Becoming more aggressive at bat, Rutschman took his offense to a higher gear

Orioles' catcher Adley Rutschman was a Silver Slugger winner at the end of the 2023 season. One where he finished with 20 homers and 80 RBIs. But this season his production has gotten better and he’s on pace for 28 homers and 107 RBIs.

He has elevated his slugging and OPS production even as his walk rate came down. Earlier this year it was way down. He’s started to draw more walks recently and maybe that is a result of pitchers be more careful with a hitter who had an OPS of .806 in 2022 and .809 in 2023 and that is now .820. His slugging percentage this season is .470 after it was .445 in 2022 and .435 last year.

To simplify it, Rutschman has been more aggressive at bat this year and his walk rate early on dropped big time. But it's climbing back up now, and he is showing all his talents as a hitter with recent games of two homers and another with five hits.

He is seeing fewer pitches per plate appearance and his walk rate, which was 13.8 in 2022 and 13.4 last year is now 7.4. That walk rate was lower than that earlier this year, but Rutschman, who has walked 25 times this year, has drawn 11 of those in the last 14 games, a span where his on-base percentage is .394.

“I don’t think there was any specific decree to Adley, ‘we need you to do more.’ That is pretty tough to ask a guy who just won a Silver Slugger to do more,” O’s offensive strategy coach Cody Asche said on Sunday. “It was kind of the way the season started (with less walks). Guys do things different for one reason or another, you know, maybe you see guys are attacking you differently and that’s just the way things go.

“He has a lot on his plate. He is a top-tier catcher. Just a lot to handle. I fully expect Adley to just be a very productive player whether it’s a low walk-rate, high slug or lower slug and high walk rate. He is going to find a way to OPS .800 to .900. Be in the conversation to win a Silver Slugger. Be a top WAR catcher. Handle our staff and that is what we signed up for.”

Rutschman’s hard-hit rate – the percentage of balls in play hit 95 mph or more – is up with those slugging and OPS numbers. That rate was 36.8 in 2022, 38.4 last year and is 43.0 now.

I asked Asche if he would rather see a player with a strong walk rate or someone with a good OPS. He said with Rutschman he gets both. A hitter that will take the walks when presented but can slug the team to wins and attack early in the count if he gets the right pitch to drive.

“’ll take a guy that can do both. I’ll take Adley at his best where he hits two homers in a game against the Blue Jays and can kind of take over and win you a game that way. Or I’ll take Adley from the other night, with five hits and then started the next game with two walks. Whatever is asked of him, he can do that. And so I’ll take that, I would never want to keyhole a guy with that kind of talent into just being one way," said Asche.

Last night, a 4-2 O's win over Cleveland, was a slow game for Rutschman at the plate. He went 0-for-3 with a walk. But in 24 games in June, he is batting .299/.384/.464/.848 with four doubles, four homers and 16 RBIs.

As play began last night here is where Rutschman ranked in some AL stats: He was fourth in hits (93), tied for fifth in average (.300), tied for sixth in RBIs (53) and ninth in total bases (147).

He is the leading vote getter for the AL All-Star game at the catcher spot and seems on his way to a second straight Silver Slugger Award. He might get both honors, no matter how many walks he draws this year.

Speaking of slugging: The O's slugged three homers last night as they beat Cleveland to end their five-game losing streak. Gunnar Henderson hit No. 26, Cedric Mullins No. 8 and Ryan O'Hearn No. 10. The Orioles have seven players with 10 or more homers, the most in MLB.

Baltimore is now 34-6 when hitting multiple homers and 18-5 when hitting three. Last night was the 28th time O's pitchers have allowed two runs or less and they are 27-1 in those games. 

The Orioles are 50-30 at the 80-game mark and reach the halfway point of the 162-game regular season with tonight's game.

After all the fan angst over the losing streak, consider these records since June 15:

* The Yankees are 2-8 with a minus 37 run differential and 7.24 ERA.

* The Orioles are 5-6 with a plus 5 run differential and 5.34 ERA.

On June 14, the Orioles were 3.5 games out of first place. After another Yankees loss to the Mets last night, this one by 12-2, the O's trail the Yankees by one game for the division lead.