Baltimore Orioles Expected to Give Star Prospect More Playing Time

There seems to be a path for the Baltimore Orioles to pay one of their top prospects more during this stint in the bigs.

May 1, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles outfielder Heston Kjerstad (13) singles during the third inning against the New York Yankees at Oriole Park at Camden Yards / Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

The situation remains the same for the Baltimore Orioles: they have elite prospects in their minor league pipeline with many of them getting blocked by the current veterans on the Major League roster.

It's a tough situation to navigate.

They would certainly love to see what these young players can offer in the big leagues, but with a team ready to compete for a World Series right now, they have to operate with that in mind, not looking towards the future.

Still, the Orioles have called up a few of their different top prospects the past two years, but only Jordan Westburg and Colton Cowser have been able to stick as position players.

Heston Kjerstad was just promoted for his third stint in the MLB, and after immediately getting a shot to start in left field on Monday, the star youngster showed why he has been considered such a coveted bat as he recorded a double and single in his first two at-bats to finish 2-for-4.

Fans have been waiting for Blatimore to really give him an opportunity to see what he can do.

The 25-year-old has done everything he can at the Triple-A level, so the only thing left is giving him the requisite amount of time in the bigs to see if he can be an impact bat for them.

There's a good chance he'll get that runway this time around.

Cowser has slowed down since his red-hot start to the season that had him leading in the AL Rookie of the Year race. Through April, he had a .303/.372/.632 slash line with six homers, 13 extra-base hits, and 18 RBI.

He now sits at .225/.316/.418 with only three homers, nine extra-base hits, and 13 RBI since the start of May, suggesting he might have hit a bit of the rookie wall and could stand to get some more time off at times during the year.

That's where Kjerstad comes into play.

His potential at the plate makes him more than a viable fill in option, he's viewed as someone who could be a major part of this team going forward.

"Unreal bat. Some of the best just pure hitting I've seen and some of the furthest balls I've seen hit in BP," Orioles superstar Gunnar Henderson told Roch Kubatko of MASN.

Kjerstad has been able to showcase that in the minors, but it's time Baltimore gives him enough time to do that in the Majors.