Orioles select Heston Kjerstad with second overall pick (updated)

The second-best power bat in baseball's First-Year Player Draft is headed to the Orioles organization.

With their choices narrowed to five players heading into tonight, the Orioles passed on Vanderbilt's Austin Martin and chose Arkansas outfielder Heston Kjerstad with the second overall pick.

The first surprise of the night didn't take long to surface.

Kjerstad, 21, slashed .448/.513/.791 with five doubles, six home runs and 20 RBIs in 16 games before baseball shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic. He hit .327/.400/.575 with 13 doubles, one triple, 17 home runs and 51 RBIs in 300 plate appearances as a sophomore and .332/.419/.553 with 16 doubles, 14 home runs and 58 RBIs in 313 plate appearances as a freshman.

Kjerstad led the Razorbacks in batting average this year, hits (30), home runs, RBIs, total bases (53), on-base percentage and slugging percentage. He started all 16 games in right field and recorded at least one hit in each game. He was named to the Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List, as well as being named a First-Team Preseason All-American by Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball, D1Baseball.com and Perfect Game. .

An outfield corner is waiting for Kjerstad, who wore an Orioles cap on MLB Network after hearing his name called.

The Cubs' Kyle Schwarber is used as a comp to Kjerstad, a native of Amarillo, Texas.

Baseball America placed Kjerstad 13th in its draft rankings, but there was a buzz in the industry that the Orioles could go under slot and spread out its $13,894,300 allotment. The bonus slot value of the second overall pick is $7,789,900 and the 30th is $2,365,500.

Kjerstad, a left-handed hitter, led Team USA last summer with a .395/.426/.651 slash line, but he's prone to striking out and isn't viewed as more than an adequate defender.

The other tools and makeup coaxed the Orioles into making the selection and they can now go above slot in the later rounds.

Baseball America wrote: "He's hit better than .330/.400/.550 in each of his first two seasons with Arkansas and was off to another hot start in his junior campaign. That type of consistency gives him one of the higher floors among hitters in the 2020 draft class. He's a middle-of-the-order type bat but might be more power over pure hit, with 70-grade future raw power and the ability to leave a ballpark in any direction. His swing is a bit unorthodox, with a two-piece action and a pause with a big leg kick that interrupts his timing. The complex mechanics might be why he's historically struck out at a high clip."

The Mariners selected Kjerstad in the 36th round in 2017.

Kjerstad could begin workouts in some variation of extended spring training after signing his contract.

The minor league season is expected to be canceled, which prevents the Orioles from assigning him to the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League or short-season Single-A Aberdeen. The latter affiliate is the common landing spot for college players

The Tigers made the anticipated move with the first overall pick, taking Arizona State slugger Spencer Torkelson, but he was announced as a third baseman rather than a first baseman.

Either way, the best power bat in the draft wasn't falling to the Orioles.

Martin, 21, was wildly projected to go to the Orioles in mocks posted in the weeks leading up to tonight, including Baseball America's 8.0 version this morning. He was 20-for-53 (.377) with six doubles and three home runs in 69 plate appearances this year and slashed .392/.486/.604 as a sophomore, with 19 doubles, four triples, 10 home runs, 46 RBIs and a school-record 87 runs scored in 323 plate appearances.

They passed on him and also chose Kjerstad over New Mexico State infielder Nick Gonzales and Florida prep outfielder Zac Veen.

They also passed on pitching, as expected. The University of Minnesota's Max Meyer went to the Marlins with the third overall pick. Miami was projected to take Texas A&M left-hander Asa Lacy.

The Blue Jays chose Martin with the fifth overall pick.

The Orioles took a position player for the second consecutive year after making Oregon State catcher Adley Rutschman the first overall pick in 2019. The three previous selections were used on pitchers Cody Sedlock, DL Hall and Grayson Rodriguez.

Tonight marked the first time that the Orioles held the second pick. They chose first twice, grabbing Rutschman last year and LSU pitcher Ben McDonald in 1989.

Kjerstad is the first outfielder chosen by the Orioles in the first round since Florida State's DJ Stewart in 2015.

Rounds two through five will be held Thursday beginning at 5 p.m.

I'll update this entry with the Orioles next selection that leads off the Competitive Balance A round.

Update: The mocks didn't have Kjerstad going to the Orioles, but he knew there was a chance.

"They showed quite a bit of interest and they had said I was still in consideration for their No. 2 pick going into the draft today," Kjerstad said tonight on a Zoom call with local and out-of-state media.

"I wasn't really trying to get my hopes up for any pick. I was just waiting for the phone to ring and see what happened and sure enough, after the Detroit Tigers turned in their pick, phone rang and it's the Orioles and they wanted to pick me with their second pick. And man, I couldn't say 'yes' quick enough to that."

Scout Ken Guthrie has known Kjerstad's family "forever," as the outfielder put it. Kjerstad will be reunited with former Arkansas teammate Blaine Knight and Grayson Rodriguez, a former summer league teammate.

Not everyone in the organization is a stranger.

Knight, a third-round pick in 2018, contacted Kjerstad twice today. They were together for one season at Arkansas and immediately became friends.

"Best hitter I've ever been around and faced," Knight said tonight. "We faced each other in the falI. I made it a point not to give him anything to hit. I've never been worried about a freshman ever hitting me and he was one of the ones who worried me.

"He's a great kid. He's an Amarillo, Texas, kid. Blue collar family and he's a blue collar worker on the field. He's going to get after it and he's going to compete and I don't think there's a better one in the draft than him."

Knight was excited for Kjerstad today, having gone through the experience himself a couple of years ago.

"I reached out to him and told him, 'Man, it's a big day, it's going to be one of your most memorable days of your life,' " Knight said. "I was like, 'Cherish it, cherish it with your family and enjoy it. You only get to do it once.'

"I told him that this morning, and then when he got drafted, I called him and told him congrats and welcome to Birdland. I'm pumped to have him back because that's definitely a guy I want in the lineup behind me, for sure."

Elias met with Kjerstad over Zoom to gain a better understanding of the player's makeup and approach.

"Obviously, I think that Zoom went pretty good with him and convinced him to have confidence in picking me," Kjerstad said.

MASNsports.com's Steve Melewski will have more comments from Kjerstad later tonight.

Update II: The Orioles opened the Competitive Balance A Round by selecting Mississippi State shortstop Jordan Westburg with the 30th overall pick.

Westburg, a 21-year-old Texas native who could move to third base, slashed .317/.432/.517 with six doubles and two home runs in 74 plate appearances as a junior before the shutdown. He slashed .294/.402/.457 with 21 doubles, two triples, six home runs and 61 RBIs in 321 plate appearances as a sophomore.

Westburg impressed in the Cape Cod League last year, batting .326/.385/.516 with six doubles and four home runs in 25 games.

The Orioles keep focusing on position players. Their first seven picks last year also were hitters.

Westburg is the 33rd-ranked player in the draft per Baseball America and the 37th per MLB Pipeline. Considered to be a plus runner.