Westburg keeps impressing with rapid development in majors

To understand and appreciate Jordan Westburg's advanced approach to hitting, rewind to Tuesday night in the bottom of the first inning.

The Orioles were down 2-1 and had the bases loaded. Red Sox starter Brayan Bello got ahead two strikes, threw a third consecutive sinker and watched it roll into right field. Ryan O’Hearn and Colton Cowser raced home and Bello’s lead was gone.

That’s Westburg, in only his first full season in the majors.

Gunnar Henderson was the American League’s Rookie of the Year last season and is an early favorite to follow in the footsteps of Cal Ripken Jr., who won the award in 1982 and was chosen Most Valuable Player in ’83. But the low-key Westburg is ranking highly on the club’s statistical lists, placing second in average (.291), on-base percentage (.351), slugging percentage (.508) and OPS (.859) heading into last night. His 34 RBIs were third.

His 12 multi-RBI games led the team.

The spray chart illustrates how Westburg can drive the ball to every area of the field. Poking a single to right Wednesday was typical rather than an exception.

The at-bats are mature, professional, and he’s played in only 119 career games, including 68 last summer.

“It’s incredibly rare,” said manager Brandon Hyde. “The right word for me is ‘consistent,’ and ‘disciplined’ is a good word, too. He is a no-nonsense … he doesn’t show his true personality on the field. I think there’s a personality on the field where he is all about winning and all about playing the game the right way, and he is going to play as hard as he can and make really good decisions. He is so under control. He has made huge strides defensively this year because of work.

“His approach this year is off the charts and that kind of growth in one year is unbelievable. He’s going to be a really good baseball player and a hard-nosed, winning player. You know what you’re going to get out of Jordan Westburg every single day, and that’s going to be four of the toughest at-bats of the game and never miss a pitch defensively or offensively. And that’s all you can ask for.”

Westburg, 25, was out of last night’s lineup after getting drilled on the right hand by Bello. X-rays came back negative, but the soreness hadn’t dissipated.

He actually went hitless in three consecutive games before producing a run-scoring double Friday night in Chicago. A three-hit game followed, and Westburg is in the midst of an 8-for-18 stretch in his last five games.

“He is super disciplined and consistent with his work every day and it shows on the field,” said co-hitting coach Ryan Fuller. “His approach is very simple. He wants to be a complete hitter going line to line, line drives all over, and when he does that he hits the ball hard, too. He does a great job of controlling the strike zone. All the things we want in our hitters, he exemplifies every day in what he does in his work before the game and then when he plays the game, too. Just a really consistent, great hitter.”

Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias snatched Westburg with the 30^th pick in the 2020 draft out of Mississippi State. He debuted in the majors late last June, had five hits in his first three games and was slashing .300/.378/.475 on July 9 before finishing at .260/.311/.404.

The progress he’s made at the plate and at two positions is striking.

“He’s a very mature guy, he knows what’s important to him, he has is priorities in order,” said Fuller, who’s wearing a brace on his right elbow after undergoing Tommy John surgery about a month ago. “I think when you have that off the field, it lends itself to more production on the field because you’re not trying to be something you’re not. He’s very confident in being Jordan Westburg and he understands who he is and what he has to do every day to get ready. And we love having him.”

The Orioles went into spring training intent on making Henderson the everyday shortstop and getting Westburg regular at-bats, whether at second base or third. Can’t argue with the results.

Jorge Mateo’s emergence as a plus-defender at second, along with his blazing speed and improved offensive numbers, lead to more starts for Westburg at third. He’s up to 37. And it drives Ramón Urías to the bench.

Urías won a Gold Glove at third in 2022 and was set to be a super-utility player this season after the Orioles tendered him a contract and later reached agreement on a $2.1 million deal. However, he’s appeared in only 26 games, his name appearing in the lineup 18 times, including seven this month, and he’s batting .219 with a .609 OPS.

Westburg’s sore hand allowed Urías to return to third base last night. Urías responded with a run-scoring single in the second inning and his second home in the eighth to raise his RBI total to five this season. He also reached on a hit by pitch.

It can only enhance his trade value if the Orioles need roster space for a prospect.

Urías admitted that it's "difficult" to sit while the Orioles are on pace to win 105 games, four more than last season.

"You're not seeing pitches every night," he said, "but I know that I'm on a great team and I try to be ready for whenever they need me."

Though Henderson also impacts his playing time, Urías can appreciate greatness when he sees it. Henderson hit a grand slam last night and is tied for the major league lead with 18 home runs.

"That's incredible," Urías said. "It looks like every night he hits a homer and it's great being around him."

Hyde was asked this week about balancing playing time for his young outfielders – first Heston Kjerstad and now Kyle Stowers – and his response also fit Urías and anyone else trying to keep his head above a deep roster.

“I’m trying to play everybody,” he said. “I’ve got a bunch of really good players and some guys are kind of going through some tough times right now or trying to find it that have done good things here in the past. And I’m trying to get them going, too, for a lot of different reasons - defensively or what I know they can bring to our team. But I’m also trying to give young guys a chance, to try to give them the best matchups that I can, as well, while trying to win, as well.

“Like I said last year, I have 13 guys I want to play. That makes our bench really deep. When somebody doesn’t start the game, that doesn’t mean they aren’t going to finish it. A couple situations in Chicago where it kind of set me up to have some really good pinch-hitters in some big spots when the game mattered the most and it helped us out. It’s a good team problem to have. I want to have everybody be in there every single night. I just have to try to pick my spots because I have so many good players, try to pick my spots with the right matchups for them.”