Adley Rutschman

Adley Stan Rutschman (born February 6, 1998) is an American professional baseball catcher for the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball for the Oregon State Beavers. He was named the Pac-12 Conference Player of the Year in 2019. The Orioles selected Rutschman with the first overall selection in the 2019 MLB draft, and he signed for $8.1 million, at the time the highest MLB draft signing bonus ever. Rutschman made his MLB debut in 2022 and is a two-time All-Star.

Early life and college

Rutschman attended Sherwood High School in Sherwood, Oregon, and was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 40th round of the 2016 Major League Baseball draft. He did not sign with the Mariners and attended Oregon State University, where he played college baseball for the Beavers.

Rutschman played college football for the Beavers as a placekicker his freshman year. In baseball, his freshman year, he played in 61 games, hitting .234/.322/.306 with two home runs and 33 runs batted in (RBI). After the 2017 season, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Falmouth Commodores of the Cape Cod Baseball League. As a sophomore in 2018, he batted .408/.505/.628 with nine home runs and 83 RBIs and helped lead Oregon State to win the 2018 College World Series, their 3rd NCAA Division I Baseball National Championship. Rutschman had 17 hits, a College World Series record, and 13 RBIs in the series, for which he was named College World Series Most Outstanding Player.

In 2019, his junior season, he batted .411/.575/.751 with 17 home runs and 58 RBIs. That year, Rutschman was named the 2019 Collegiate Baseball Player of the Year by ''Collegiate Baseball Newspaper''. In late June, Rutschman was named the 2019 recipient of the Buster Posey Award, which is given to the nation's top collegiate catcher. Rutschman also won ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove Award at catcher position in NCAA Div. I in same year.

Professional career

Draft and minor leagues

The Baltimore Orioles chose Rutschman with the first overall selection in the 2019 Major League Baseball draft. He signed for $8.1 million, the highest signing bonus at the time. He made his professional debut with the rookie–level Gulf Coast League Orioles, and, after five games, was promoted to the Low–A Aberdeen IronBirds. After three weeks with the IronBirds, Rutschman was promoted to the Single–A Delmarva Shorebirds of the South Atlantic League. Over 37 games between the three clubs, he slashed .254/.351/.423 with four home runs and 26 RBIs.

After the canceled 2020 minor league season, Rutschman was assigned to the Double-A Bowie Baysox to start the 2021 season. In June 2021, Rutschman was selected to play in the All-Star Futures Game. On August 9, 2021, Rutschman was promoted to Triple-A Norfolk Tides, after slashing a .271/.392/.508, with 18 home runs and 55 RBIs in 80 games with Bowie. He batted a .312/.405/.490 with 5 home runs and 20 RBIs in 43 games with Norfolk. In November 2021, Rutschman was awarded the Rawlings MiLB Gold Glove Award as the best defensive catcher in the minor leagues.

Baltimore Orioles (2022–present)

2022

Rutschman competed for a spot on the Orioles 2022 Opening Day roster, but he missed the start of the season due to a strained triceps muscle. He began a rehabilitation assignment with Aberdeen on April 26. On May 21, 2022, Rutschman was promoted to the major leagues for the first time. During his first game, that same day, he got the start playing catcher and batting 6th in the lineup. His first major league at-bat resulted in a strikeout, but two at-bats later, he got his first hit, a triple. He was the first major-leaguer to accomplish that feat (a triple for his first MLB hit) since Jason Perry did so in his first Major League at-bat for the Atlanta Braves in 2008. On June 15, Rutschman hit his first major league home run off Toronto Blue Jays starter José Berríos. Rutschman finished the season hitting .254/.362/.445 with 35 doubles, 13 home runs and 42 RBIs in 113 games with Baltimore. He was voted the winner of the 2022 Louis M. Hatter Most Valuable Oriole Award by members of the local media. Rutschman also finished second in voting for AL Rookie of the Year to Mariners outfielder Julio Rodríguez, receiving one first-place vote.

2023

On Opening Day in the 2023 season, Rutschman batted 5-for-5 with a home run, becoming the first MLB player to do so on Opening Day since 1937. He was selected to his first All-Star Game in 2023 after putting up a .273/.376/.423 slash line with 12 home runs in the first half of the season. Rutschman was also selected to participate in the 2023 Major League Baseball Home Run Derby, where he hit 27 home runs in the first round but was eliminated by Chicago White Sox slugger Luis Robert Jr.'s 28 home runs. Rutschman, a switch hitter, notably hit 20 home runs left-handed and 7 home runs right-handed in his derby appearance. On August 10, 2023, Rutschman became the first Oriole to homer over the extended left field wall while batting left handed, launching a leadoff homer off of Houston Astros starter Hunter Brown. Rutschman won the AL Silver Slugger Award among catchers. Rutschman was a finalist at catcher for the Gold Glove Award, losing to Jonah Heim of the Texas Rangers.

2024

On Opening Day 2024, Rutschman became the first player to reach base safely in at least each of his first eight career plate appearances on Opening Day since Joe Lahoud, who also reached safely in eight consecutive plate appearances from 1968 to 1972. He went 2–4 with a walk, three runs scored and two RBI to open the season in Baltimore's 11–3 victory over the Angels. On April 19, 2024, Rutschman hit his first career grand slam off of Kansas City Royals reliever Will Smith. He homered from both sides of the plate for the first time in his MLB career in a 6–5 away loss to the Blue Jays on June 6. The first was a one-out solo homer off Yusei Kikuchi in the sixth inning, the second a two-out two-run shot off Zach Pop in the eighth. He achieved a career-high six RBI in a 9–2 away win over the Tampa Bay Rays three days later on June 9. Four of the runs he drove in came on his second career grand slam off Phil Maton with two outs in the eighth.

Personal life

His grandfather, Ad Rutschman, was a football and baseball coach at Linfield College and is a member of the National Football Foundation College Hall of Fame.

Rutschman's nickname "Rooster" came from his inspiration to grow a mustache like the fictional character Lt. Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw from the film '' Top Gun: Maverick''.

In an interview in 2020, Rutschman revealed he was initially a fan of the New York Yankees, before supporting the St. Louis Cardinals for a little bit. He later became a fan of the Seattle Mariners citing them as the closest thing to a local team.

References

External links

Oregon State Beavers bio

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1998 births
Living people
Aberdeen IronBirds players
All-American college baseball players
American League All-Stars
Baltimore Orioles players
Baseball players from Portland, Oregon
Bowie Baysox players
College World Series Most Outstanding Player Award winners
Delmarva Shorebirds players
Falmouth Commodores players
Gulf Coast Orioles players
Major League Baseball catchers
Norfolk Tides players
Oregon State Beavers baseball players
Oregon State Beavers football players
People from Sherwood, Oregon
Baseball players from Washington County, Oregon