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It took Heston Kjerstad exactly two years to make his professional debut after the Orioles drafted him in 2020. He needed less than that to climb all the way up.
The Orioles called up Kjerstad, ranked by Baseball America as the organization’s fifth-best prospect, to the major leagues Thursday, the team announced. He made his way to Baltimore when first baseman Ryan Mountcastle exited with left shoulder discomfort he suffered on a swing in the first inning against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Kjerstad was pulled in the fifth inning of Triple-A Norfolk’s game Wednesday evening and was told after by Tides manager Buck Britton of his promotion. He made his MLB debut in Thursday night’s loss to the Tampa Bay Rays, pinch hitting in the eighth and striking out.
“This is something I’ve worked for my whole life,” Kjerstad said. “To finally be here and be in the moment, it’s been awesome so far.”
Kjerstad’s promotion came amid a flurry of other roster moves Thursday, but they did not include placing Mountcastle on the injured list. Manager Brandon Hyde said before the first game of Baltimore’s pivotal four-game series against the Rays that the club received “great news” from the imaging on Mountcastle’s shoulder and that he is only dealing with soreness.
“He’s not an IL candidate,” Hyde said. “He might be available tonight. He’s going to actually test some things out. He feels a lot better.”
The No. 2 overall draft pick in 2020, Kjerstad almost had his career derailed before it could even get underway because of the heart condition myocarditis, which caused him to miss the entire 2021 season. His return in 2022 was then delayed because of a severe hamstring strain.
“Had my myocarditis and my hamstring in the past I had to persevere through, but that’s part of being an athlete and just part of life,” Kjerstad said. “You’ve just got to keep going. … Just stay focused on the main goal. Minor setback, major comeback.”
But Kjerstad finally made his professional debut June 10, 2022 — two years to the date of being drafted — with Low-A Delmarva, later reaching High-A but struggling with Aberdeen to end the 2022 campaign. But he won the Arizona Fall League Most Valuable Player Award and entered spring training in 2023 with the belief he could reach the major leagues this season.
The 24-year-old was one of Baltimore’s best statistical hitters in spring training and began his season in Double-A. He hit .310 with a .960 OPS with Bowie to earn his promotion in June to Norfolk, where he’s kept up his success at the plate with a .298 average and .869 OPS in 76 games. In July, he played alongside No. 1 prospect Jackson Holliday in the MLB All-Star Futures Game, an exhibition contest that showcases the sport’s top minor league talent.
“It’s been a journey, but it’s been fun,” Kjerstad said.
Pitching prospect DL Hall, a teammate of Kjerstad’s in Triple-A before the left-hander’s own call-up, also had a winding path to the majors, albeit not as perilous as the slugger’s.
“It’s obviously challenging, super challenging when the path isn’t how you may have seen it from the beginning,” Hall said about his and Kjerstad’s shared experience. “It definitely tests your mental fortitude. I think in the end, it always ends up making you stronger. I think it probably prepared him for his moment, kind of the same way it does for me.
“I feel like facing those mental battles of being a little off-schedule definitely teaches you a few things and just teaches you about not giving in.”
Kjerstad joins a clubhouse filled with current and former top prospects, including Hall, pitcher Grayson Rodriguez, catcher Adley Rutschman and infielders Gunnar Henderson and Jordan Westburg. All six were selected in the first two rounds of MLB drafts between 2017 and 2020 and are now in the show as the Orioles own the best record in the American League.
“It’s what happens with good teams with good farm systems,” Hyde said. “They’re bringing up talented players, and Heston’s had a really nice year in Triple-A. Been fun to watch him from afar. What he did in spring training, I was so impressed with how the ball came off his bat and the power that he showed and the ability to hit.
“It’s nice to have him as an option right now to either pinch-hit off the bench or maybe get a start here or two.”
As a left-handed hitter, Kjerstad isn’t a one-for-one replacement for Mountcastle, a righty who has been the Orioles’ best hitter since the All-Star break with a .900 OPS, if the latter ends up missing extended time. He has experience this season playing first base, a new position for him, in the minor leagues, saying Thursday he’s “comfortable” if asked to play there for the Orioles.
Until Mountcastle can return, Baltimore has Ryan O’Hearn, Anthony Santander and Ramón Urías who can also play first, but Hyde said Kjerstad is an option “in an emergency.”
In the other moves Thursday, outfielder Ryan McKenna was optioned to Triple-A and utilityman Terrin Vavra was recalled and immediately placed on the 60-day IL with a strained right shoulder — two moves that created space for Kjerstad to join the 40-man and active rosters. Left-handed reliever Nick Vespi was also optioned to Norfolk — his fifth this year, the last time the Orioles can send him down without putting him on waivers first — as the team recalled right-handed reliever Bryan Baker, who posted a 3.64 ERA with Baltimore through the season’s first four months.
Even though Kjerstad wasn’t on the 40-man roster by Sept. 1, he is eligible to play in the postseason because he was already in the Orioles’ organization, unlike reliever Jorge López, who was claimed off waivers in early September.
Kjerstad will have family and friends at Camden Yards for his potential debut.
“It’ll be good to see everyone in person,” he said. “Definitely a special moment and thankful to have my family, they’re a big part to get me here.”
He expects to have “a little bit of butterflies,” but he said the main emotions he’s experienced are “stoked, excited, relieved” at being able to reach this destination after his odyssey.
“It’s been a good 24 hours,” he said.
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