Adley Rutschman spent the past two years setting himself up to be the unquestioned top pick in the 2019 Major League Baseball draft, and the Oregon State catcher's work was affirmed Monday night when the Orioles used the first overall pick of the first draft of their rebuild on a player they hope will be transformational.
Rutschman, a front-runner for the Golden Spikes Award given to the nation's top college baseball player, has been called the best draft prospect since Bryce Harper by Baseball America. He assumes the role of the face of the Orioles' rebuild as the first pick made in what executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias said he hopes to build into a perennial contender built on drafting and player development.
"It's everything I always dreamed of," Rutschman said on the MLB Network draft broadcast. "This is an unbelievable feeling, and I couldn't ask for anything more."
Rutschman helped the Beavers to a College World Series title in 2018 on a loaded roster that included four first-day picks, including Low-A Delmarva shortstop Cadyn Grenier. He also starred on Team USA with some of the top players in the country last summer.
All he had to do this year to solidify his status as the top prospect in the draft was keep it going at Oregon State, and he did so to the tune of a .437/.584/.772 slash batting line with 16 home runs and 69 walks against 36 strikeouts. The Beavers' season ended in disappointment with a loss in their NCAA regional last weekend.
The top of the draft has produced several All-Star catchers over the past decade, including former Oriole Matt Wieters and 2012 National League Most Valuable Player Buster Posey. The last catcher to be selected first overall was the Minnesota Twins' Joe Mauer, who was an All-Star six times and won the American League MVP in 2009.
What separated those catchers are some of the same qualities that have been credit to Rutschman _ the ability to influence a game defensively at a position where any offense while doing that is considering a bonus. Rutschman is considered a sound receiver and thrower whose pop times to second base last summer were in the 1.9-second range, and he was credited with helping a successful Oregon State pitching staff in last year's championship run.
At the plate, he has power from both sides with an advanced approach that makes Rutschman a tough out. He struggled on Cape Cod playing with wood bats after his freshman year, but hit well with them for Team USA last summer.
He emerged over the past year as the consensus No. 1 player in this draft class, passing acclaimed Texas high school shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. Candidates for the Orioles' pick also included California first baseman Andrew Vaughn and Vanderbilt outfielder J.J. Bleday.
