Orioles select two players on first day of 2020 First-Year Player Draft

The Baltimore Orioles tonight selected outfielder Heston Kjerstad from the University of Arkansas with the second overall selection of the 2020 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. The Orioles also selected infielder Jordan Westburg at No. 30 overall from Mississippi State University.

Kjerstad, 21, hit .448/.513/.791 (30-for-67) with five doubles, six home runs, 19 runs, and 20 RBI in 16 games during his junior season, which was shortened due to COVID-19. He led the Razorbacks in batting average, hits, home runs, RBI, 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. He was ranked as the No. 10 overall draft prospect by MLB.com and the No. 13 prospect by Baseball America. As a sophomore in 2019, Kjerstad helped lead Arkansas to their second-straight College World Series. Kjerstad homered in each of the Fayetteville Regional, Fayetteville Super Regional, and College World Series. For the season, Kjerstad hit .327/.400/.575 (87-for-266) with 13 doubles, one triple, 17 home runs, 53 runs, and 51 RBI in 65 games. His 17 home runs were a career-best and were tied for the second-most in the SEC. He became the first Razorback since Rodney Nye in 1998-99 to have 50-or-more RBI in his first two seasons. He was named to the All-SEC Second-Team. As a true freshman in 2018, Kjerstad was named the SEC Freshman of the Year, along with being named to the SEC All-Freshman Team and the All-SEC Second Team, after helping lead Arkansas to the College World Series.

Westburg, 21, hit .317/.432/.517 (19-for-60) with six doubles, two home runs, 17 runs, and 11 RBI in 16 games during his junior season, which was shortened due to COVID-19. He led the Bulldogs in doubles and slugging percentage, and ranked tied for the team lead in runs, home runs, and total bases (31). As a sophomore in 2019, Westburg made 66 starts at shortstop for the Bulldogs, hitting .294/.402/.457 (78-for-265) with 21 doubles, two triples, six home runs, 68 runs, and 61 RBI. He was sixth in the SEC in runs scored, and finished seventh in doubles and RBI. He earned SEC Player of the Week honors on March 25 and was named to the Spring SEC Academic Honor Roll. Following the season, he ranked as the No. 4 prospect in the Cape Cod League after hitting .326/.385/.516 with four home runs and six doubles in 25 games with the Hyannis Harbor Hawks. As a freshman in 2018, he appeared in 42 games (31 starts) and was named to the SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll. A graduate of New Braunfels High School in New Braunfels, Texas, Westburg was a three-year letterwinner in baseball, and also lettered in football and basketball. As a senior, he was named the District 27-6A Most Valuable Player, and also earned honorable mention All-American honors from Perfect Game. He was ranked as the No. 33 overall draft prospect by Baseball America and the No. 37 prospect by MLB.com.

The Draft will conclude Thursday, June 11, on MLB Network and ESPN2 with rounds 2-5, beginning at 5:00 p.m. ET. The Orioles will make four additional selections in these rounds, with picks No. 39, No. 74, No. 103, and No. 133.