Baltimore Orioles manager Brandon Hyde has had so many top prospects debut in the past year or so that he keeps having flashbacks to 2015 when he was a Chicago Cubs bench coach.
“When all these guys have made their debuts, it’s been like a Kris Bryant moment in Chicago,” Hyde said of the kid who had a billboard outside of Wrigley Field foretell his debut — and certain greatness — weeks before he got there.
“When KB came to town, it was like the Chicago savior was coming,” Hyde said. “That’s unfair to these guys, honestly, that there’s already so much pressure, and it’s already so hard.”
Catcher Adley Rutschman, the first overall draft pick of 2019 and top-ranked prospect in baseball last year when he debuted, has made it look easy. Outfielder Gunnar Henderson, Baseball America’s top-ranked prospect this year, has had growing pains since debuting late last season.
Call it the Kris Bryant Effect.
“That’s what Grayson is going through right now a little bit,” Hyde said.
Grayson is Grayson Rodriguez. The big strong right-hander drafted in the first round in 2018 entered the season as the consensus No. 2 pitching prospect in baseball and was expected to earn a place in the upstart Baltimore Orioles rotation this spring before struggling and getting sent out to Triple-A.
But one Norfolk start and one Orioles injury later, he was on a big-league mound.
How Grayson Rodriguez impacts Baltimore Orioles’ chances
And like it or not, where he goes from here will have a lot to say about where the Orioles — last year’s MLB darlings with a surprising summer of playoff contention after years of rebuilding — will go in the rugged American League East. Maybe even October.
“I really don’t try to think about stuff like that,” Rodriguez said before making his third big-league start, Sunday against the White Sox — one that showed his mettle, if not his promise. “It’s just about getting the ball, going out and giving my team a chance to win — or a good chance to win.
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“If I start getting ahead of myself, I start to lose focus on the task at hand, and that’s something I don’t want to do.”
Let’s take a minute and do it for him.
The Baltimore Orioles have athleticism in the field, power bats, left-right balance, speed on the bases and a bullpen that was one of the best in the game last year.
Where they lack the on-paper ability to take the significant step forward from their 83 wins a year ago is in the rotation.
That’s why they signed veteran Kyle Gibson after an up-and-down season with the Phillies last year (5.05 ERA) and why they projected Rodriguez into their opening-rotation plans before spring.
And why this early season debut for the Houston-area native could have at least as big an impact on the Orioles’ competitive efforts this year as Rutschman did last year when he finished second in Rookie of the Year voting despite debuting in late May.
“He’s a phenomenal pitcher,” said Rutschman, who caught Rodriguez in the minors and all three big-league starts. “I’ve seen him do great things at the minor-league level. I have all the confidence in the world in him.”
Hyping up a rookie pitcher
As Hyde said, it’s not fair to pin savior expectations on a rookie.
On the other hand, Kris Bryant did help the Cubs win 97 games and reach the playoffs that 2015 season — followed by an MVP award and the most celebrated World Series championship in history the following season.
But the unexpectedly quick call back after his “disappointing” demotion from big-league camp at least offers an opportunity for Rodriguez.
And the kid Rutschman calls “a mature pitcher” said he thought his one start for Triple-A Norfolk was “beneficial for me,” after the spring dings.
And while he hasn’t exactly set the Orioles’ world on fire since his callup, that start against the White Sox in a come-from-behind O’s win, might be the start of something — if he has anything to say about it.
After a lengthy rain delay to his start, Rodriguez gave up a three-run homer on a hanging breaking ball and a solo shot and a solo shot on a 97 mph fastball in the first inning.
Then he retired 13 of 16 to get through the fifth and give the O’s a chance to claw back for an 8-4 win.
“Giving up four in the first, it could have really unraveled him,” said Hyde, who called Rodriguez’ pitching “sharp” even in the first.
“It was not the easiest day to pitch. It was cold and wet,” Hyde added, “but I thought he did a great job battling and competing after that first inning.”
Rodriguez, who showed that maturity Rutschman talked about in “blocking out” the elements that day, has a long way to go make the kind of impact this year all his talent suggests is possible.
And nobody’s making any promises, least of all Hyde or Rodriguez.
But with what Hyde calls “huge stuff” that comes with a 6-foot-6 frame and a poise he’s already begun to show, Rodriguez is looking to “absolutely” make the kind of impact Rutschman had before him and that Henderson might yet have this year.
“Any time I get the ball, my goal is to go out there and help our team win. That’s something I take pretty personal,” said Rodriguez, who says the individual expectations are eased some by the clubhouse filled with other young players with big prospect rankings attached to their names on the way up.
“It’s so hard already to play in the big leagues,” Hyde said, “I just want them to really relax and enjoy it and try to take as much pressure off them as possible.”
Bryant seemed to enjoy himself a lot in 2015 and ’16.
So did Rutschman last year.
Whether the pressure weighs on Rodriguez, he’s not showing it so far, even if his numbers haven’t quite caught up with a few of the promising signs in those first three starts.
In fact, it didn’t take him long, he said, to have his “I belong” moment in the majors.
It came after a rough first inning in his debut, when he settled down to get through the fifth — allowing only two runs on four hits in the start.
“After the first it started to feel more like a normal game for me, just getting into a groove,” he said. “And just toeing the rubber for the first time in the big leagues — it’s something I’ve waited for, for a long time.
“It just feels like home.”
Gordon Wittenmyer covers Major League Baseball for Sportsnaut. You can follow him on Twitter at @GDubCub.