Adley Rutschman on his move to Triple-A and more

For the player who is now baseball's No. 1 ranked prospect and seems to always be a marked man, his first day at the minor leagues' highest level produced a strong debut. He had two hits and caught a game in which the opposing team had just one.

In Triple-A Norfolk's 4-0 win Tuesday night over Memphis at Harbor Park, catcher Adley Rutschman caught a three-pitcher one-hitter. At bat he went 2-for-4, with an RBI single in his third at-bat and a double in his fourth.

Rutschman said he was excited to be moving up a level after 80 games with the Double-A Bowie Baysox.

"Absolutely (excited)," he said during a Norfolk Tides Zoom interview with O's reporters late this afternoon. "I think you've got to celebrate all the small victories, and getting promoted is obviously a huge step. Definitely a great experience, and I'm very blessed to be in the position I'm in right now. So, very happy to be here and to be a step away."

Last night in the Tides' win, lefty Bruce Zimmermann went five innings, right-hander Kyle Bradish went three and righty Félix Bautista pitched the ninth. The first and only Memphis hit came with two outs in the eighth.

So Rutschman has moved up after batting .271/.392/.508/.901 for Bowie with 16 doubles, 18 homers and 55 RBIs. Among O's farmhands he ranks first in homers, third in RBIs and is third among full-season players in OPS.

"Just looking forward to experiencing a new level, new challenges and being a part of a new team in a new place," the 23-year-old Rutschman said. "And, there is definitely some uncomfortability that comes with new situations and new settings, but it's all part of the process and all part of the learning experience."

One thing Rutschman does not do in interviews is take a shot at projecting when he might make his anticipated big league debut. He didn't do that today either, or even discuss thinking about it now that he is just one step away.

"No. Just same process as always. I like to keep even keel and just kind of stay as steady as I can, so my mindset is going to continue to stay the same," he added.

Is it too soon for him to determine the difference between the two highest minor league levels?

"That is tough. I never like to base anything off of just one day of experience," he said. "But, from what I've heard, just the overall level of play just gets better at each level you go up. So looking forward to experiencing that. And facing new challenges ahead."

Rutschman has walked 55 times and struck out 57. That is a pretty remarkable nearly one-to-one ratio for someone with as many at-bats as he has. Scouts said he had a great eye in college, and that is clearly true about his offense in pro ball.

"I think just trying to create a big emphasis on strike-zone discipline and swinging at pitches in the zone and pitches I can do damage on," he said. "So, that's been a big emphasis for me and I think it's led to pretty good results so far. I'm going to try and continue to improve upon that."

Rutschman caught 51 games with Bowie, played at first base 20 times and was the DH nine times. How much will he catch with the Tides?

"I mean, honestly, I don't really know my schedule. Kind of to be seen right now," Rutschman said. "I trust that the Orioles have a plan for me, and they've had a plan for me all year. So I trust whatever they decided to do. It's worked out so far and I'm very fortunate to be a part of this organization. So, I know they have a plan and just looking forward to seeing how that unfolds."

.@RutschmanAdley giving the people what they came for, hitting an RBI single in the bottom of the 6th for his first career Triple-A RBI and hit!

T7 | Norfolk 3, Memphis 0 pic.twitter.com/xcgSl7tX0X

-- Norfolk Tides (@NorfolkTides) August 11, 2021