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Orioles’ top prospect Adley Rutschman to start 2021 in Double-A

By Matt Weyrich

Orioles’ top prospect Adley Rutschman to start '21 in Double-A originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington

The Orioles plan to have top prospect Adley Rutschman begin the 2021 season at Double-A Bowie, general manager Mike Elias said Wednesday on MLB Network Radio.

“He should get here pretty quickly, and I hope has a pretty smooth ride through the minor leagues, but he just hasn’t played minor league baseball yet, really,” Elias said (h/t The Baltimore Sun). “The guy hasn’t played in Double-A or Triple-A. That’s really unprecedented. I think we’ve got to take it one step at a time here to try to check off those boxes.”

Baltimore drafted Rutschman out of Oregon State with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft. He was ranked a consensus top-5 prospect by MLB Pipeline, Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus heading into last season, the first player to make their top-100 debut as a consensus top-5 player since Bryce Harper.

Rutschman finished the 2019 season at High-A Delmarva before the coronavirus pandemic robbed him of a chance to move up the organizational ladder. He made the Orioles’ 60-man player pool but his name was never called as he spent the season working at the team’s Alternate Training site in Bowie.

During Wednesday’s radio segment, Elias also went on to discuss first baseman Trey Mancini, who he said will be a “Day 1” participant in spring training. He added that rookie outfielder Ryan Mountcastle is expected to be their everyday left fielder but could see time at first base and the designated hitter spot as well.

Reports: Orioles to alter Camden Yards dimensions to combat home run barrage

By Matt Weyrich
Reports: O's to alter Camden Yards dimensions to combat HR barrage originally appeared on NBC Sports WashingtonFor the first time in the 30-year history of their ballpark, the Orioles are undergoing construction at Camden Yards to adjust the park dimensions in an effort to limit the number of home runs hit to left field and left-center, according to multiple reports.The left-field wall will be pushed back as far as 30 feet and raised an additional five feet taller. Oriole Park at Camden Yards has been one of the most hitter-friendly ballparks in Major League Baseball for the last three decades, particularly for right-handed batters. The 364-foot distance between home plate and the left-center field wall was among the smallest in the sport and the seven-foot fence was the shortest of any left-center field wall in MLB, according to the Baltimore Sun’s Nathan Ruiz.No one allowed more home runs at their home stadium last season than the Orioles, who served up 155 long balls to opponents at Camden Yards. They also paced the majors in that category in 2019 (175 home runs), allowed the third-most in 2018 (123) and tied for the second-most in 2017 (127).Though many of those homers can be attributed to the poor pitching staffs Baltimore has fielded during its current rebuild, the team elected to even the odds with several pitching prospects on the way. The Orioles’ top two pitching prospects Grayson Rodriguez and D.L. Hall could both be staples in their major league rotation by the end of the 2022 season. John Means also enjoyed a career year for Baltimore last season and should be back again barring a trade.Ruiz reports that the Orioles plan for the stadium to be ready by Opening Day, which is tentatively scheduled for March 31. However, the season could be delayed if MLB’s ongoing lockout continues into the spring. The two sides reportedly plan to meet Thursday for the first time since the lockout began.
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