SARASOTA, FLORIDA — A year ago Saturday, the Orioles sent catcher Adley Rutschman down from his first major league spring training with nearly a month’s worth of experience of what will be expected of him when he’s in the big leagues to carry into his minor league season.
As he starts at designated hitter for Saturday evening’s spring game against the Detroit Tigers, a year of stunted development largely outside of the public eye hasn’t changed the fact that Rutschman’s progress is still among the more significant things happening in this Orioles rebuild as the future face of the franchise.