The Orioles announced that they have selected the contract of top prospect Adley Rutschman. Anthony Bemboom has been designated for assignment in a corresponding move.
Of course, this is a day that baseball fans in Baltimore and elsewhere have been looking forward to for quite some time. Even before he was a member of the Orioles organization, Rutschman was tantalizing the baseball world with his performance at Oregon State, shooting up draft boards and considered by many to be the top player available in the 2019 draft. Baseball America, for instance, gave him the #1 slot that year, with their report noting that the switch-hitting catcher had essentially every skill necessary to succeed going forward. Hitting for average, hitting for power, taking walks, strong arm, good receiving and blocking, he had all the tools except speed, which is hardly surprising for a catcher. “He is the best catching prospect since Buster Posey in 2008 and Matt Wieters in 2007,” their report concluded.
Although there were reports that the O’s were considering other players with the first overall selection in the 2019 draft, such as Bobby Witt Jr., Andrew Vaughn and JJ Bleday, it never seemed like there was much chance of anyone usurping Rutschman. When the big day finally rolled around, Rutschman was indeed the first player off the board.
Due to the struggles of the big league club, Rutschman instantly became the light at the end of the tunnel for Baltimore fans. The Orioles finished last in the AL East in both 2017 and 2018, and were in the process of repeating that feat when Rutschman was drafted in 2019. They somehow slipped past the Red Sox and into fourth place in the shortened 2020 season, but were back down in the basement in 2021, and also posted the worst record in baseball again (tied with the Diamondbacks). That means they have the first overall selection in the draft yet again this summer. With nothing inspiring happening at the big league level, all hopes were pinned on the stars in the farm system that would make up the next great Orioles team, with Rutschman being front and center.
Baseball America ranked Rutschman the fifth-best prospect in all of baseball in 2021, then bumping him up to #2 last year and #1 this year. He’s also considered the best prospect in baseball by FanGraphs, ESPN’s Kiley McDaniels, and The Athletic’s Keith Law.
It’s been an atypical rise through the minors for the 24-year-old. It started out normal enough, with Rutschman getting into 37 games in the lower levels of the Orioles’ system in the months after the draft. But the pandemic wiped out the minor leagues in 2020, meaning he wasn’t able to play in any official organized games. But that missed season didn’t slow him down any, as his 2021 proved the hype was for real. In 123 games between Double-A and Triple-A, he hit 23 home runs and produced an overall batting line of .285/.397/.502, walking at a 14.5% rate and striking out only 16.6% of the time. That all adds up to a wRC+ of 144, or 44% better than league average.
The Orioles did little to block his path to the big leagues this offseason. The catchers who got playing time behind the plate in 2021 were all jettisoned from the roster. Pedro Severino, Austin Wynns and Nick Ciuffo were all outrighted at season’s end and Chance Sisco was claimed off waivers by the Mets. There was a time in the offseason that the club actually had no catchers on the 40-man roster, although they eventually signed Robinson Chirinos to be in the mix.
Once the new collective bargaining agreement was agreed to and the lockout ended in March, it seemed there was a chance Rutschman could crack the Opening Day roster. The new CBA featured incentives to try and discourage teams from holding their best prospects down in the minors at the beginning of a season in order to manipulate their service time and gain an extra year of control over their services. Unfortunately, Rutschman suffered a triceps strain in mid-March that put him on the shelf for a few weeks, ending any chance of him being ready for the season opener. After recuperating from that injury, he made his 2022 debut in the minors on April 26 and has spent the past four weeks getting back into game shape. In 19 games this year across three different levels, he’s hitting .309/.427/.515, 159 wRC+, walking in 13.4% of his plate appearances while striking out in just 8.5% of them.
There are about 137 days remaining in the season, meaning he will be unable to accrue the 172 days necessary to count as a full year. There is a provision in the new CBA that grants a full year of service time to the top two finishers in Rookie of the Year voting, though it will be difficult for Rutschman to take that path now, given that his competitors in that race have a six-week headstart on him. Jeremy Pena has already produced 1.8 fWAR, while other prominent rookies like Bobby Witt Jr. and Julio Rodriguez have 0.8 fWAR during their first MLB seasons.
Assuming Rutschman isn’t able to catch up and finishes this season with less than a year of service time, the O’s will control his services through the 2028 season, though he does have a very good shot at qualifying for arbitration after the 2024 season as a Super Two player. (The Super Two cutoff moves from year to year but has only been above 2.137 three times since 2009, with the last instance coming back in 2012.) Now that he’s reached the big time, the club will be hoping that he and the other prospects that are still to come will help the Orioles start turning the page from rebuilding to competing over those coming years.
With Rutschman injured to start the year, the club selected Bemboom’s contract, pairing him with Chirinos as the club’s catching duo. In 22 games on the year, he’s hit a meager .115/.207/.212. Since he’s out of options, the club had little choice but to designate him for assignment in order to make room for their star prospect. Bemboom will likely hit the waiver wire in the coming days and see if there’s another club in the league that’s interested in his services.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
At long last…
Orioles vs Pirates in at least two World Series in next ten years :-0
Exited for this. And then Hall and Rodriguez. Once the Os start playing in free agency (probably this offseason and then more in 2023-2024 perhaps I can start watching competitive games again
Where did you leave?
Huh?
Let’s hope he’s more Posey and less Weiters, who still had a nice career just never lived up to his #1 overall prospect ranking. I suppose very few actually do (see Profar, Jurickson). Rutschman and Witt ended up being a hell of a 1-2 in the 2019 draft
Matt was seeming to finally figure it out in the beginning of 2014. Then needed Tommy John and was never really the same overall.
Vaughn is not top shabby as a 3 right now.
As bad as the Orioles are, what’s the rush, man?
He’s already 24 and not much more to prove in the minors, got to give the fans a reason to come out to the park.
I think his pun went over your head
I’ll give you that one, because I picked up “rush man’ on exactly the right day. There are not a whole lot of catchers out there.
Like so many other prospects, he will probably struggle this year. Even Mike Trout struggled when he came up.
Great pun. The poster of the first response should be ashamed
Yes, ashamed because we’re all not at witty as you…
I did not get it either as I am not familiar with him and I would have pronounced the t.
He is ridiculously ashamed I can tell, trying to hide it with his sarcasm. It’s pathetic.
Not really, pathetic is being a keyboard warrior rebel without a cause.
His name reminds me more of someone who owns a hedge fund….
Finally, a reason to watch the O’s again. Still need a 3B (what’s Manny up to?), a SS, a 2B, 2+ SPs, and the ability to get on base.
Still love my hometown team but its been painful to watch.
We have a SS despite yeterday’s poor performance. Our next SP1 will be here in July. Our next 2B will be here in late June, our next 3B will be here next spring. And there are reinforcements behind them.
Mateo is a utility guy. Fine enough to play 3 days a week but not the full time answer.
Rodriguez and Hall were 2 of the 3 SPs I believe in so far. Zimmerman is the 3rd. Means is a question mark going forward and Lyles will be dealt in 2 months. I am good with seeing some of the other pitchers work it out in the majors though.
2B? Do you mean Vavra? Hopefully hi injury does not slow his production down. Or is it Hall?
3B? I was thinking Mayo in a few years but are you going with Henderson?
I believe in Mateo. And yes, I was thinking Vavra and Henderson.
Ironic that Rutschman’s call up comes on the birthday of another former first round catcher by the Orioles: Matt Wieters.
I hope this is the start of a great career for the Rutschman, and something the entire Orioles’ organization and fan base can get excited about.
Both 1st round draft picks by the Orioles, both ranked as the game’s #1 prospects when called up. Wieters had a decent career, but Orioles fans expected more. They seem to be expecting even more from Rutschman, who arrives in the majors a year older than Wieters was.
Interesting coincidence today is Wieters’ birthday.
Remember Matt Wieters Facts? No one could live up to those expectations.
Chuck Norris could live up to every Matt Wieters Fact.
We all do realize that if he’s Wieters 2.0 the O’s got a heck of a player. And it’s MUCH more likely he’s SwiHART 2.0.
Orioles fans did not expect more. The O’s hype train promised us more. “Switch hitting Jesus.” “Mike Piazza, but he’s also a great catcher.”
I am not expecting anything from “the Flying Rutschman,” He’s a top pick. He should be good. But the draft and prospects are a shot in the dark and you won’t know what he can do until he does it at the major league level.
Orioles going to have a dynasty for a decade. Look forward to multiple championships in Baltimore.
Charm city does not have that much charm.
Here’s hoping he isn’t just another minor league star who couldn’t cut it in the majors. Best of luck, kid!
Congrats Orioles fans I think a new era in Oriole baseball has arrived this guy is not just a heck of a baseball player he’s a winner.
At the very least you have a well above average defensive catcher but with the way he controls the strike zone doesn’t swing at a lot of pitches out of the zone and makes good contact he should be at least an average offensive player. He has a chance to be a special player though a switch hitting catcher then is above average defensively and probably above average offensively. As a Red Sox fan I’m jealous.
He’ll be a Red Sox once free agency arrives.
Exciting to finally see this kid with all the hype surrounding him. I hope he pans out. It’s been a long time since there’s been an excellent catcher on both sides of the ball – add in the fact he’s supposed to be good on both sides & he’s a switch-hitter & the kid’s a unicorn.
Anyway, I hope the kids does well & we see some exciting baseball with some great catching.
First exciting prospect to hit the Orioles since Manny Machado. Hopefully he escapes the HoF expectations better than Wieters did
Wishing the kid a long, successful, and healthy career! Best of luck!
So what will his nickname be, A-Rut? Doesn’t sound so good.
Can he wear #15 and be “AR-15” ?