After weeks of tearing up minor league pitching, the Orioles’ slugging prospect is on his way to replace the injured Austin Hays.
Good morning, Camden Chatters.
Do you think the Orioles’ lineup looks pretty good right now? Well, hang tight: it’s about to get even better.
As first reported by The Baltimore Sun, the O’s will call up slugging outfielder Heston Kjerstad from Triple-A Norfolk today to replace Austin Hays, who landed on the injured list last night with a left calf strain.
It’s hard to think of any minor league player anywhere who’s more deserving of a callup than Kjerstad, who has torched minor league pitching all season long. In 21 games for Norfolk, the 25-year-old is slashing .349/.431/.744 with a league-leading 10 home runs and 30 RBIs. In almost any other organization, he’d have been in the majors ages ago, but it isn’t easy to crack the Orioles’ loaded lineup. Now Kjerstad has that opportunity, even if it came at the unfortunate expense of an injury.
When the O’s announced Hays was going on the IL, part of me expected they’d call up Ryan McKenna — a right-handed hitter, like Hays — and keep rolling with Colton Cowser, Cedric Mullins, and Anthony Santander as their everyday outfielders while Hays was on the shelf. But Kjerstad, even though he’s a lefty swinger, was simply too good to ignore. It’ll be interesting to see how Brandon Hyde finds Kjerstad playing time. In the short term he could slot in at designated hitter in place of Ryan Mountcastle, who didn’t start last night’s game because of knee soreness.
The Orioles’ lineup has been clicking on all cylinders this season, and now they’ve got another weapon to add to their arsenal. This should be fun.
Links
Hyde updates Mountcastle and Hays before Angels series opener – Steve Melewski
With Hays and Mountcastle hurt, the O’s were without two right-handed bats against Angels ace lefty Reid Detmers last night. And they still scored four runs against him.
Two in a row for O’s! Westburg follows Cowser as American League Player of the Week – BaltimoreBaseball.com
Best friends Colton Cowser and Jordan Westburg were named Player of the Week in consecutive weeks. Adorable!
Anthony Sanders on Orioles outfielders: “A real talented group that makes my job a little bit easier” – School of Roch
The Orioles’ outfield coach says, among other things, that Heston Kjerstad has made “unbelievable” progress defensively. Looks like we’ll find out very soon.
Orioles broadcaster Ben McDonald has coined more than a few catchy nicknames – The Baltimore Banner
Some of Big Ben’s nicknames have more staying power than others. “The Mountain?” A classic. “Turn-and-Burn O’Hearn?” …Eh, let’s keep workshopping that one.
Orioles birthdays and history
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Three former Orioles were born on this day: right-hander Louis Head (34), lefty Sean Henn (43), and the late shortstop Buddy Peterson (b. 1925, d. 2006).
On this date in 1994, Orioles closer and future Hall of Famer Lee Smith notched his ninth save of the year in just the Orioles’ 16th game, a feat never before accomplished in MLB history.
In 2006, the O’s played a bizarre game at Yankee Stadium in which Miguel Tejada went 4-for-4 — and all other Orioles were a combined 0-for-27. It was just the third time in MLB history that one player had all four of his team’s hits.
Random Orioles game of the day
The random number generator has picked the year 1981. The O’s actually played two games on April 23 that season, getting swept in a doubleheader in Chicago. The first game was an absolute debacle, with the Birds giving up 18 runs in the first six innings in an 18-5 White Sox rout. Relievers Dennis Martinez and Dave Ford combined to cough up 12 runs, with Martinez facing five batters and getting no outs. White Sox starter Richard Dotson went the distance, with Ken Singleton’s two home runs the only O’s highlight. Singleton homered for a third time in the nightcap, but it wasn’t enough as the Orioles fell again, 5-3.