Major League Baseball

How prodigy catcher Adley Rutschman is leading Orioles to MLB's biggest turnaround

Published May. 30, 2023 2:51 p.m. ET

In the 374 days since Adley Rutschman received a standing ovation from the win-starved Camden Yards crowd for his Major League Baseball debut, the Baltimore Orioles’ transformation has been one of the most interesting stories in the sport. Baltimore went from baseball pushovers to legitimate contenders in just a year, and many believe that seismic shift is directly due to Rutschman.

"It was pretty apparent to me, as soon as he got called up, that’s when their fortunes turned," Yankees catcher Kyle Higashioka, who has played against the Orioles in the AL East since 2017, told FOX Sports. "In the beginning of last year, they still were not good. And then as soon as he got called up, they had one of the best records in the American League from that point on.

"So to me, there’s an instant correlation with their change of fortunes."

Rutschman, the face of the Orioles franchise with shoulders so wide he could be mistaken for an NFL linebacker, has carried the hype from his MLB debut into real, tangible results for his organization. After five straight losing seasons from 2017-2021, including three unserious seasons with 108 losses or more, a 24-year-old from Portland, Oregon entered the picture. From that point on, the Orioles are 101-75, good for a .573 winning percentage. Since Rutschman was called up on May 21, 2022, the O’s have catapulted from perennial basement-dwellers to one of the best teams in baseball.

The switch hitter is lauded for his elite bat, which produced a slash line of .259/.374/.439 with 63 extra-base hits, 94 runs scored, 67 RBI and 105 walks across his first 162 major-league games. Among players who have played their first 162 career games with the Orioles, Rutschman ranks first in walks and times reaching safely (258) and second in doubles (42). His current on-base percentage (.397) leads the team by more than 40 points.

Everyday catchers with big bats are part of an endangered species, and on top of that, Rutschman also has to handle a pitching staff. He’s been excellent on both sides of the ball, his game-calling proving instrumental in a staff that ranks ninth in pitching WAR.

"He’s been great back there," veteran right-hander Kyle Gibson said of Rutschman, shortly after limiting a streaking Yankees lineup to two hits across seven innings this past Thursday. "He listens, he learns. And he’s a sponge. Each time out I feel like he’s gotten better and better."

How good? Consider, Hall of Famer Johnny Bench is the only catcher to top 5.0 WAR (per Baseball-Reference) as a rookie and again the following season. Rutschman is in line to become the second.

Let that sink in: Rutschman might be the brightest catching talent we've seen in over five decades. The more pressing responsibility for the 25-year-old, however, is guiding Baltimore to its first postseason appearance in seven years. There have been only a handful of catchers in history to lead their respective teams in wins above replacement and to the playoffs before turning 26, a list that includes names like Bench, Iván Rodríguez, Joe Mauer and Buster Posey.

Rutschman, who sits just behind star center fielder Cedric Mullins in WAR on the Orioles, is threatening to join that select group of decorated backstops in part because he's learned perhaps the most valuable lesson in the game: adjustments.

"You try to fix every area that needs improving, not just one," Rutschman told FOX Sports. "Every day, it's conversations with myself, my coaches, guys in the locker room. Over the course of the season, so many things come up and you just gotta adjust for them as quickly as you can because you want to make little problems little problems and not let them become big problems."

Mullins added: "He’s just adjusting quickly. That’s what it really is. He had his small struggles when he first debuted, made his corrections pretty quickly and sky’s the limit from there."

For the 34-20 Orioles to maximize their 2023 potential, the front office will have to make an about-face from last year's trade deadline and take this team seriously by filling holes. Already, Baltimore’s chances of making the playoffs went from 28.7% at the start of the season to 42.0% as of Tuesday, per FanGraphs (the latter number still seemingly low for the team with the third-best record in baseball). With Rutschman, there is legitimate hope that he can be the centerpiece of a deep Baltimore playoff run.

Just don't ask him to discuss his elevated role.

"That's the great thing about being on a team, it's not one individual," Rutschman asserted. "It's not me, it's not him. It's all of us together. All of us have a collective goal to show up and compete and do it for each other."

Orioles' Adley Rutschman is NOW the best catcher in MLB

The wunderkind catcher rarely, if ever, gets ahead of himself. He knows the playoff conversation will force its way into his life sooner rather than later if the Orioles keep this up. But it’s fair to wonder how — seriously, how?! — Rutschman is able to avoid daydreaming about a potential postseason run as the Orioles sit near the top of the AL East race. No one would blame him if he imagined, just once in a while, the damage his club could do and the absolute terror the O’s bullpen could be in the postseason.

But that’s not Rutschman’s style. He prefers a different strategy.

Rutschman adheres to the discipline of compartmentalization, or mentally separating and setting aside incompatible thoughts, and it's allowed him to live in the moment and stay present rather than concentrating on the future, which is out of his control. He noted he keeps his thoughts strictly on the day-to-day, like winning the next game, or making minor tweaks and adjustments, or fixing his mechanics. Those are all things that he can control. Incidentally, those are also the things that will help get him to the postseason, if done right.

"It’s a long season, it can seem like such a long ways away," Rutschman explained. "But if we take care of the little stuff along the way, eventually we get to that point. So compartmentalizing that stuff is just a really good technique that we use. We’re taking care of the controllables right now instead of the things that you can’t control."

Rutschman also uses compartmentalization when it comes to personal accomplishments. Remember that note on Bench and WAR? Potentially setting new records and making history isn’t helping him get his work done, so he doesn’t want to talk about it. He’s also one of six qualified MLB hitters with more walks than strikeouts (41/31), but contemplating the significance of that stat isn’t productive to the team, so he doesn’t dwell on it.

He said his teammates help him immensely, particularly when it comes to staying in the moment and keeping the pressure off the franchise catcher. That latter part is key, because there is so much pressure on Rutschman’s shoulders, not only to keep the Orioles’ winning ways going, but also to stay healthy and to contribute in as many ways as he can. Teams can be greedy like that when it comes to their star players, and Rutschman’s importance to Baltimore is immeasurable.

With Rutschman’s penchant for constant improvement combined with his humble and focused attitude, the Orioles are in great, possibly Cooperstown-bound, hands.

"I just try to learn from as many people as I can," Rutschman said. "I try to have a good feel for my body and what I’m doing and what I need to work on. I try not to be too hard-headed about it."

Deesha Thosar is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets for three-and-a-half seasons as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. She never misses a Rafael Nadal match, no matter what country or time zone he’s playing in. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.