Orioles star catcher appears to have finally turned things around

Has Adley Rutschman finally figured things out again?

Sep 30, 2023; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; A detailed view of a Baltimore Orioles logo in the stands during the game against the Boston Red Sox at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. | Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

The Baltimore Orioles have been struggling quite a bit since the trade deadline as expected, with the team yet to win a series since.

It has been a disappointing season for the Orioles, to say the least. This was a team that was expected to be a playoff contender, but instead has been residing in last place of the American League East for most of the year. They had to deal with a lot of injuries to key players, and the starting rotation struggled immensely. While that unit took much of the blame, it was also the batting order that wasn’t producing nearly as well as they have in recent seasons.

The team suffered a significant loss of production over the offseason with their leading home run hitter Anthony Santander leaving in free agency. That production wasn’t properly replaced, and it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise to see the offense stall out.

As the team heads into the final month and a half of the campaign, they will be focused on trying to develop some of their young talent. However, they will also be trying to see some of their core pieces bounce back from their slow starts to the year.

Read More: Orioles young star reminding everyone of incredible talent

One of those players is former All-Star catcher Adley Rutschman. The talented slugger looked like he was headed toward stardom until hitting a brutal stretch in the second half of last season.

As Baltimore started to limp into the playoffs down the stretch last year, the performance of their star catcher was a major reason why. To begin the 2025 campaign, those struggles carried over as Rutschman slashed a meager .205/.326/.295 with just two home runs and six RBI in April. May was possibly even worse (.182/.265/.295), resulting in a dismal .193/.295/.295 slash line through the first two months with just three homers and 16 RBI.

Has Rutschman turned things around?

Aug 8, 2025; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman (35) rounds the bases after hitting a home run during the first inning against the Athletics at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. | Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images

The 27-year-old slugger finally started to turn things around in June, hitting .309/.381/.509 with three home runs and five RBI in 15 games. Unfortunately, he landed on the injured list toward the end of the month and didn’t return until the end of July.

The good news for the Orioles is that Rutschman has picked up where he left off in August so far, slashing .265/.359/.471 with one home run so far.

A reminder that Adley Rutschman was heating up before his injury. Here are his numbers since June 3:

.316 BA
.385 OBP
.526 SLG
.911 OPS pic.twitter.com/cC9PxpuKJ8

— Jacob Calvin Meyer (@jcalvinmeyer) July 28, 2025

In spite of his struggles at the plate, Rutschman has actually been one of the Orioles' most valuable players this year; among position players, his 2.0 bWAR ranks second on the team, behind only Gunnar Henderson. That may be indicative of his steadily improving play offensively, along with continued excellence defensively.

While it was a long stretch of poor play for the star catcher dating back to last season, it seems like he is finally turning the corner. Rutschman is a key member of the Orioles, being the first player of their current core to reach the majors. As such, the team is counting on him to be an All-Star caliber player.