Santander testing pitch clock; Kjerstad blasts pair of home runs

Big prospect day in infield

SARASOTA, Fla. — As Anthony Santander approached the batter’s box to lead off the fourth inning, he decided to experiment. He looked out to the pitch clock to the left of the center field batter’s eye, watching the seconds tick away.

The Orioles outfielder wanted to get a gauge on Major League Baseball’s new timing system, with Saturday’s Grapefruit League opener against the Minnesota Twins marking the introduction of the sport’s new rules, including a countdown between pitches to improve pace of play. Although Santander’s aim was to be set in the box one second before he needed to be, home-plate umpire Chad Fairchild ruled otherwise, giving Santander an automatic strike to open the at-bat.

Santander was dissatisfied with both the ruling and the clock that led to it, saying the league’s desire for quicker games is “for fans; that’s not for us.” Saturday’s game, a 10-5 victory by the Orioles, lasted 2 hours and 54 minutes; spring training games Friday in Arizona lasted about 2 ½ hours, with former Orioles star Manny Machado, now with the San Diego Padres, becoming the first hitter to receive an automatic strike and joking he would be down 0-1 a lot this season.

“It’s different, there’s no doubt,” said Orioles manager Brandon Hyde, noting this game might have taken 4 hours in a previous spring. “You can’t put your head down in the dugout. I think I missed a few pitches because I was writing something down or whatever, and all of a sudden here it comes.”

Hyde’s missed moments included Santander’s violation, prompting him to quip “0-1 [count] on me, too.” He said the first pitch of an at-bat will be the toughest on hitters, with Santander saying an outfielder leading off an inning will be especially challenged.

“You don’t have enough time even to drink water,” Santander said. “You have to make a sprint. I don’t know. If you have to put on your shin guard, your elbow guard, it’s tough. But we can’t put that stuff in our mind. You have to play the game and get used to it.”

Beginning once the pitcher receives the ball, the clock starts with 15 seconds with the bases empty and 20 seconds with any runners on. If a pitcher hasn’t started his motion when it reaches 0, a ball is automatically called. But the hitter can also be penalized, needing to be ready to hit and facing the pitcher with 8 seconds left.

“I got set at 9,” Santander said. “I was watching the clock walking to home plate. … Honestly, I was doing that on purpose because I got there with 9 seconds and was looking straight into the pitcher. And I told the umpire, next time, we might need to check the video, the record, and see if I was looking at the pitcher. I’m sure I was looking to the pitcher before the 8 seconds.”

In the seventh inning, Daz Cameron joined Santander in receiving violations, the lone cases of the game’s new rules having an apparent impact on the game. With MLB banning shifts by requiring teams to have two infielders in the dirt on either side of second base, a few groundballs that might have been outs in years past bounced through. Bigger bases, going from 15-by-15 square inches to 18-by-18 in an effort to improve player safety and potentially increase base-stealing opportunities, weren’t particularly noticeable, either.

Orioles pitching prospect Drew Rom, who worked with the pitch clock last season in Triple-A before starting Saturday’s game, said players will adjust in time, though he noticed Minnesota’s major league hitters had more trouble than those who had dealt with the timer in the minors. Santander said the rules being implemented in spring training provides the chance for that adjustment to happen before games matter.

“You have to practice, get used to this stuff,” Santander said. “The biggest adjustment is don’t put that in your mind because then you’ve got no chance.

“We have to use spring training, get used to it and don’t make excuses when the season starts.”

Heston hammers homers

In his first career spring training game, Heston Kjerstad hit a home run for each year between his No. 2 overall draft selection and his professional debut.

A heart condition and a hamstring injury meant Kjerstad’s third spring training in the organization was the first he could actually play, and he clearly savored the opportunity. Baltimore’s No. 12 prospect according to Baseball America, Kjerstad homered the other way in his first two at-bats, sending one down the left field line and another out to left center. He nearly hit a third in his next trip, but it sliced foul. He then singled through the right side.

“Definitely a good day,” Kjerstad said. “First day at the yard, there’s a lot more to come.”

The heart condition myocarditis kept Kjerstad from being part of Orioles camp in 2021, and a severe left hamstring strain suffered at the cusp of big league spring training knocked for him out for 2022. He didn’t play his first game in the Orioles’ minor league system until two years to the day after Baltimore selected him in 2020’s first round.

He dominated at Low-A Delmarva before his performance faltered with High-A Aberdeen. He rounded out his season by winning MVP honors in the Arizona Fall League. Turns out he thrives in spring, too, and Saturday at last gave him the chance to show it.

“His power is so impressive,” Hyde said. “We actually had a little meeting with him this morning, just how he feels. He looks amazing, feels great, and the way he’s swinging the bat so far this spring has been really fun to watch. Really pulling for him. He’s doing a great job.”

Given the existence of Gunnar Henderson, it would be difficult to refer to any of the Orioles’ shortstop-third baseman combinations Saturday as their future left side of the infield. But all of the arrangements bode well for their future.

Joey Ortiz, Baltimore’s No. 8 prospect, started at shortstop, and Jackson Holliday, the top overall pick in the 2022 draft, entered behind him. Added to the 40-man roster this offseason after posting an OPS over 1.000 from July on, Ortiz drove in the Orioles’ first run of their 10-5 victory with an RBI triple. Holliday, the youngest player in camp at age 19, doubled to right center in the seventh, echoing some other young blonde Orioles by losing his helmet as he approached second and showing off his hair. Holliday will also play Sunday against Detroit in Lakeland, Hyde said.

“He showed today what kind of player he’s gonna be,” Hyde said. “The speed, how he’s gonna play defense. He’s gonna be really, really special.”

No. 10 prospect Coby Mayo started at third base, with No. 25 prospect César Prieto replacing him. Prieto followed Holliday’s double with a two-run single.

Of the Orioles’ top 10 prospects in camp, six are infielders. That group doesn’t include Terrin Vavra, who impressed with his plate discipline as a rookie and is competing for a bench job this spring. After entering at second Saturday, he hit a ground-rule double and homered to center field.

“It’s been fun making these first couple days of lineups,” Hyde said pregame. “Giving a lot of our prospects a lot of at-bats and a lot of innings in the field defensively early. It’s gonna be fun. It’s gonna be fun to have fans watch. It’s gonna be fun for us to watch them play. We’re pretty talented, so great experience for these guys, but fun for us to evaluate.”