When Adly Rutschman joins the young Orioles, the future is more like the present – Reading Eagle

On Saturday, Ryan Mountcastle drove into a parking lot in Camden Yards and noticed that near the entrance of players increased the number of those looking for autographs. On the same day he had to leave the list of injured, and yet the return of the young man to the Orioles was not the biggest news of the day.

“I thought, ‘Oh guys, are you so excited that I’m from Elijah?’ Said Mountcastle jokingly later at the Orioles clubhouse, knowing full well that their presence was only the first sign of fan base excitement about Adly Rutschman. – The main prospect of baseball is finally joining the top league.

Promising No. 1 for the Orioles since they finished first overall in the 2019 draft, the 24-year-old Rutschman was sixth and caught up with manager Brendan Hyde in the second Saturday game of the series with the Tampa Bay Race. The five names before him – Cedric Mullins, Austin Hayes, Anthony Santander, Trey Mancini and Mountcastle – have been the most productive Oriole strikers for most of this recovery. Everyone but Mancini has at least two more seasons of control over the team, which means that much of the powerful lineup that can flow when the Orioles move from recovery to fighting in the American League of the East may already exist.

“Today was interesting to write a lineup,” Hyde said. “It was nice to see so many young talented guys we are hoping for.”

In his fourth season, Hyde writes the composition of the orioles, and perhaps none of them was the best indicator of the organization’s trends. In Saturday’s debut, Rutschman was to catch Kyle Bradysh, the prospect of organizing № 8 according to Baseball America. After spending Friday’s game with Triple-A Norfolk – a day off after catching three games in a row for the first time this year – Rutschman missed another chance to work with DL Hall’s No. 3 prospect, catching Grayson Rodriguez’s 2nd prospect, also the best pitcher below. sports league, three days earlier. These batteries will soon appear in Camden Yards.

“You want to believe that we are completing the turn and that we are starting to play competitive AL East baseball and have the type of players who will be able to compete and win the division,” Hyde said.

Rutschman is the most significant work in this matter. Declared as one of the best fishing prospects the game has seen, he has faced almost insurmountable hype throughout his stay in the organization. But with those expectations comes the excitement, and it’s the last feeling that Rutschman savored Saturday at the Camden Yards subsidiary club, where he was first introduced after signing with the Orioles almost three years ago.

“About as excited as I can be now,” Rutschman said. “It’s probably the coolest thing, the coolest moment I’ve had so far, and I’m very happy about it.”

The fan base was also joyful when he first came on the field at number 35 when the warm-up before the game began. Rutschman’s debut has always been a holiday, but the days before it were horrifying, and fans wondered why the prospect was not yet advancing. But the orioles have long been clear about calling Rutschman if they, and no one else, think he’s ready, as Hyde reiterated on Friday.

This has happened since Mike Elias chose Rutschman as the first draft pick of 2019, his first as executive vice president and general manager of the Orioles. When Elias arrived, he promised to create a “channel of elite talent” in Baltimore, and Rutschman was a central element of that.

For this reason the orioles were adamant not to rush with Rutschman, especially after his triceps injury. However, it took just 19 juvenile games this season – .309 / .427 / .515 on three levels – before the organization felt it was ready.

“It’s hard not to have these questions about when it’s going to happen from the moment you’re called up, when you’re in high school, wherever it is,” Rutschman said. “I think you are always looking forward to the opportunity, hoping it will happen, and that she is here now – it’s crazy. I’m just trying to accept it. “

Rutschman caught three days in a row for Triple-A Norfolk for the first time this season before Friday’s weekend. After the game, when the Tides watched the Orioles win in a 13-thriller thriller against the Tampa Bay Race, manager Buck Britton called Rutschman to his office to break the news.

Then, after being stuffed with several teammates, he called his parents. He also tried to reach his grandfather, but “I think he was asleep,” Rutschman said. His parents and sister were in Camden Yards on Rutschman’s debut.

“It’s the best,” Rutschman said. “You have to have [those conversations]they are emotional, they are special because they are the people who helped you get to the point where you are and protect you the most. ”

His family was sitting at home plate, going down to Baltimore after Saturday morning’s announcement, like many others, to see the beginning of Rutschman’s career in the major leagues. Mancini, the longest-serving oriole, said Saturday was “one of the biggest days in the city in a long time,” possibly since Baltimore last hosted a 2014 baseball playoff game.

When the orioles first welcomed Rutschman to Baltimore, Mancini said he hoped to play with him someday. Finally he had to do so on Saturday, the day that marks the next step in restoring the Orioles.

“Obviously it’s not happening overnight,” Mancini said. “We’ll see how more guys like Adly will come here over the next year or so, and it’s very exciting. It’s very exciting for the fans, because I know they have been waiting for this day for a long time. “

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