double-A level. The No. 1 overall pick from the 2019 Draft played in 37 games across three levels in his professional debut and hit .254 with four homers. Gameday »

April 23: Minor League ST report
As much as Adley Rutschman has been written and talked about, it would be easy to think he’s been a professional for eons. But even though he was drafted nearly two years ago, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 Draft and current No. 2 overall prospect has a grand total of 130 official at-bats to his name.

Sure, he got good experience both facing and handling more advanced pitchers at the Orioles’ alternate site last year and looked like he belonged in Spring Training this year. But those who can’t wait to see him in Baltimore should remind themselves that while it’s not going to take him long, he has only played 30 real games to date.

“At this point, it’s just a matter of him playing a full season of professional baseball,” Orioles farm director Matt Blood said. “He has to go through the ups and downs of that. Every single day, getting at-bats, learning to manage that. That’s the one thing he hasn’t been exposed to yet. He played a short season, he went to the alternate site, instructs, Spring Training, but he hasn’t played a full season of professional baseball. That’s what he needs right now.”

That’s what he’s preparing for now during Minor League Spring Training in Sarasota. Rutschman has made it abundantly clear he can handle himself against good competition and it would be hard to find anyone who doubts he could hold his own in the big leagues right now. But the Orioles want to make sure he doesn’t just tread water, but he excels when that call comes.

“Adley tends to compete wherever he is,” Blood said. “He’s been in a lot of different places, but for him now, it’s just getting back to real baseball and a real season and not so much a simulated season. That’s what all these guys need. He needs to go play. He’ll have stretches when he struggles, and that’s good, that’s what he needs, so he can learn how to handle that. He needs those reps and experiences.” More»

March 23: Driving up the OPS
Rutschman got the start behind the plate in the victory against the Rays and batted seventh in the lineup.

The 2019 No. 1 overall Draft pick knocked a two-out double to right in the second inning off Trevor Richards. He then tried to score later in the frame on a Pat Valaika single, but was called out on a close call at the plate.

The knock extended Rutschman's on-base streak to six of his seven spring games, and elevated his Grapefruit League OPS to .856. Gameday »

March 13: Extra-bases off the bench
Rutschman entered Baltimore's loss to Toronto as a defensive replacement in the sixth, and came to the plate for his only at-bat of the game with two outs in the seventh.

The Orioles backstop worked the count to 2-2 before fouling off five straight pitches. He won the battle against Jordan Romano when he connected with the 10th pitch of the at-bat -- an 89.3 mph hanging slider -- and laced it to center field for his second two-bagger of the spring.

The 23-year-old raised his batting average to .333 over five Grapefruit League games. Gameday »

March 6: Up to lofty expectations
Last year, Adley Rutschman’s first spring in Major League camp was mainly limited to batting practice shows he put on out on the backfields. This time around, the Orioles are giving their No.1 prospect a longer look.

“Whenever people ask me when I think I should debut, what my timeline is or what I think it should be, for me it’s always going to be the same -- I’m going to control what I can control,” said Rutschman, the No.2 overall prospect in baseball, per MLB Pipeline. “I’d like to think I can compete at any level because of who I am. I’d like to think I’m a competitive person and can do those things. But I don’t really know what my timeline looks like.”

Asked about his goals this spring, Rutschman said “I’m just here to play baseball and get better every day.”

To that end, the Orioles are providing him more bandwidth than ever before in terms of in-game reps. The bulk have come at designated hitter, though the O’s have also found spots for to get his feet wet defensively.

Take, for example, Tuesday’s 4-2 loss to the Yankees, when Rutschman was tasked with catching knuckleballer Mickey Jannis and flame-throwing Tanner Scott in consecutive innings. He’s earned compliments for his polish behind the plate, with manager Brandon Hyde calling him “very mature beyond his years.”

“Last year was his first Spring Training and I just wanted him to enjoy the experience,” Hyde said. “This is his second full year and he’s getting more time. I’m trying to find at-bats for him, because he missed the year last year and I just want to see him play. I think he needs to get ABs, as many as he possibly can.”

Had the coronavirus pandemic not cancelled the 2020 Minor League season, Rutschman would likely be knocking more loudly on the big league door. As it stands, Rutschman reached Class A Delmarva his Draft summer and spent 2020 at the Orioles’ alternate site in Bowie, Md., refining the skills that made him the No.1 overall pick in 2019 in a controlled environment. He is not a candidate to crack the O’s Opening Day roster, and will most likely open 2021 at Double-A Bowie.

The expectation, though, is that Rutschman, 23, can rise quickly. 

“I think the alternate site helped quite a bit,” Rutschman said. “Just being able to get those three months in of work, facing pitchers live again and being able to catch some of the guys over there helped a lot. So as far as that goes, I’d like to think that some of the stuff we’re trying to do as far as pitch-calling, controlling the game and just having those three months of being able to work on my swing and what-not, I’d like to think I’m an overall better player from that.” More»