A beanball-induced concussion cut short the former #2 pick’s chance for an extended tryout in the majors.
With the Orioles’ season sadly coming to a premature end once again, we’re kicking off our offseason content with our O’s prospects season in review series. Our first subject is Heston Kjerstad, which admittedly is a bit of a fudge, as the 25-year-old accumulated enough MLB service time that he’s technically no longer a prospect. But he did spend more time in the minors than the majors this season and had less than a quarter-season’s worth of MLB game action.
It’s probably not what the Orioles had envisioned. This was supposed to be a season for the O’s to get a long, hard look at Kjerstad and audition him as a possible replacement if Anthony Santander leaves in free agency. That evaluation process turned out to be all too brief.
And, as is true with so many things, it’s all the New York Yankees’ fault.
Thanks to the Yanks, Kjerstad’s major league season was short-circuited just as he was becoming a more regular presence in the O’s lineup. On July 12, as Kjerstad was starting for the ninth time in the Orioles’ last 12 games against a right-hander, New York reliever Clay Holmes beaned him in the head in the ninth inning, sending a shock wave through the Camden Yards crowd as Heston crumpled at the plate in a heap. After several minutes with the trainers, Kjerstad shakily left the field and was placed in concussion protocol.
The Orioles placed Kjerstad on the 7-day concussion injured list the next day. And while they activated him a week later, it soon became obvious his concussion symptoms hadn’t cleared. He went 2-for-18 in seven games and suffered some defensive lapses before the Orioles optioned him August 1 and then put him back on the concussion IL.
Kjerstad didn’t take the field again for more than a month while he recovered. He finally began a rehab assignment Sept. 7 and was back with the Orioles by mid-month, but by then he was reduced to part-time duty, making seven starts and posting just a .636 OPS. All told, he played 39 major league games for the Orioles and slashed .253/.351/.394 with four homers. He also pinch-hit twice in the Wild Card Series, going hitless.
Combined with his 13-game call-up in 2023, Kjerstad has a total of 52 regular season games under his belt, with an above-average 116 OPS+. It’s a promising sign that his bat could play at the major league level, but too small a sample size — thanks for nothing, Yankees — to determine whether he’s an everyday player, a platoon guy, or something else.
What we do know is that there’s nothing more for Kjerstad to learn in the minor leagues. He made that abundantly clear early this season for the Norfolk Tides as he laid waste to Triple-A pitching. After failing to make the Orioles’ Opening Day roster, Kjerstad anchored the Tides’ lineup as part of the prolific Norfolk Five — along with Jackson Holliday, Coby Mayo, Connor Norby, and Kyle Stowers — and was the most impressive of the hot-hitting crew. In his first eight games, Kjerstad batted an even .500 (18-for-36), crushed six home runs, and collected a ridiculous 25 RBIs. In eight games!
Still, with a crowded O’s outfield that included breakout rookie Colton Cowser and veteran mainstays Santander, Cedric Mullins, and (at the time) Austin Hays, plus Ryan O’Hearn serving as the usual DH, there was no obvious place for Kjerstad. It wasn’t until Hays landed on the IL in late April that Kjerstad got a promotion, but even then, he couldn’t squeeze into the lineup. He started only four games in more than two weeks with the club before the O’s handed him a ticket back to Norfolk.
Kjerstad set about his business and continued doing what he always did — systematically destroying opposing pitchers — for more than a month, posting an .878 OPS in 35 games in his second Norfolk stint. All the while, the drum beat grew louder from Orioles fans who demanded the club give a longer audition to their former #2 overall pick.
The O’s acquiesced at last in late June, and Kjerstad’s hot hitting continued into the bigs. Given more regular playing time, he batted .378/.465/.676 over 14 games — including a memorable grand slam to beat the Rangers on June 29 — until Holmes’s fateful beanball altered the course of Heston’s season.
And so the Orioles are left with something of an incomplete picture of Kjerstad. It seems all but certain he’ll have a spot on the Birds’ roster next season (barring a trade), but in what role remains unclear.
Do the O’s view him as a platoon bat? They certainly shielded him from lefty pitchers this season, giving him only 16 PAs against southpaws (in which he had six hits). Between the majors and minors, Kjerstad OPS’d a respectable .764 in 90 PAs.
Do the O’s view him as a DH only? Again, they limited his outfield action during his big league stint. He made 16 starts in the field and 10 as the designated hitter. By Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating, Kjerstad graded out perfectly fine in right field and below-average in left, though it’s too small a sample for advanced defensive metrics to mean much.
If Santander does indeed sign elsewhere this winter, there’s no reason that Kjerstad shouldn’t be the top candidate to replace him. If the Orioles pull a surprise and trade or decline their 2025 option on O’Hearn, Kjerstad could slot in at DH, too. He figures to get the most extensive playing time he’s ever had with the Birds, and his minor league history suggests he could well be the Orioles’ latest homegrown hitter to break out, following in the footsteps of Cowser, Gunnar Henderson, and Adley Rutschman before him.
Don’t be surprised if 2025 becomes the year of Heston Kjerstad. As long as the Yankees don’t mess it up again.
Tomorrow: Frederick Bencosme