Still No. 1: Rutschman leads five players on Baseball America list

For just the third time since Baseball America started releasing top 100 prospect lists in 1990, the Orioles had five players in the initial top 100 of the year when the newest list came out on Wednesday.

We say initial top 100 because now these lists are tweaked and changed often during the year. Some outlets, including Baseball America, move players in and out as they "graduate" and lose prospect and rookie eligibility. There was once a time when outlets released one list per year and a year later the next one came out. But no longer.

In the new Baseball America top 100 out yesterday, catcher Adley Rutschman remains the No. 1 prospect in baseball. He was second on this list a year ago, but when Wander Franco of the Tampa Bay Rays was called up and lost his prospect eligibility, Rutschman moved up to No. 1, and he stayed there on this year's list ahead of Seattle outfielder Julio Rodriguez at No. 2 and Kansas City shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. at No. 3.

Joining Rutschman among Orioles on the list is right-hander Grayson Rodriguez at No. 6, lefty DL Hall No. 52, infielder Gunnar Henderson No. 57 and outfielder Colton Cowser, the club's 2021 top draft pick, at No. 98.

So, in terms of the initial release and records of such, the Orioles also placed five on this list in 2008 and also last year, in 2021. In 2008, it was Matt Wieters (12), Chris Tillman (67), Radhames Liz (69), Troy Patton (78) and Nolan Reimold (91). Last year, it was Rutschman (2), Rodriguez (22), Hall (59), Heston Kjerstad (62) and Ryan Mountcastle (63).

The Orioles can still boast of being the organization with both the highest-ranked catching and pitching prospects in Rutschman and Rodriguez.

In fact, at No. 1 and No. 6, they are the club's two highest-rated representatives ever in the initial Baseball America top 100. The previous best was in 2012, with Dylan Bundy at No. 10 and Manny Machado at No. 11.

Rutschman joins Wieters in 2009 as the only Orioles rated No. 1 atop the initial listing. They have had the No. 2 player three times, with Ben McDonald on the first-ever Baseball America list in 1990, and also Dylan Bundy at No. 2 in 2013 and Rutschman last year.

During a phone interview Wednesday, I asked Baseball America executive editor J.J. Cooper for his take on the O's getting five on the list this year.

"To have the No. 1 prospect in baseball and the No. 1 pitching prospect in baseball is a great starting place for any system," he said. "I don't think you are going to do a lot better than that. The reality is that we had a lot of very interesting, very involved, discussions about the top prospect. We were trying to figure out how to line up the top three - Adley Rutschman, Julio Rodriguez and Bobby Witt Jr.

"We went back and forth on this. There were very strong cases for each of the three. But at the end of the day, if you said what pushed the needle ever so slightly to put Rutschman at one, it was as we reached out to several dozen scouts, coaches, analysts and front office, we got more consistently Adley Rutschman No. 1 than anyone else. It was not overwhelmingly Rutschman at No. 1, but we got more of that. A lot people kept bringing up how hard it is to find a catcher that could make an impact offensively and defensively, and Rutschman has a chance to do that."

This is Baseball America's 33rd top 100 list, but Rutschman is only the 29th player to rank No. 1. Andruw Jones, Joe Mauer, Bryce Harper and Franco were all two-time No. 1 prospects.

Rutschman played in 123 games in 2021 between Double-A Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk, batting a combined .285/.397/.502/.899 with 25 doubles, two triples, 23 homers, 86 runs and 75 RBIs. He produced an OPS of .900 with Bowie and .895 for Norfolk,

In 43 games at Triple-A after his Aug. 10 promotion, he hit .312/.405/.490 with nine doubles, two triples, five homers and 20 RBIs.

Rutschman led the O's organization in hits (129), runs, on-base percentage and walk rate (14.5). He was second in homers and OPS and third in slugging. He shared the Brooks Robinson Award, as the O's co-Minor League Player of the Year, with outfielder Kyle Stowers.

Rutschman showed tremendous bat control and strike zone discipline last year. There were 28 players in the O's minors with 300 or more plate appearances last season. Among that group, Rutschman ranked first with that walk rate at 14.5, and last in strikeout rate at 16.6, meaning he was the hardest to strike out among the regulars.

Gayson Rodriguez went 9-1 with a 2.36 ERA and 0.83 WHIP in 23 regular-season starts, making five with high Single-A Aberdeen early this past year before his move to Double-A. With Bowie, he went 6-1 with a 2.60 ERA over 79 2/3 innings with 22 walks, 121 strikeouts and a 0.87 WHIP. He gave up one earned run or zero in 17 of his 23 starts.

Hall was shut down after seven starts last season at Double-A Bowie, where he went 2-0 with a 3.13 ERA. He walked 16 and fanned 56 in 31 2/3 innings for a 15.92 strikeout rate.

Henderson, 20, played 105 games at three levels in 2021, reaching Double-A late in the year. He batted .258/.350/.476/.826 with 28 doubles, four triples, 17 homers, 68 runs, 16 steals and 74 RBIs.

Cowser, 21, was taken fifth overall in the last draft and played in 32 games, seven in the Rookie-level Florida Complex League and 25 at low Single-A Delmarva. Between the two teams, he batted .375/.490/.492/.982 with eight doubles, two homers and 34 RBIs.

The Orioles did not have another player close to making the back end of the top 100, according to Cooper, and they were one of eight teams with five on the list. Pittsburgh and Arizona were the only two organizations with six top 100 prospects. Cooper felt infielder Jordan Westburg might settle in somewhere between 125 and 150 right now, with Stowers a bit below that.

Either or both could play their way into next year's top 100, as could a young rising talent like third baseman Coby Mayo, currently No. 10 on Baseball America's O's top 30. The Orioles will also hold the No. 1 pick in the next First-Year Player Draft, and whichever player they add could make his way into the next top 100 as well.

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-- Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) January 19, 2022