Adley Rutschman spent the past two years setting himself up to be the unquestioned top pick in the 2019 Major League Baseball draft, and the Oregon State catcher's work was affirmed Monday night when the Orioles used the first overall pick of the first draft of their rebuild on a player they hope will be transformational.
Rutschman, a front-runner for the Golden Spikes Award given to the nation's top college baseball player, has been called the best draft prospect since Bryce Harper by Baseball America. He assumes the role of the face of the Orioles' rebuild as the first pick made in what executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias said he hopes to build into a perennial contender built on drafting and player development.