Baltimore Orioles Boss Makes It Clear Their Star Prospect Will Be Featured This Year

It's been an interesting offseason for the Baltimore Orioles.

They lost their best performers in the starting rotation and lineup when Corbin Burnes and Anthony Santander both departed in free agency, and while they plugged the holes with veteran players, the ceiling for this group is expected to be lower than it's been.

But that's not how the Orioles are viewing it internally.

General manager Mike Elias seems confident this roster is set up for success, with the hope and expectation being their young crop of stars continue to take the next step in their careers.

Someone fans are chomping at the bit to see get extended playing time is Heston Kjerstad.

The top prospect has been prolific at the plate during his time on the farm, and with nothing else to prove in the minors, it appeared like he would be in for a much larger role in 2025 as a platoon option in right field or getting reps at designated hitter.

However, the offseason moves Baltimore made didn't seem to suggest that.

After signing Tyler O'Neill to one-for-one replace Santander, they then added Ramon Laureano on a Major League deal and signed Dylan Carlson.

The outfield situation looks crowded for Kjerstad on paper once again, calling into question if the Orioles are really going to give the slugger a shot to prove what he can do at the Major League level.

But, with Baltimore arriving to spring camp, Elias made it clear that the top prospect is going to be in the picture.

"I think he's kind of earned the right to get a lot of at-bats in the corner outfield and in the DH spot, specifically against right-handed pitching," the executive said per Roch Kubatko of MASN.

That should calm some concerns about what his usage might look like, although the Orioles haven't necessarily been patient with their prospects in the bigs if they go through a stretch of struggles at the plate, evident by the demotions Colton Cowser, Jackson Holliday, Coby Mayo and Kjerstad himself have received.

Will Kjerstad have to blow everyone away to get a real shot?

Elias said not neccesarily.

"I don't know that he needs to tear the cover off the ball in the Grapefruit League. We've seen him do that already. He's played pretty well in a limited opportunity at the major league level. He's played really well in the minors, and he's going on 26 and this is a big opportunity for him," he added.

OK, so if they are ready to see what the slugger can do at this level and don't need to see him dominate to give him a chance to make the roster, then why all the other additions?

Elias simply stated it was to give themselves more options.

"But the big leagues are tough and that's why we're putting together a team that has some right-handed options, as well," he said.

It will be interesting to see what comes out of this.

Manger Brandon Hyde echoed Elias's statements about how they view Kjerstad this year, but when push comes to shove, how they go about making their roster decision will tell a lot about how they actually view the 26-year-old in the franchise's future plans.

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