The Baltimore Orioles are set to call up Heston Kjerstad, the No. 29 prospect in all of Major League Baseball, for tonight’s game against the Los Angeles Angels. Kjerstad led all of Minor League Baseball with 10 home runs this year. He made his MLB debut late last season and hit .233 with two home runs and 3 RBI in 30 at-bats.
Kjerstad was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft out of the University of Arkansas and will look to make a larger impact than he did last season. How will he fare now that he is back in the big leagues?
Baltimore Orioles Infused With Youth
.@MLBPipeline's No. 29 prospect Heston Kjerstad hit 10 HR in 21 games for the @NorfolkTides.
He joins the @Orioles tonight. pic.twitter.com/BVC77ir1SI
— MLB (@MLB) April 23, 2024
Kjerstad is one of seemingly an endless supply of talented young Baltimore Orioles players. He joins No. 1 MLB prospect Second Baseman Jackson Holliday and Left Fielder Colton Cowser as two of the team’s top prospects making a sizable impact this season. Catcher Adley Rutschman is also a former No. 1 overall pick (2019) and Shortstop Gunnar Henderson is a former top prospect in Major League Baseball.
According to ESPN, Baltimore has the 10th-youngest roster in the league and was ranked as the best farm system in all of Major League Baseball before opening day this season. With so much young talent on their roster, Baltimore is set up extremely well for years to come.
Baltimore made the MLB Playoffs last season for the first time since 2016. The team had a rough stretch from 2017-2021 where they failed to finish above .500 in any of those seasons. A half-decade of futility is what yielded so many top prospects now being in the Baltimore Orioles organization.
Baltimore Orioles Off To Hot Start
Baltimore has gotten off to a spectacular start this season and their 15-7 record is third-best in the entire league. They have been driven by a red-hot offense through 22 games. The Orioles are third in runs scored, first in home runs, fourth in team average, and second in both Slugging Percentage and OPS. Baltimore has scored double-digit runs three times so far this season.
A few Orioles players in particular are having an especially good season at the plate. First Baseman Ryan Mountcastle is top 20 in the league with a . 324 batting average. Henderson and Cowser are top five in home runs with six round-trippers apiece.
While the Baltimore Orioles offense has been one of the league’s best, their pitching staff has been average. They are 12th in ERA with a mark of 3.84 and 19th in team strikeouts. Marquee offseason acquisition Starting Pitcher Corbin Burnes is 3-0 on the young season. The Orioles pitching staff will need to perform better for the team to reach their World Series aspirations this MLB season.
Orioles Upcoming Schedule
The Orioles have two more games against the Angels left on their road trip before heading home for a three-game set that begins on Friday against the Oakland Athletics. The Orioles are 7-1 over their last eight games.
Baltimore has gotten off to a great start this season and a player like Kjerstad will provide the team with an infusion of youth they hope will lead them to a World Series victory.
About The Author
Justin has always loved sports. He has previously written for Sports Illustrated and 247Sports. Check out all the great content Total Apex Sports has to offer. Check us out on X @TotalApexSports and our other sites: Total Apex Sports Bets and Total Apex Fantasy Sports
