Orioles’ Kjerstad talks about his health, swing, outlook

SARASOTA—Heston Kjerstad, the second overall pick in the 2020 draft, began last season with the Orioles and was sent to Triple-A Norfolk after hitting .192 with four home runs and 19 RBIs in 54 games.

After hitting .149 with a home run and two RBIs in 27 games with Norfolk, the 27-year-old left-handed-hitting outfielder went on the injured list with what the Orioles said was fatigue.

Kjerstad homered in two consecutive live batting practices, and on Sunday spoke to media that covers the Orioles for the first time this year.

Question: Are you feeling 100 percent as spring training gets underway?

Kjerstad: “Back to full health, feeling great. I’m excited to be here. Got a great team rolling in here this year, really pumped to be healthy, and just see what I can do this season.

Question:  How long did it take you until you felt 100 percent?

Kjerstad: “Probably took me the first part of the offseason to build back some strength and do some things like that to get back to where I wanted to be, but right now, thankfully, in a great spot right now, full health, ready to roll.”

Question: What can you share about what you went through last year?

Kjerstad: “At this time, I’m probably not going to share too much kind of like the team’s already said. In the future, that’s something definitely we’ll get into, cover the whole topic and all that.”

Question: How do you feel at the plate right now? You look locked in.

Kjerstad: “Yeah, feel pretty good. It’s early. It’s lives on a back field. Taking live [at-bats], they’ve been really good for me. I feel good with timing, made a couple of swing adjustments, been working on it, but still early. Hope to build on those early ABs, and see what I can do.”

Question: After parts of three seasons in the majors, what’s the biggest thing you’ve learned?

Kjerstad: “For sure, you know, got a little experience the past few years. The main thing is being yourself, taking care of your work, pregame, postgame, and taking care of your body, just competing every day, doing anything you can do to help the team win. That’s what matters.”

Question: It looks like the swing is a little different, the foot movement. What can you share about it?

Kjerstad: “Definitely made an adjustment, I would say, my load. I found a move that gets me in the same spot that my leg kick does, but also feels the same timing-wise. A little smaller stride, kind of drag it close. It felt good. That was something I was working on this offseason, maybe developed into that. We’ll see where it leads. I still have the leg kick, always like it. There’s always a time for change, especially if it makes you a better hitter. That’s all I’m trying to do.”

Question: Is that something the team approached you about changing or did you come up with it on your own?

Kjerstad: “That was mainly training in the offseason, just hitting and doing some drills, just kind of led into that, pretty natural, kind of fell into place, started liking it, started with drill work, the drill I was doing and then slowly built upon it and still building on it in these lives and felt like I was more consistently on time with barrels, kind of getting my foot down a little bit quicker, see the ball a little bit longer, hopefully, be able to recognize pitches and make better swing decisions with it, too.”

Question: Did you talk to Jackson Holliday about this? He had a pretty big leg kick in the past.

Kjerstad: “For sure. I actually went up to his place in Stillwater [Oklahoma] this offseason. Hit with him and his dad and a couple of other guys were up there and his brother. Definitely talked with him, talked with his dad, and it’s one of those things where it’s kind of, we agreed, it’s kind of a timing mechanism. Your swing is still really similar to the way it was. You’re just changing the way, maybe you’re loading or maybe it makes your hands get to a better spot or makes you feel like you’re doing more on top.”

Question: How important is 2026 for you?

Kjerstad: “I think it’s really important  because the year you have in front of you, that’s always the most important in what you want to focus on. Should be a good year for me. Healthy and we’ll see what happens.”

Call for questions: I answer Orioles questions most weekdays. Please send yours to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com.