SARASOTA, Fla. — Heston Kjerstad’s defense is perhaps the biggest question mark in his prospect profile, but the Orioles outfielder showed some signs of progress in the field Wednesday night during Baltimore’s 7-5 loss to the Atlanta Braves.
Kjerstad, 25, appeared in 13 games for the Orioles in his first taste of the big leagues last season but logged just 21 2/3 innings as an outfielder. Manager Brandon Hyde primarily used Kjerstad as a designated or pinch hitter, giving him just four full games in the field. In Triple-A, he rotated between first base and the corner outfield spots.
“Being able to work on it through the offseason and focusing on it more than I have in the [past], definitely made a leap,” Kjerstad said. “But also, before I felt like I played solid ‘D’ but definitely took it up a notch.”
He showed a glimpse of what that progress might look like in the second inning, when Braves outfielder Michael Harris II hit a ball into the left field corner. Kjerstad made a good route to the ball and hit cutoff man Kolten Wong quickly enough for the third baseman to catch base runner Eli White taking too big of a turn around the bag.
“In the outfield there’s a lot of plays you can make in the air but when the ball is on the ground, you can still maybe cut down a runner from getting an extra base or cut down a dude from scoring just by attacking the ball hard and taking good angles,” Kjerstad said. “So, any way I can help our help our pitchers and cut down runs, you just got to keep going.”
Kjerstad nearly picked up another outfield assist the following frame, fielding a similar ball on the ground and hitting shortstop Jordan Westburg on a line. Westburg then fired home to get Arcia in plenty of time, but catcher James McCann bobbled the catch.
Since getting off to a 1-for-11 start to Grapefruit League play, Kjerstad has gone 7-for-20 as he makes his case for a spot on the opening day roster. While Hyde expressed confidence in the youngster’s bat even when he was mired in his early slump, Kjerstad’s defensive progress will be just as important for the Orioles to consider when deciding where he begins his season.
Irvin stumbles in third start
After pitching five scoreless innings over his first two starts, Cole Irvin experienced his first blowup outing of the spring Wednesday. The right-hander cruised through the first inning before falling out of his reworked mechanics that he brought into camp. Irvin allowed six runs on seven hits and four walks with three strikeouts in 3 2/3 innings.
“I got into some old habits, and I felt it there in that fourth inning where I was dumping my hands a little differently than I have and similarly to what I did in the past,” Irvin said after leaving the game. “Then, got two outs after making the adjustment. So, those are things that just, I’m glad it came up today because I haven’t really had a rough outing yet.”
Irvin has an opportunity to earn a spot in the Orioles’ rotation this spring after posting a 4.42 ERA in 24 games last season while bouncing back and forth between starter and bullpen roles. He spent the offseason building up his arm strength and working on his delivery, which translated to some high velocity numbers early in camp.
Nearly unhittable against the Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Yankees, Irvin allowed the Braves to blast several hard-hit balls, including home runs by shortstop Orlando Arcia and designated hitter Jordan Luplow. The Braves did send a relatively deep lineup on the road for the game, but Irvin struggled to find the corners of the strike zone most of the night.
“I think it’s the right time of season for it to go wrong so I can make the adjustments before we get to the season,” Irvin said. “I wasn’t throwing my sinker over for strikes. I can nitpick all I want, there’s just a lot of progress between now and my next start. But the overall takeaways, threw some really good sliders, threw some really good curveballs that I haven’t really showcased in a game yet. Didn’t get the swings that I thought I would but overall, the responses that we’re getting from hitters are good.”
Around the horn
• Orioles starter Kyle Bradish pitched off a mound Wednesday morning for the first time since suffering a UCL strain in January, Hyde said in his pregame news conference. The Orioles manager was not ready to put a timeline on when Bradish might return.
• Just before first pitch, the Orioles announced their second round of cuts to trim their roster to 50 players. Eight players were reassigned to minor league camp: utility man Diego Castillo, right-hander Wandisson Charles, left-hander Tucker Davidson, left-hander Luis González, outfielder Daniel Johnson, right-hander Chayce McDermott, left-hander Cade Povich and infielder Errol Robinson.
• After being relatively untested at second base for most of the spring, Jackson Holliday made several highlight-reel plays Wednesday, including a spinning backhand catch on the first pitch of the game. He also teamed up with Wong to turn a double play, receiving the ball on the second base bag and making a jump throw across his body to get the runner at first.
Grapefruit League
Orioles at Pirates
Thursday, 3:05 p.m.
Spring Breakout
Orioles prospects at Pirates prospects
Thursday, 7:05 p.m.
TV: MLB Network