Two years to the day after the Orioles chosen him second total within the 2020 draft, outfielder Heston Kjerstad is positioned to play in his first recreation for an affiliate Friday with Low-A Delmarva after being activated from the injured record.
Despite having not but made his skilled debut due to a coronary heart situation and hamstring damage, Kjerstad, 23, stays the No. 10 prospect within the group, based on Baseball America, although two of the gamers ranked forward of him have been chosen behind him in Baltimore’s 2020 draft class.
A left-handed slugger out of the University of Arkansas, Kjerstad developed myocarditis shortly after he was drafted, lacking the Orioles’ fall tutorial camp because of this. A recurrence of the difficulty induced him to overlook the whole thing of the 2021 season.
Finally cleared, Kjerstad spent the offseason coaching at Orioles’ Sarasota, Florida, advanced and was anticipated to be a full participant in minor league spring coaching, however in an intrasquad recreation March 11, he suffered a extreme left hamstring pressure chasing a line drive to left area off the bat of Adley Rutschman, who preceded him by a 12 months as Baltimore’s prime decide. Rutschman awoke the subsequent morning with soreness in his proper elbow, which proved to be a proper tricep pressure that additionally delayed the beginning of his season.
Afterward, Orioles govt vice chairman and common supervisor Mike Elias stated Kjerstad can be out 8 to 12 weeks. He’s participated in prolonged spring coaching actions of late and joined the Shorebirds earlier this week earlier than his official activation Friday.
Kjerstad stays on a rehab development for the hamstring damage and can relaxation commonly, solely taking part in a handful of innings at a time initially.
In three seasons at Arkansas, Kjerstad hit .343/.421/.590 with 37 residence runs in 150 video games, turning into a projected prime 10 decide. Still, he was an surprising choice at second total, signing for $5.2 million, far under the decide’s slot worth of $7.79 million. The financial savings allowed the Orioles to signal excessive schoolers Coby Mayo and Carter Baumler to above-slot offers; Mayo, a 3rd baseman, is now their No. 5 prospect, whereas Baumler, a right-handed pitcher, ranks twentieth and sixth amongst pitchers regardless of lacking all of 2021 after present process Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgical procedure.
The participant drafted first total forward of Kjerstad, Arizona State first baseman Spencer Torkelson, has already reached the majors with the Detroit Tigers, as have pitchers Reid Detmers, the Los Angeles Angeles’ tenth total decide, and Garrett Crochet, taken with the eleventh decide by the Chicago White Sox.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com