Baseball America – July 02, 2019

28 JULY 2019 • BASEBALLAMERICA.COM

WIRE TO WIRE

Adley Rutschman entered the year as the favorite

and lived up to lofty expectations

by TEDDY CAHILL

A

fter a sensational performance last year at the College World

Series that saw him earn Most Outstanding Player honors and

lead Oregon State to the national title, catcher Adley Rutschman

came into this season with all of baseball watching him.

Those in the college game wanted to see how he would respond to

taking over as the Beavers’ unquestioned leader after the veterans from

their national championship team had moved on to pro ball. Major league

scouting directors were closely watching him as a potential No. 1 overall

pick in the 2019 draft.

The pressure didn’t bother him. Rutschman never wavered and he

went wire-to-wire as both college baseball’s best player and the draft’s

best prospect. The Orioles made him the first overall pick in June, and he

earned the Baseball America College Player of the Year award after an out-

standing all-around season.

COLLEGE

& HIGH

SCHOOL

AWARDS

COLLEGE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

WALKING THE

WALK: Rutschman hit

.411/.575/.751 with 17 home

runs, 76 walks and 38 strikeouts.

He led the nation in on-base

percentage and walks. He ranked

fifth in batting average and sixth

in slugging percentage heading

into the College World Series.

BEAVER LEADER:

Rutschman left his mark

on the Oregon State record book.

He set the program’s career walks

record (156), ranks second in RBIs

(174), third in runs (151) and is

inside the top 10 of nearly every

major offensive category.

ALL BASES COVERED:

“This guy’s the best play-

er in college baseball right now,”

Oregon State pitching coach

Nate Yeskie said. “The defensive

piece and the offensive piece is

front of the draft. Add in intangi-

bles that make your team better

and add in where’s his protec-

tion—and he continues to do

what he’s doing. It’s astounding.”

DISTINGUISHED

COMPANY: Rutschman

is the fourth catcher to win the

BA College Player of the Year

award, joining Florida’s Mike

Zunino (2012), Florida State’s

Buster Posey (2008) and Georgia

Tech’s Jason Varitek (1994).

THE DEFENSE

DOESN’T REST:

Rutschman is regarded as an

excellent defender and was

named Pacific-12 Conference

co-defensive player of the year.

›FIVE FACTS ABOUT RUTSCHMAN

1

2

3

4

5

CLOCKWISE FROM FAR LEFT: KARL MAASDAM; KARL MAASDAM; BILL MITCHELL; ALEX TRAUTWIG/MLB PHOTOS VIA GETTY IMAGES; KARL MAASDAM