Baltimore Orioles Star Rookie Outfielder To Begin Rehab Assignment

The Baltimore Orioles are sending one of their top young outfielders to the minor leagues to begin an injury rehab assignment.

Jul 12, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles outfielder Heston Kjerstad (13) swings through a second inning single against the New York Yankees at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. / Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

The race is on to get Baltimore Orioles outfielder Heston Kjerstad ready for the final stretch of the regular season and the playoffs.

MLB.com reported on Friday that Kjerstad would begin an injury rehab assignment with High-A Aberdeen on Saturday, one the team hopes will have the rookie ready to return sometime this month.

He was cleared of the league’s concussion protocol earlier this week, clearing the way for the 25-year-old to begin this rehab assignment.

Kjerstad has played 41 career Major League games but hasn’t yet reached the service time required to graduate from prospect rankings. So, while he is considered a rookie, he is also the No. 42 prospect per Baseball America.

The Orioles placed him on the 7-day concussion list on July 13 after he was hit in the head by a pitch during their final series before the All-Star break. He was activated seven days later and played about a week. He went 2-for-18 over seven games at the plate and then told Baltimore he was experiencing concussion symptoms.

The Orioles placed him back on the 7-day concussion list on Aug. 1 and then moved him to the 10-day IL on Aug. 7.

In 28 games for Baltimore, Kjerstad has a slash line of .261/.370/.420/.790 with three home runs and 12 RBI. He’s made great improvement from his short MLB stint last year (13 games, slash line of .233/.281/.467/.748 with two home runs and three RBI).

The right-handed hitting outfielder started the season at Triple-A Norfolk, but his incredible start to the year led to a promotion on April 23. He struggled again in the Majors and was sent back to Norfolk on May 13.

When he returned to the Orioles on June 24, he brought that big bat with him.

In six games during June, he batted .438 with two home runs and eight RBI. The day he took the baseball to the head, he was batting .312 for the season, with three home runs and 12 RBI.

With Norfolk this year, Kjerstad had a slash line of .300/.397/.601/.998 with 16 home runs and 58 RBI in 56 games.

When Baltimore first called him up in April, he was coming off a stretch in which he was named the International League Player of the Week after he batted .444 with nine runs, three doubles, six home runs, 21 RBI and five walks. He had a slash line of .531/1.222/1.753 that week.

He also set a Norfolk Tides record for most RBI in a game when he drove in 10 runs in a 27-11 win over Charlotte. For the game, Kjerstad went 5-for-7 with two home runs, two doubles, four runs and 10 RBI.