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.

BALTIMORE -- Adley Rutschman showed up at Camden Yards after a road trip from Charlotte, N.C., his time in the Minor Leagues virtually over, now with bigger plans in store. He packed his equipment, added some clothes for both his debut and for his first road trip, and left room for a whole lot of expectations.

Rutschman’s arrival in Saturday’s 6-1 loss to the Rays was a turning point in the Orioles’ rebuild. The fruit of their trying years had finally reached the Majors; the organizational focus that has long been geared toward the future finally had a physical manifestation to boast.

And he’s only the beginning.

“We're going to see more guys, like Adley, come up here over the next year or so,” said Trey Mancini. “That's really exciting, and it's really exciting for the fans, too, because I know they've been waiting for this day for a long time.”

Baltimore has been waiting, hoping to see a spell of five consecutive losing seasons (with three 100-loss campaigns) start to turn. Rutschman will be central to those efforts, but soon, he will be joined by others on the Orioles’ top-rated farm system.

The most notable of the bunch will be Grayson Rodriguez, uniting a battery that should keep Camden Yards fans on the edge of their seats for years to come. With fans already salivating over their Triple-A results, including an 11-strikeout performance together on Tuesday, Rodriguez may very well be the next prospect the Orioles call up, though there are several candidates.

They include Kyle Stowers and DL Hall atop the bunch, with other talent in Gunnar Henderson, Colton Cowser, Jordan Westburg and Coby Mayo waiting in the wings.

Once a combination of those names joins Rutschman in Baltimore, that's when the rebuild will hit its next gear, more fully “turning the corner” toward competitiveness, as manager Brandon Hyde said.

And Saturday was an important first step.

“It's [general manager] Mike [Elias]'s first Draft pick, and it's been a process from the day we got here,” Hyde said. “We've had a lot of ups and downs, and we still are going through a lot of things. But it means a lot to have [Elias’] first pick get here. You look at the lineup today, there's a lot of young, talented guys in there.”

Rutschman will be the leader of that group -- due to his pedigree, his physical game-controlling position and his quiet leadership. The next phase for him will be marked when Saturday -- which he called an “emotional overload” -- turns normal, when daily idiosyncrasies and favorite coffee shops in a new city are second nature.

Getting the first hit out of the way, a triple in the seventh inning, was an important first step.

“Definitely relieving,” Rutschman said. “… I was definitely amped up a little bit stepping into the box.”

The Orioles want Rutschman to play like himself, not weighed down by the expectations that will always be present. Rutschman, for his part, appreciates the enhanced reception he got on Saturday. But he’s excited for the days when it’s not exactly a requirement.

“Special that a lot of people were cheering tonight,” he said, “but I can't wait to just get to that normal, everyday team aspect.”

Along his way up the system, hitting three of the four affiliates in his rehab tour, Rutschman has noticed a sense of closeness, a common bond around the farm all pulling in the same direction. At the Major League level, Mancini is helping instill that sense of fraternity as the seasoned veteran and longest-tenured Oriole despite being just 30.

“It's not something that happens overnight, obviously, but it's not something that you want to circle, like, 'Oh, in this year, we're going to start competing,'” Mancini said. “I think it's something that just happens over time, and it starts by, like I said, establishing the culture that we have here. When you do that, you do things the right way, sometimes you can compete a little earlier than you think.”

“Just kind of see the unison, same message across the board for each level and from the coaching staff,” Rutschman echoed. “I think that was probably the coolest part to see, just to see how everyone's kind of moving in that same direction. Whether a team is doing good or bad at the time, on any given day, the message doesn't change. The desire to be out on the field, get better, it doesn't change.”

Rutschman’s arrival was about more than himself. It was a status-setter for this rebuild, now in its fourth season under the Elias regime. Rutschman’s proximity as his first major acquisition in the 2019 Draft makes them inexorably linked. And like Rutschman's ascension to the Majors, it stands as a slow burn to competitiveness.

Saturday wasn’t slow, though. It was a race car approaching the checkered flag, emotions being poured out from a litany of viewpoints -- excitement, relief, patience, joy. It was one day that will soon be emblematic of many to come.

It was, in short, a start.

“Birdland was watching tonight and wanted to see what he looks like, wanted to see him on a big stage,” Hyde said. “They're excited about it.”