In Brandon Hyde’s first four years as manager, the Orioles had just three players named to the All-Star Game.
As a result of being one of the worst teams in the majors during that stretch, the Orioles only received the minimum of one All-Star in 2019, 2021 and 2022, and the 2020 Midsummer Classic was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
It didn’t take long for the post-rebuild Orioles to more than double that total, as four Baltimore players were named American League All-Stars on Sunday. Catcher Adley Rutschman, closer Félix Bautista, setup man Yennier Cano and left fielder Austin Hays will all represent the Orioles at the All-Star Game on July 11 at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park.
The paths the four players took to each earn their first All-Star selection vary widely. Rutschman has long been destined for this achievement as the first overall pick in the 2019 draft and a former No. 1 prospect. Hays zoomed through the minors and debuted at 21 years old, but he spent the next five years battling various injuries. Bautista was pitching in Low-A just two seasons ago, and Cano didn’t even break spring training in the major leagues.
“We’re 15 games over .500, and to do that in the American League East and our schedule, there’s got to be a lot of people doing things well,” Hyde said about why his club is deserving of having four All-Stars. “All four of these guys are four different stories. That’s the coolest thing. … For them to all experience their first All-Star Game and the stories they have, a lot of people have put a lot of work in, and it’s a credit to them and a pleasure for me to tell them.”
None of the four are surprises, although a couple were expected more than others. Rutschman was a finalist to start behind the plate, but lost the second phase of voting to Texas Rangers catcher Jonah Heim. Bautista was considered a shoo-in as he’s built off his stellar rookie campaign with a first half so good he’s on pace to shatter strikeout records.
Cano and Hays, meanwhile, were believed to be on the cusp given the number of outstanding relievers and outfielders in the Junior Circuit, but they both earned spots as Baltimore earned more than one All-Star for the first time in seven years. Starting pitcher Tyler Wells, the MLB leader in WHIP, was the lone Oriole who was seen as a potential All-Star who wasn’t named, though he still could make the team as an injury replacement.
The last time the Orioles had at least four players participate in the Midsummer Classic was in 2016 when Manny Machado, Mark Trumbo, Matt Wieters, Brad Brach and Zach Britton earned selections.
“I’m not surprised with the first halves these guys have had,” Hyde said. “To be recognized by their peers, for me, too, says everything about everybody recognizing around the league how good they’ve been this first half.”
The All-Star Game will be a homecoming of sorts for Rutschman. Seattle is the closest major league city to Rutschman’s hometown of Sherwood, Oregon. He said being an All-Star is “something I dreamed of since I was a kid.”
“Being an All-Star is an unbelievable honor,” he said. “The fact that it’s in the Northwest at Safeco Field, the first big league stadium I ever went to, means a lot as well. Definitely a blessing to be in this position right now.”
Unlike Cano, Bautista and even Hays, becoming an All-Star has been expected of Rutschman since he was taken atop the 2019 draft. He’s shouldered the load of representing a painful rebuild — one that ended the moment he made his MLB debut May 21, 2022. The Orioles are 116-88 since Rutschman first played on a major league field.
In addition to helping transform the Orioles into a playoff contender, he also established himself as one of the best catchers in the sport and finished second in AL Rookie of the Year voting.
In his first full major league season, Rutschman is slashing .268/.374/.415 with 11 home runs, 35 RBIs and 52 walks.
“Adley’s only going to get better,” Hyde said. “He’s still a young player in this league, and he’s going to have ups and downs. He’s got unbelievable makeup and is super driven and is going to be a force in this league for a long time.”
While the Orioles’ success since Rutschman’s debut is undeniable, he hasn’t been their best player this season. That’s been Hays, who entered Sunday leading the team in FanGraphs’ wins above replacement at 1.9. His .312 batting average ranks third in the AL, while his .491 slugging percentage and .843 OPS lead the Orioles.
Since the All-Star process began, Hyde has repeatedly vouched for Hays, bemoaning how low he was in the fan voting and expressing his desire to see the six-year veteran earn a spot. In his first spring training as manager, Hyde was impressed by the tools Hays displayed — the cannon for an arm, the ability to make contact and to hit the ball hard. While he’s had flashes in his career, notably the first few months of last season before a wrist injury hampered his performance in the second half, this is the first time in his career that Hays has combined his tools for this level of success.
“This has been by far his best year from an at-bat to at-bat standpoint of him having a really good plan at the plate and trusting it and carrying it through on a nightly basis,” Hyde said. “I think a lot of that has to do with he has stayed healthy and stayed in the lineup for a long time now.”
While Hays had quite the journey to his first All-Star Game selection, it was little compared with the odyssey Cano took to get there. He almost quit baseball and later had it taken away from him while he was living in Cuba. A year ago, he was a wild reliever for the Minnesota Twins. In early April, he was in Triple-A Norfolk.
“I think it’s one of the nicest moments in my entire life,” Cano said through team interpreter Brandon Quinones. “This is one of the most incredible moments baseball’s given back to me.”
“I knew I could be very successful, but I never thought I’d make the All-Star Game,” Cano added. “I thought to myself that I’d have a very long, a very good career in baseball, but I never thought about the All-Star Game once.”
While Cano’s emergence is the biggest surprise through the Orioles’ first half, Hyde started to see glimpses of it in spring training. Cano became a father in early March when he and his wife, Arianny, welcomed their son, Cristopher. A few days later, Cano returned to spring training and Hyde said he looked like a new man.
“He had a son, his son was born mid to late spring, and I remember he left for a few days and just came back with this huge smile on his face about his son being born,” Hyde said. “He pitched a couple days later. It was just, like, lights out and kind of joking with him about it, about your son being born and look at the way you’re pitching.”
When Cano was called up in mid-April, the Orioles were in dire need of bullpen help, and the 6-foot-4 right-hander was instantly thrust into high-leverage moments. With a heavy sinker and a whiffling changeup, he handled the role with aplomb, instantly becoming Bautista’s setup man and beginning his season with a near-historic scoreless streak.
With a 1.12 ERA and a 0.84 WHIP in 40 1/3 innings, Cano has been one of the best relievers in the major leagues, ranking second among AL relievers in WAR. The one pitcher ahead of him, of course, is Bautista.
After taking over as the team’s closer in August, the 6-foot-8 right-hander has earned the reputation this year as one of the best ninth-inning men in the sport. With a 1.16 ERA and 22 saves, Bautista is striking out 51.3% of the batters he faces, and he’s on pace to break the single-season strikeouts-per-nine-innings record with a rate of 18.3.
“They’re both phenomenal pitchers, each in their own unique way,” Rutschman said of Cano and Bautista. “To be able to catch them on a daily basis is a true pleasure and super fun.”
It’s hard to imagine now as Bautista fires 103 mph fastballs and drop-off-the-table splitters, but his road to become one of the most dominant closers in baseball was also a windy one. At 26 years old in 2021, he still hadn’t made it out of A-ball, but after making the opening day roster in 2022, he quickly became a key reliever in Hyde’s bullpen last year.
“Leading up to 2021, there were some doubts still in my mind,” Bautista said through Quinones. “Thankfully that year I was able to break out a little bit, and ever since then I’ve felt a lot more comfortable and a lot better about the work I’ve been able to put together and what I’ve been able to do. Ever since that year I’ve definitely seen this vision for myself being able to make it to the All-Star Game.”
It only took about a month for Hyde to realize what he had in Bautista, as the fireballer recorded four outs in a one-run game against St. Louis in May for his second career save.
“That’s when I thought he was special,” Hyde said.
Rutschman not being voted as a starter could have its benefits near the end of the All-Star Game. It’s likely that Rutschman enters in the middle of the game and is tasked with catching Cano and/or Bautista.
“I hope that happens,” Hyde said. “I hope that Adley gets the second half of the game and those two guys come in the game. That would be awesome.”
That means it’s possible the Orioles’ ninth-inning battery of Rutschman and Bautista are asked to record the final three outs and cap off the Midsummer Classic with their signature hug.
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