The Orioles gave Heston Kjerstad plenty of chances in their lineup and outfield before the next round of players returning from the injured list finally forced a move. He was optioned today to Triple-A Norfolk, with a specific plan that interim manager Tony Mansolino referenced but didn’t detail.

Kjerstad hit .192 with five doubles, two triples, four home runs, 19 RBIs, six walks, 45 strikeouts and a .566 OPS in 54 games. He also had some mishaps in right field, and he wasn’t in the lineup for the three-game series in Sacramento.

“We saw it more as an opportunity to make some adjustments and make some changes,” Mansolino said. “I think what we didn’t want to do is just say, ‘Hey, go get ‘em.’ That’s obviously not the right message when a guy struggles here as talented as Hess and as good as this kid is, can be. There’s something that we’re missing, right?

“I think we’ve seen a lot of examples of really good players who at some point get optioned back out and they kind of show back up with a vengeance and become the players that they’re supposed to be. So I think as you talk to Hess you explain that, and he was great, he understood. Obviously disappointed to get sent out, but a lot of self-awareness and a lot of understanding that this is probably more an opportunity than anything else.”

Mansolino said it’s the “whole game” that Kjerstad will focus on after going back down.

They are a trio of players who took part in Orioles batting practice before Friday’s game. They all hope they will have another chance to do that here later in their careers and that they will be on the Orioles' active roster when that happens. 

But Friday afternoon under the Baltimore sun, the O’s first three selections in the 2024 MLB Draft took part in some pregame work.

That includes top draft pick, No. 22 overall, University of North Carolina outfielder Vance Honeycutt. Also the O’s second selection, University of Virginia infielder Griff O’Ferrall, taken No. 32 overall and catcher Ethan Anderson, Baltimore’s second-round pick, No. 61 overall, also out of UVA.

Honeycutt was asked about hitting during batting practice.

“It was cool,” he said. “Definitely nervous for the first round. But just taking this all in.”

The Orioles had losing months in both July and August, but they began September with a win Sunday by 6-1 at Colorado. The O's won the series over the Rockies.

The Orioles had gone 0-5-1 in their past six series versus National League opponents. But their win at Coors Field gave them their first series win over an NL team since they beat Atlanta and Philadelphia in Baltimore in mid June.

The Orioles have gone just 19-24 this season versus National League teams. During the six-series winless run that ended yesterday they were a combined 5-12 against the Cubs, Marlins, Padres, Nats, Mets and Dodgers. 

But now at 79-59 for the season, the Orioles have 24 games remaining. With the Yankees loss Sunday, they are 1/2-game back in the AL East.

Of the games remaining, the O's have three against a club well under .500, six games versus clubs over .500 and 15 against teams hovering around .500.

ARLINGTON, Texas – They sat next to each other in their new Orioles uniforms, with freshly signed contracts to remain teammates beyond college.

Infielder Griff O’Ferrall and catcher Ethan Anderson were shoulder-to-shoulder during this morning’s video call with media and quick to smile at the opportunity to go from the University of Virginia to first-day picks in the 2024 draft.

“It’s pretty crazy,” O’Ferrall said. “Especially, we were roommates for the past two years, so definitely are very close. We were definitely in shock when we found out we were going to the same team. But we went from living together and now we’re going to be spending more time together, so it doesn’t change much for us. But it’s definitely exciting.”

“Griff has been one of the closest teammates for me the last three years,” Anderson said. “I don’t know if it’s like I haven’t left UVA or this is just like the next chapter and we’re still together.”

The Orioles chose O’Ferrall with the 32^nd-overall selection, a prospect performance incentive compensation reward after Gunnar Henderson was named American League Rookie of the Year. Anderson arrived in the second round, the 61^st-overall selection and the first of four catchers grabbed by the organization.

The Baltimore Orioles made 10 selections on Day Three of the 2024 First-Year Player Draft, completing Rounds 11-20. This year, the Orioles selected 21 players overall: 11 pitchers and 10 position players, with 17 of the selections being college athletes and four from the high school ranks. The Orioles selected eight right-handed pitchers, three left-handed pitchers, four outfielders, two infielders, and four catchers.

RD             PICK             PLAYER               POS          B/T         HT         WT           DOB                     SCHOOL                           SCOUT

1                 22           Vance Honeycutt        CF            R/R         6-3       205         5/17/2003    University of North Carolina           Boyd

PPI              32            Griff O'Ferrall            INF           R/R        6-1       195        2/2/2003          University of Virginia                 O'Dowd

2                 61           Ethan Anderson          C              S/R        6-2       215        9/21/2003        University of Virginia                 O'Dowd

On the first night of the 2024 MLB Draft, the Orioles seemed to play into the strength of this draft in adding three college position players, all three from the Atlantic Coast Conference.

For the sixth straight draft since Mike Elias took over in his role with the club, the O’s did not take a pitcher in the first round. Or any among the three selections Sunday.

With their first round pick, No. 22 overall, they added center fielder Vance Honeycutt from North Carolina. The righty batter hit .318 with an OPS of 1.124 and hit 28 homers, a UNC single-season record. He also was named the ACC’s Defensive Player of the Year two straight years, a first in the conference.

He was ranked the No. 13 prospect for this draft by Baseball America and No. 22 by MLB.com.

A player with some loud tools, the one area to clean up for him on the stat sheet is strikeouts. He had a 30 percent K rate as a freshman and 28 percent last season.

For the fifth time in six years since his first draft in 2019, O's executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias took a college bat with his first draft selection.

With the No. 22 overall pick in round one, the Orioles selected University of North Carolina outfielder Vance Honeycutt, a right-handed batter and thrower from Salisbury, N.C.

In 62 games this season for the Tarheels in his junior season, Honeycutt hit .318/.410/.714/1.124 with 13 doubles, two triples, 28 homers, 88 runs, 28 steals and 70 RBIs. His 28 homers is a UNC single-season record. 

He was ranked by Baseball America as the No. 13 player in this draft and was rated No. 22 by MLBPipeline.com.

In three seasons at UNC, over 176 games, he hit .293/.412/.638/1.050 with 65 homers and 170 RBIs. He hit 25 homers and stole 29 bases as a freshman. He had four multi-homer games this season.