Catch a rising star: Rutschman likely top MLB draft pick

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, May 28, 2019

CORVALLIS — You might think it has been a difficult season for Adley Rutschman, with all the walks and the losses in nonconference games and injuries to the pitching staff and, oh, those walks.

But no, Oregon State’s junior catcher is having a blast in his final foray in college baseball.

“I’ve enjoyed every second of it,” says the 6-2, 215-pound Sherwood native. “I’ve enjoyed every single moment that I’ve had a chance to be around this team. It’s been a great year, so far, but the best part is still to come.”

Rutschman is referring to the NCAA Tournament, which begins Friday for the Beavers (36-18-1 overall, 21-7 in Pac-12 play) in the Corvallis Regional.

The reference could have been to next Monday’s major-league draft, in which Rutschman is expected to be the first player taken. But that’s not Adley.

“With what he has accomplished in his college career, he is the most humble kid I know,” OSU head coach Pat Bailey says. “He’s a genuinely great young man.”

Rutschman, 21, can play a little baseball, too. His offensive numbers this season are extraordinary. He leads the Pac-12 and is among the top five nationally in batting average (.419). He leads the nation by a mile in on-base percentage (.580) and, alas, base-on-balls (73). Rutschman also is among the top five in the Pac-12 in home runs (17), runs scored (56), RBIs (57) and slugging percentage (.765) in 55 games.

He has a chance to better the school single-season record for batting average (.423), set by Randy Duke in 1987, when the Beavers were in the Pac-10 North and had the likes of Chico State, Oregon Tech, Willamette, Linfield and Pacific on their schedule. Rutschman is chasing Jim Wilson’s school marks for home runs (21) and slugging percentage (.829).

“He’s the best player I’ve had in 41 years of coaching,” says Bailey, 63. “Heck, he’s the best college player I’ve ever seen. At the plate, he adjusts so well from pitch to pitch. You can’t teach that.”

Rutschman is having an even better offensive season than as a sophomore, when he hit .408 — third on the OSU list — with nine homers, 83 RBIs and a .505 on-base percentage in 67 games and went on to be named the Most Outstanding Player in the College World Series.

“If someone asked me after last season what I would project Adley to bat this season, I’d probably have said I hope he would be in the low .300s,” says his grandfather, Hall-of-Fame football coach Ad Rutschman. “He wasn’t going to get the same pitches, because he doesn’t have the same guys hitting ahead or behind him. To be hitting what he is now is hard for me to imagine.”

Funny, too, that Rutschman hit only .234 as coach Pat Casey’s everyday catcher as a freshman in 2017.

“Not long ago, I told ‘Case,’ ‘It’s our fault that he didn’t hit sooner, because we told him we wanted him to focus on catching,'” pitching coach Nate Yeskie says.

Healthy after struggling with a sore right shoulder through most of last season, Rutschman has been stellar on the defensive side this season, too.

“His receiving skills are as good as anybody I’ve ever coached,” Bailey says. “I’ve had scouts tell me he steals between five and 10 strikes a game (with framing). He can block, he’s a great receiver and he has a plus arm.”

Rutschman has thrown out half of the 26 runners who have dared to try to steal on him this season.

“Nobody steals on him,” third-base coach Andy Jenkins says. “There’s a low percentage of runners who even attempt, let alone have success.

“He’s having exactly the season I expected him to have. To be feared by your opponents and get pitched around and still put up these kind of numbers? That is truly the mark of a star.”

How does Rutschman feel he has played so far this season?

“I’m never going to be satisfied with my performance,” he says evenly. “I’m always looking to get better.”

Rutschman is being modest, but he’s also being sincere.

“Adley has done a lot of things well,” says his father, Randy Rutschman, “but he doesn’t feel like he has hit his stride like he did at Omaha (last year). He has had a good season, but he doesn’t feel like he is where he could be, or is going to be.”

Yet he is playing on an offensively challenged team — only Rutschman and shortstop Beau Philip (.311) are hitting over .300 — with a lack of protection behind him in the order, allowing opponents to pitch around him.

This is no surprise. Gone from last year’s team are first-round draft picks Nick Madrigal, Cadyn Grenier and Trevor Larnach, the cleanup man who hit behind him in the order. Also, stalwarts Steven Kwan, Michael Gretler, Jack Anderson and Kyle Nobach. Only two position starters from a year ago — Rutschman and first baseman Zak Taylor — are back. Returnees Taylor, Tyler Malone, Andy Armstrong and Preston Jones have all had subpar years at the plate.

You’ll get Rutschman to criticize those around him about as often as he’ll brag about himself.

“You just make the most of what you have,” he says. “I’m very confident in the hitters we have.

“Each team has different dynamics. It’s always fun to go through a ride with new teammates. I’m proud of what we’ve been able to do, and how we’ve been able to battle through this year.”

Rutschman is seeing fewer good pitches than he was a year ago. A good portion of his walks have been of the intentional variety this season. Is that frustrating?

“You want to hit,” he says. “But you take your walks and enjoy the process.”

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Rutschman is larger than life on the OSU campus and in Beaver sporting lore. “Adley Clutchman” has been a true student-athlete, too, carrying a 3.4 grade-point average in business. He’ll be about 30 credits from graduating after spring term and intends to get his degree some day.

“I take my schooling very seriously,” he says. “That’s one of those things I definitely want to get done.”

With his matinee-idol looks and courteous attitude toward fans — he probably leads the nation in autographs signed, too — Rutschman is a modern-day Chip Hilton, or Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy.

“There’s never been anybody like him,” pitcher Sam Tweedt says, “and there probably never will be again. He’s like perfect.”

Well, not perfect. Dale Murphy-like, maybe. Or Mike Trout.

“Every time he does something that people are in awe of, I laugh and say, ‘The legend grows,'” Yeskie says. “There will be Paul Bunyan stories about him 20 years from now. They’ll think, ‘Wow, he had a big blue ox and an ax handle.’ “

The veteran pitching coach goes off almost on a soliloquy when speaking about Rutschman, comparing him to former Beavers Anderson and Andrew Moore, two of the coach’s favorites as people.

“I don’t know I’ve heard anyone say a bad word about them, and it’s the same with Adley,” Yeskie says. “He’s the gold standard when you look at how a guy goes about his business on and off the field, the way he conducts himself with his teammates, with the fan base.”

Yeskie tells about meeting Ad Rutschman — who won three national championships in football and one in baseball while coaching at Linfield — for the first time during Adley’s sophomore year.

“First thing out of Coach Rutschman’s mouth: ‘Is that kid catching listening to you?'” Yeskie says with a smile. “It says to me that family has set a really good example for Adley.”

Bailey has known Adley since he was 5. Randy coached catchers for Bailey at George Fox when the Bruins claimed the NCAA Division III national championship in 2004.

“Randy and (wife) Carol are two of the nicest people you’ll meet,” Bailey says. “They’re positive and very competitive. Ad is a legend, and not just because he’s a great coach. He’s a great person. Adley has been around that his whole life. He’s a great human being because of it.”

Yeskie says he received an email from someone with ties to Stanford, complimenting the OSU players for their conduct during a series there in mid-May “and Adley in particular.”

“His accomplishments have become storied, so people are going to go check the guy out,” Yeskie says. “How many times do people live up to the so-called legend they’re supposed to be? But Adley is engaging with fans. He’s polite. He signs every autograph for the kids. His parents should write a book on how to raise kids.

“The guy plays the game the right way. There’s nothing that would make you think, ‘Hey, let’s not go down that path.’ (Opponents) try to needle him. They bark at him a little bit, and he doesn’t bite. He just stays in his lane and does what he does. He whistles while he works.”

Rutschman handles the OSU pitching staff with a deft touch. Since his freshman year, he has greeted his pitcher after every inning with a back slap and a word of encouragement.

“Our pitchers expect it, and they love it,” Bailey says. “He has the gift of encouragement. And it’s not fake, it’s genuine.”

“Adley’s a leader by example,” Jenkins says. “He puts his arm around pitchers a lot. He’s not an in-your-face guy. Sometimes I wish he’d challenge guys to play harder when those moments arise. But for him to be who he is, it’s still a lot.”

Bailey says it’s enough.

“Great leaders lead by example,” he says. “When they need to talk, they talk. He’s one of those guys. He’s the E.F. Hutton of our team. When he talks, people listen.”

In his first — and probably only — season with the Beavers, JC transfer Philip has listened.

“I’ve learned a lot from him,” Philip says. “Adley is a very good leader, a great guy, very humble for someone of his status. People look at him as a celebrity, but he’s just one of our brothers, and he acts like it.

“He’s the best player I’ve ever seen at the college level. What a stud. He’s very competitive. Hates losing. He’s always there to pick a teammate up. I respect that. Having someone there to have your back is always a good feeling. That’s the culture here at Oregon State, and it’s definitely instilled in him.”

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Rutschman has been in a fish bowl this season. Scouts have flocked to watch his every at-bat, to watch him perform behind the dish. Miami executives Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada — the Marlins own the fourth pick in the draft — were on hand for the regular-season finale against Southern Cal last Saturday. All eyes have been upon him anywhere he has gone this season. There have been more interviews with the media than ever before.

“He’s had a lot of noise around him,” his father says. “‘That can be a distraction. Considering all that, it’s gone really well.

“Adley has always had a really crazy ability to focus and shut stuff out, whether he’s kicking a field goal or at the plate playing in Omaha in front of 35,000. I’m sure he feels (the pressure), but when it takes time to get on the field, he’s pretty good at focusing on the task.”

Says the junior Rutschman: “It’s important to not listen to all the extra stuff that I can’t control. I do a good job on focusing on what I want to focus on, and what I think is healthy for me to focus on. It’s very nice to be in Corvallis and be surrounded by good people.”

The switch-hitting Rutschman has been able to thrive when the Beavers have needed him most this season, and he has hit from both sides — especially from the left side (.540). He is batting .372 right-handed.

“Pressure is for people who are unprepared,” Jenkins says. “Adley is prepared. He works hard day in and day out at everything he does. He takes pride in all that. Big moments take care of themselves. He has a head on his shoulders and has succeeded in big environments.”

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Eleven Oregon State players have been chosen in the first round of the major league draft. The highest pick was Madrigal, who went to the Chicago White Sox with the fourth pick last year.

Rutschman will presumably go before that. His focus now, though, is on leading the Beavers to another College World Series appearance.

“Before the season, he said, ‘We’re going to Omaha again,'” his father says. “It’s such a young, inexperienced team this year. You don’t plant an apple tree today and expect it to bear fruit tomorrow. But there’s plenty of talent and a lot of good pitching.”

And there’s Adley Rutschman.

“Everyone’s 0-0 from here on out,” he says. “It’s about how well can we play as a team together. If we get hot at the right time, and if we play hard, I’m going to be happy with the result.”

keggers@portlandtribune.com

@kerryeggers