Rutschman humbled by high expectations

SARASOTA, Fla. -- Last year, Adley Rutschman¡¯s first spring in Major League camp was mainly limited to batting practice shows he put on out on the backfields. This time around, the Orioles are giving their No.1 prospect a longer look.

Rutschman has appeared in three of the O¡¯s first seven Grapefruit League games through Saturday, when he went 1-for-3 with a walk in the Orioles' 6-5 loss to the Tigers at Ed Smith Stadium. Though the results have been hard to come by thus far for Rutschman ¡ª he¡¯s 2-for-8 with a single, double and two walks -- he¡¯s relishing the experience.

What does it mean for his 2021 outlook?

¡°Whenever people ask me when I think I should debut, what my timeline is or what I think it should be, for me it¡¯s always going to be the same -- I¡¯m going to control what I can control,¡± said Rutschman, the No.2 overall prospect in baseball, per MLB Pipeline. ¡°I¡¯d like to think I can compete at any level because of who I am. I¡¯d like to think I¡¯m a competitive person and can do those things. But I don¡¯t really know what my timeline looks like.¡±

Asked about his goals this spring, Rutschman said ¡°I¡¯m just here to play baseball and get better every day.¡±

To that end, the Orioles are providing him more bandwidth than ever before in terms of in-game reps. The bulk have come at designated hitter, though the O¡¯s have also found spots for to get his feet wet defensively.

Take, for example, Tuesday¡¯s 4-2 loss to the Yankees, when Rutschman was tasked with catching knuckleballer Mickey Jannis and flame-throwing Tanner Scott in consecutive innings. He¡¯s earned compliments for his polish behind the plate, with manager Brandon Hyde calling him ¡°very mature beyond his years.¡±

¡°Last year was his first Spring Training and I just wanted him to enjoy the experience,¡± Hyde said. ¡°This is his second full year and he¡¯s getting more time. I¡¯m trying to find at-bats for him, because he missed the year last year and I just want to see him play. I think he needs to get ABs, as many as he possibly can.¡±

Had the coronavirus pandemic not cancelled the 2020 Minor League season, Rutschman would likely be knocking more loudly on the big league door. As it stands, Rutschman reached Class A Delmarva his Draft summer and spent 2020 at the Orioles¡¯ alternate site in Bowie, Md., refining the skills that made him the No.1 overall pick in 2019 in a controlled environment. He is not a candidate to crack the O¡¯s Opening Day roster, and will most likely open 2021 at Double-A Bowie.

The expectation, though, is that Rutschman, 23, can rise quickly.?

¡°I think the alternate site helped quite a bit,¡± Rutschman said. ¡°Just being able to get those three months in of work, facing pitchers live again and being able to catch some of the guys over there helped a lot. So as far as that goes, I¡¯d like to think that some of the stuff we¡¯re trying to do as far as pitch-calling, controlling the game and just having those three months of being able to work on my swing and what-not, I¡¯d like to think I¡¯m an overall better player from that.¡±

That should only raise expectations that are already sky high, with Rutschman arguably the face of the Orioles' rebuild, despite never playing a game beyond Class A. For Rutschman, those expectations are nothing new.

¡°I think it¡¯s a very fortunate and humbling position to be in, to have people say that,¡± Rutschman said. ¡°I think it gets easier every day. Every single day I¡¯m here playing baseball, it gets a little easier.¡±