Orioles’ Heston Kjerstad Takes Postseason Lesson To Heart
Outfielder Heston Kjerstad’s career has been unique, to say the least.
The Orioles drafted him No. 2 overall out of Arkansas in the five-round 2020 draft. He did not play his first pro game until two years later because he was diagnosed with myocarditis after the draft.
Once Kjerstad got back on the field and rounded into game form, he rose quickly to Baltimore. He made his MLB debut on Sept. 14, 2023, and received three separate callups in 2024.
The 25-year-old also made the Orioles’ postseason roster in both seasons, despite having compiled just 147 career big league plate appearances.
Kjerstad was growing into a more regular role with the Orioles this season before he was hit in the head by a pitch and suffered a concussion. Next, he could be an everyday player in 2025 and is taking what he learned this October to heart.
“Just learning from the past two postseasons, it’s anybody’s ballgame, whenever,” Kjerstad said. “They’re close games, they come down to the little things. And day-in and day-out, you just have to come to compete. That’s all it is in these games.
“You just have to keep competing and, hopefully, get the big hit when you can get it, and hopefully come up when maybe the game is on the line.”
Despite difficulty breaking into the Orioles’ corner-bat mix, Kjerstad has dominated at Triple-A Norfolk the last two seasons. He hit .299/.382/.541 with 26 home runs and 90 RBIs in 132 International League games.
Kjerstad’s MLB playing time has been sporadic, but after his June recall, he produced a 1.141 OPS in 43 plate appearances before his concussion on July 20.
“He was swinging the bat really well at that time,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. “I think the opportunity was going to increase during that time, and then he had the concussion.”
Roster circumstances may create that opportunity this winter. Anthony Santander is a pending free agent and other veterans could be on the move.
Kjerstad will enter spring training with the same mentality that playoff baseball taught him.
“You have to take advantage of every moment that you get,” he said.
BIRD SEED
— Triple-A Norfolk third baseman Coby Mayo, who hit 22 home runs with a .926 OPS at age 22, was the Orioles’ minor league player of the year. Righthander Brandon Young, a 2020 undrafted free agent, earned pitcher of the year honors with a 3.57 ERA and 1.25 WHIP with 132 strikeouts in 111 innings in the high minors.
— Latin American coordinator of instruction Samuel Vega won the organization’s player development award, while Donovan O’Dowd was the club’s scout of the year.
— In his end-of-season remarks, executive vice president Mike Elias said Mayo was farthest along at first base but would likely still get opportunities at third base for his development, even as the pathway to major league starts there is limited in Baltimore.
— Preseason top prospect Jackson Holliday abandoned his leg kick for a toe-tap in the final week of the regular season, and the team was encouraged by the results. “I really like that adjustment,” Hyde said of the 20-year-old second baseman.
