Selected by the Orioles in the first round (No. 1 overall) of the 2019 First-Year Player Draft...Became the second No. 1 overall pick in Orioles history in 2019, joining RHP Ben McDonald (1989). Became the first catcher selected No. 1 overall since 2001 when Joe Mauer was selected by the Minnesota Twins...Attended Oregon State University and Sherwood (OR) HS...Won the College World Series with Oregon State in 2018...Played for the Beavers football team his freshman year, serving as a placekicker on kickoffs, averaging 59.5 yards per kick and recording 20 touchbacks...Father, Randy, played at Linfield College (Ore.). Grandfather, Ad, was head football coach at Linfield until 1991...Played for Team USA in 2018 with current teammate Kyle Stowers...Enjoys golf trips in the offseason with teammates Gunnar Henderson, Kyle Stowers and Terrin Vavra...Appeared in his first career All-Star Game in 2023 along with teammates Félix Bautista, Yennier Cano and Austin Hays...Joined Mickey Tettleton (1989) as the only Orioles backstops to win an AL Silver Slugger Award...Known for greeting pitchers coming off the field near the foul line, something that started in the Little League...Participated in the 2023 and 2020 Birdland Caravans... Hit .352/.473/.559 (227-for-644) with 39 doubles, five triples, 28 home runs, 151 runs, 174 RBI and 156 walks in 185 games over three seasons with Oregon State University...As a junior in 2019, led Oregon State to their 20th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history, and claimed every major amateur and collegiate baseball award, including the Golden Spikes Award, Dick Howser Trophy and the Buster Posey Award...Led all of Division l in on-base percentage (.575) and walks (76)...Helped lead Oregon State to their third NCAA Championship, as a sophom*ore in 2018...Named the College World Series Most Outstanding Player and set a College World Series record with 17 hits...Set the Oregon State single-season record with 102 hits and 83 RBI...Named a Dick Howser Trophy and Johnny Bench Award Semifinalist...As a true freshman in 2017, was named All-PAC-12 Conference Honorable Mention...Played a part in Oregon State making their sixth College World Series appearance, at the time, and was named to the Corvallis Regional All-Tournament Team...Ranked as the 2019 No. 1 overall draft prospect by Baseball America and MLB.com...Three-year letter winner at Sherwood (OR) HS...Named the 2016 Oregon Gatorade Player of the Year, and ranked by Baseball Northwest as the No. 2 high school player in the state of Oregon during his senior year...Was a three-time All-State (two first and one second team) player and a three-time First-Team All-League player...Selected in the 40th round of the 2016 MLB First-Year Player Draft by the Seattle Mariners but did not sign.
2023
Made his first career Opening Day roster and spent the entire season on the active roster...Earned his first AL Silver Slugger at the catcher position, joining Mickey Tettleton (1989) as the only Orioles backstops to earn the honor...Named to the All-MLB First Team at catcher for the first time in his career...Slashed .277/.374/.435 (163-for-588) with 31 doubles, one triple, 20 home runs, 84 runs scored, 80 RBI, 92 walks (6 IBB), two hit-by-pitches and one stolen base in 154 games (149 GS)...Ranked among AL leaders in walks (T-3rd), on-base percentage (5th) and batting average (8th); his walks were second-most by a primary catcher in team history (since 1954) behind Mickey Tettleton (106) in 1990...Started 149 of his 154 games; registered 76 more plate appearances than any player to play in half of their games at catcher...Made his first All-Star team; entered in the sixth inning at catcher; lined out in his only plate appearance in the seventh...Participated in the T-Mobile Home Run Derby; hit 27 first-round home runs, including 20 in the first three minutes batting left-handed and seven in the 30-second bonus round from the right side; fell in the first round to CWS' Luis Robert Jr.; his father, Randy, pitched to him in the derby...Reached base 257 times (163 H, 92 BB, 2 HBP), the most by a primary catcher in O's history; became the 18th primary catcher in MLB history to reach base that many times in a season and the first since MIN's Joe Mauer (266) in 2012, per STATS PERFORM...His 42 multi-hit games led AL primary catchers and were second among MLB catchers behind MIL's William Contreras (45)...Became the first O’s catcher with 20-plus homers in a season since Wellington Castillo (20) in 2017...Drew multiple walks in 20 games, the most multi-walk efforts in a season by an Oriole since Albert Belle (21) in 1999; his six intentional walks were the most by an O's batter since Manny Machado (12) in 2018...Has tallied 66 doubles in his first two seasons, the second-most two-baggers in a player's first two years behind Nick Markakis (68) from 2006-07...Went 5-for-5 with a home run, a run scored, four RBI, and a walk on Opening Day on 3/30 at BOS; became the first player in O's history to reach base safely six times on Opening Day and the eighth MLB player to do so since at least 1901; according to ESPN Stats & Info, is the first player to go 5-for-5 (or better) with at least four RBI on Opening Day in MLB history and just the third player to go 5-for-5 with multiple RBI on Opening Day in MLB history, joining Hall of Famers Billy Herman and Babe Ruth; became the first catcher to reach base safely six times in a game since NYM's Kevin Plawecki on 8/16/18 (G1) at PHI...Homered in back-to-back games from 4/9-10 for the first time in his career...Hit a walk-off solo home run off Trevor May in the ninth inning on 4/13 vs. OAK...Launched a leadoff homer on 8/10; though coming as the designated hitter, became the first player in O's history to hit a leadoff home run in the same season they appeared in any game at catcher...Reached safely in his final 13 regular season games of the year; had a career-high 15-game on-base streak from 7/9-30...Made his Postseason debut, starting all three games of the ALDS vs. TEX while going 1-for-12 with a double, one walk and two punchouts
2022
Began the season on Triple-A Norfolk's Injured List due to a right triceps injury suffered during Spring Training; started a rehab assignment with High-A Aberdeen on 4/26; transferred to Double-A Bowie on 5/3 and Triple-A Norfolk on 5/6; had his contract selected by Baltimore on 5/21...Finished second in the American League Rookie of the Year voting behind Seattle's Julio Rodríguez...Voted the winner of the Louis M. Hatter Most Valuable Oriole Award by members of the local media...Among MLB rookies, ranked among leaders in doubles (first), walks (second), extra-base hits (T-third, 49), on-base percentage (fourth), OPS (fourth, .807), runs (sixth), slugging (seventh), total bases (eighth, 177), and hits (10th)…Led the O's, AL catchers, tied for the lead among MLB rookies, and tied for ninth among AL hitters with 5.3 fWAR, per FanGraphs; the fWAR is the third-best in MLB history by a rookie catcher, trailing LAD's Mike Piazza (7.4 in 1993) and BOS' Carlton Fisk (6.6 in 1972)....Ranked third among AL rookies and fourth among MLB rookies with 5.2 bWAR, per Baseball Reference; marked the fourth-best bWAR by a rookie catcher in MLB history, trailing BOS' Carlton Fisk (7.3 in 1972), LAD's Mike Piazza (7.0 in 1993), and NYY's Thurman Munson (5.5 in 1970)…Led the O's, finished second among MLB catchers, and tied for eighth among all MLB players with 18 Defensive Runs Saved, per Sports Info Solutions; his DRS was the second-most by an Orioles catcher since tracking began in 2003, trailing only Matt Wieters (22 in 2011)…Finished third on the O's and tied for second among MLB rookies with 10 game-winning RBI...Named an AL Silver Slugger Finalist at catcher; one of three MLB rookies to be named a finalist along with SEA's Julio Rodríguez (AL, OF) and ATL's Michael Harris II (NL, OF)...His 35 doubles were the most by a rookie in a single season in O's history (since 1954) and the most by an Orioles catcher in a single season in team history...Walked 65 times, fourth-most by an O's rookie and most since Curt Blefary drew a franchise-record 88 free passes in 1965...Hit 13 homers, second-most in a season by an O's rookie catcher, trailing only Dan Graham's 15 in 1980...Joined Cal Ripken, Jr. (1982) as the only Orioles rookies with 10+ home runs and 30+ doubles in a season...Finished with four Catcher Framing Runs, per Statcast, the most by an O's catcher since Caleb Joseph had six in 2017...Made his MLB debut 5/21 vs. TB, catching and batting sixth; went 1-for-3 with a triple and a walk; became the ninth Oriole to triple for their first hit and third to do so in his MLB debut...Scored the winning run in the 11th inning on 5/22 vs. TB on Rougned Odor’s fielder’s choice...Hit his first career home run and collected his first RBI with a two-run home run off José Berríos in the fourth inning on 6/15 at TOR...Delivered a game-tying, pinch-hit home run in the eighth inning off of Jason Adam on 7/16 at TB; marked his first pinch-hit homer, the first by an Oriole since Trey Mancini on 7/11/21 vs. CWS, and the first by an O's rookie since Mancini on 6/7/17 vs. PIT...Recorded a career-high three hits five times - 6/11 at KC, 8/1 at TEX, 8/19 vs. BOS, 9/5 (G2) vs. TOR, and 9/23 vs. HOU...Had a career-high seven total bases three times - 8/19 vs. BOS, 9/5 (G2) vs. TOR, and 9/23 vs. HOU...Drove in a career-high three runs on 6/23 at CWS...Hit a go-ahead two-run single in the ninth inning on 9/18 at TOR; marked his first career go-ahead hit in the ninth inning-or-later...Batted .275/.399/.462 (65-for-236) with 20 doubles, eight homers, 45 runs, 26 RBI, 48 walks, two hit-by-pitches, and three stolen bases in 67 games after the All-Star Break; among AL leaders post Break, ranked second in walks, fourth in OBP, tied for fourth in doubles, sixth in runs scored, and 10th in OPS (.861); slashed .222/.302/.420 (36-for-162) with 15 doubles, one triple, five home runs, 25 runs, 16 RBI, 17 walks, two hit-by-pitches and one steal in 46 games before the break...Hit .280/.386/.503 (84-for-300) with 29 doubles, one triple, 12 home runs, 37 RBI, 499 walks and four hit-by-pitches against right-handed pitching and .173/.287/.265 (17-for-98) with six doubles, one homer, 16 RBI and 16 walks vs. left-handers...Scored a run in five straight games from 7/25-30...Tallied an extra-base hit in six straight games from 6/21-27 and in five consecutive games from 7/16-24...Drew a walk in seven straight games from 7/22-29...Combined to slash .304/.417/.507 (21-for-69) with five doubles, three homers, 12 runs scored, 10 RBI, three hit-by-pitches and 11 walks in 20 games between three Minor League levels.
2021
Named the Brooks Robinson Minor League Co-Player of the Year ...Named the Baseball America Orioles Minor League Player of the Year...Named an MiLB.com Organization All-Star...Named a Rawlings MiLB Gold Glove winner at catcher...Became the top prospect in baseball according to Baseball America and MLB Pipeline when Tampa Bay Rays infielder Wander Franco graduated from prospect status on 8/6...Selected to participate in the 2021 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game at Coors Field in Denver, Colo...Named the Double-A Northeast Offensive Player of the Week for the week of 7/19-25 after batting .409 with a 1.057 OPS and three home runs...Named the Orioles Minor League Player of the Month for August after batting .337 with a .919 OPS and 16 runs scored in 24 games between Double-A Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk...Began the year with Double-A Bowie, where he slashed .271/.392/.508 (80-for-295) with 18 home runs, 16 doubles, 61 runs scored, 55 RBI, and 55 walks against 57 strikeouts in 80 games; promoted to Triple-A Norfolk on 8/6, where he finished the season slashing .312/.405/.490 (49-for-157) with five home runs, nine doubles, two triples, 25 runs scored, 20 RBI, and 24 walks to 33 strikeouts in 43 games...Overall, slashed .285/.397/.502 (129-for-452) with 23 home runs, 25 doubles, two triples, 86 runs scored, 75 RBI and 79 walks to 90 strikeouts in 123 games between the Baysox and the Tides.
2020
Spent the season at the Alternate Training Site at Double-A Bowie...Appeared in seven games during Spring Training, hitting .111 (1-for-9) with a run scored...A non-roster invitee to his first Major League Spring Training camp.
2019
Selected by the Orioles with the first pick in the 2019 First-Year Player Draft...Marked the second time in Orioles history the club had the first overall selection in the Major League Draft, with RHP Ben McDonald in 1989 being the first...Became the first catcher selected by the Orioles in the first round of the Major League Draft since Matt Wieters (No. 5 overall) in 2007...Became the first catcher selected No. 1 overall since 2001 when Joe Mauer was selected by the Minnesota Twins...Rated as the No. 1 prospect in the Orioles system by Baseball America, and No. 5 in the publication's Top 100 MLB prospects...Named the Orioles Minor League Player of the Month for August after batting .344/.432/.525 (21-for-61) with six doubles, one triple, one home run, 10 runs, and 15 RBI in 16 games with...Short-Season A Aberdeen, including a 10-game hitting streak from 8/9-19...Recorded his first career five-hit performance in his final game with Aberdeen on 8/19 vs. Vermont...Promoted to Class-A Delmarva on 8/21 and appeared in 12 games for the Shorebirds.
