Underrated Baltimore Orioles All-Star Cementing Himself Amongst Best Infielders

The Baltimore Orioles have a ton of young talent in their lineup but one player is flying under the radar while moving up rankings.

Oct 1, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles infielder Jordan Westburg (11) hits a single against the Kansas City Royals in game one of the Wild Card round for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. | Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

When anyone mentions the Baltimore Orioles, there are a few names that come to mind instantly.

Shortstop Gunnar Henderson, the 2023 Rookie of the Year who followed up that campaign with MVP-level play in 2024, is normally amongst the first. Or catcher Adley Rutschman, who entered professional baseball with sky-high expectations and has met them.

Second baseman Jackson Holliday is another name on the top of people’s minds as someone who was one of the best prospects in the sport entering 2024.

While he underwhelmed, another young player emerged in outfielder Colton Cowser, who was the runner-up to New York Yankees starting pitcher Luis Gil as the AL Rookie of the Year last season.

The Orioles have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to building blocks for their lineup, as even more are looking to break out and earn everyday playing time in 2025.

But, there is one in particular who flies under the radar despite already cementing himself as an All-Star talent; third baseman Jordan Westburg.

Buster Olney of ESPN certainly hasn’t forgotten about the versatile infielder, placing him at No. 6 in his third basemen positional rankings.

A major reason that Baltimore’s production at the plate fell off in the second half of the season was because Westburg was not in the lineup.

He fractured his hand after being hit by a pitch on July 31 against the Toronto Blue Jays. It was not until Sept. 22 when he returned to the lineup.

His presence in the middle of the order was sorely missed. No one else was able to replicate his run-production, which was at elite levels in the first half of the year.

“Hitting fifth or sixth, Westburg thrives when there are run-scoring opportunities: In 2024, he had a .923 OPS with runners in scoring position,” Olney wrote.

In his first full season as a Major Leaguer, Westburg recorded a 3.5 offensive bWAR as one of the more productive third basemen in baseball at the plate.

He had a slash line of .264/.312/.481, hitting 18 home runs with 26 doubles and five triples, knocking in 63 runs. It was enough for him to be named an All-Star in 2024.

The increase in production can be attributed to hitting the ball harder with more regularity and getting the ball in the air. 

His average exit velocity (90.8 mph), hard hit rate (46.1%) and fly ball rate (26.2%) are all improvements from his rookie campaign in 2023. He also cut down his strikeout rate from 24.6% to 21.7%, putting the ball in play more often and doing damage when doing so.

Westburg isn’t the first young player that people mention when talking about the Orioles, but he should be amongst the first.

He and Henderson make up the best young left side in baseball and should be anchoring the Baltimore lineup for years to come.