KANSAS CITY -- Slowly but surely, it seemed that Adley Rutschman was starting to awaken from his early-career slumber. Balls were being sprayed across the field with vociferous velocity, just often into defenders' gloves. There had been some time of toiling and self-reflection, but confidence nonetheless, that a breakout was coming.

And then Saturday afternoon came and went, and Rutschman left little to doubt.

The Orioles' rookie phenom compiled a list of feats in Saturday¡¯s 6-4 come-from-behind win over the Royals at Kauffman Stadium, giving the club and fanbase alike a number of signs that he may be turning things around after many similar balls have fallen for naught:

? The first three-hit game of his career

? The first multi-extra-base hit game of his career

? Four hard-hit balls (95-plus mph exit velocity)

? Three of the six hardest-hit balls in K.C. on Saturday

? A 110 mph single that stands as the hardest-hit ball of his career

¡°Baseball is one of those games that you're going to hit balls right at people and then you're going to have balls that are hit hard that fall for hits,¡± Rutschman said. ¡°You just got to continue to roll with the punches.¡±

It was the first scoresheet-stuffing performance of Rutschman¡¯s career, as he paced the Orioles¡¯ offense and crossed the plate twice -- one on a heads-up play in the eighth inning -- though he still is searching for his first RBI and homer. When those come, they will simply solidify the optimism that a breakout is beginning for the No. 1 overall prospect in the Majors.

¡°It was just a matter of time,¡± said Orioles manager Brandon Hyde. ¡°And I'm sure it's a big relief for him to have a good game like he had today.¡±

¡°He's had a slow start, but no doubt in my mind he's going to get back to what we all know he can do,¡± added third baseman Tyler Nevin, whose three-run homer in the sixth was the game-deciding swing. ¡°Tonight is basically what I've seen every single time I play with him.¡±

That kind of confidence is exactly what has lifted Rutschman through this early-career bind. Internally, though belief never wavered, there was the requirement of self-reflection. Struggle has seemingly escaped Rutschman across his baseball career, a quality of consistent excellence and production that made him the no-doubt first overall pick exactly three years and a week ago from Friday.

But three weeks in, and he has been required to look inward -- about his plate approach, his routine, the Majors and himself.

¡°Just kind of, 'What am I doing?¡¯¡± Rutschman would ask himself. ¡°¡®What adjustments do I need to make at the plate? Am I getting sped up on my timing? Is it just kind of being in the big leagues that's speeding me up, or is it something in my swing?¡¯

¡°Those are tough questions to answer,¡± he added. ¡°You just continue to try and learn as you go.¡±

So call Saturday learning on the job, then. In several ways, such a performance perhaps shouldn¡¯t have been a surprise. By pure pedigree standards, at worst, the club believes the talent is there for Rutschman to be an everyday contributor. At best, he could be a face-of-the-franchise and cornerstone piece that shepherds Orioles pitching and leads the club offensively into its next phase of competitiveness.

But one further, there¡¯s underlying evidence that Rutschman should have started to find results prior. Entering Saturday, he was hitting just .153 with a .220 slugging percentage, numbers that modestly improve under the lens of their expected values (xBA) at .222 and .323, respectively.

A double in Friday¡¯s loss was a table-setter for the next day¡¯s output. And a 106.2 mph lineout was a tease at three more times on base. Rutschman is now hitting .190 with a .286 slugging percentage.

¡°He hit four balls right on the screws. Just really impressed the way he swung the bat from both sides of the plate, line drives all over the park,¡± Hyde said. ¡°Awesome day for him at the plate.¡±

Hyde¡¯s trust has never ceased, preaching confidence that Rutschman¡¯s true arrival is just a matter of time, especially given the delayed start he was off to with his right triceps strain in Spring Training. Rutschman says each day brings more comfort and ¡°gets a little better as you go.¡± Teammates -- the few that have seen him struggle -- know his work ethic will make this early-career lag a laughable speed bump by playing days¡¯ end.

And then in the visitors¡¯ clubhouse after Saturday¡¯s win, Nevin -- a teammate of Rutschman's for much of the past two seasons -- answered the question surrounding his slow start unasked by both the Orioles beat reporting corps, but felt in bits around the fanbase.

¡°So," Nevin laughed, ¡°don't worry.¡±