Outfielder Heston Kjerstad made his MLB debut Tuesday after Baltimore promoted the former Arkansas star from Triple-A Norfolk.
Kjerstad, the No. 2 overall pick from Arkansas by the Orioles in 2020, made his big-league debut last year, playing in 11 games for the Birds. He started the 2024 season with the Tides and has slashed .349/.431/.744 with 10 home runs and 30 RBI in just 102 plate appearances.
On Tuesday in his debut against the Angels, Kjerstad went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts in the Orioles’ 7-4 loss.
The spot in the majors opened when Baltimore outfield Austin Hays was placed on IL with a calf injury. Hays was an All-Star for the Orioles in 2023, but was hitting just .111 with zero extra-base hits at the time of his injury.
Kjerstad entered the year as the No. 29 prospect in all of baseball and the fourth highest-rated prospect in the Orioles system. Despite being drafted in 2020, Kjerstad didn’t truly start his career until 2022 after a heart condition knocked him out of the entire 2021 season. A hamstring injury delayed his beginning in 2022, even, as well.
Kjerstad joins Dominic Fletcher and Andrew Benintendi as former Arkansas outfielders now in the Major Leagues.