Inside the swing changes powering Adley Rutschman’s resurgence with the Orioles

The path here for Adley Rutschman and his swing has not been easy. It took a risk to change anything in the first place, and when the first changes didn’t pan out the way he wished, it took resolve to stick with this evolution.

The swing Rutschman is exhibiting now — the one that is leading his resurgence at the plate following his worst season as a major leaguer — is a culmination of lessons learned the hard way. Ideally, every tweak he made would have been seamless, but there are “a lot of internal battles in baseball,” Rutschman said.

None, perhaps, was larger than the one Rutschman endured in 2025.

The Orioles catcher made an adjustment to his load during the offseason and carried it through several months before abandoning it in June. He dealt with a pair of oblique strains that held him to 90 games. His on-base-plus-slugging percentage dropped to .673, the lowest of his career.

That led him into a pivotal offseason, and his mechanical developments continued. What he landed on looks a whole lot like his swing from 2022, when he burst onto the scene as the top prospect in baseball and was saddled with the hopes of a franchise.

But the biggest difference from Rutschman’s swing now to the one that helped him become an All-Star in 2023 and 2024 is his success against all pitch types.

When Rutschman made the leap to the majors, he demolished fastballs but struggled against breaking balls and off-speed pitches. In 2022, he hit .185 against non-fastballs while hitting .309 against fastballs. He could’ve stayed with those mechanics, but he soon realized that pitchers knew his strengths and weaknesses. He saw fewer fastballs.

“What’s the risk-reward? Do you just stay with what’s working even though it’s getting exposed on a certain pitch but you’re still hitting fastballs?” Rutschman wondered. “Or do you try to commit to the change and cover more pitches?”

He committed to making changes. In 2025, as Rutschman tried to improve his timing and balance so he could catch up to fastballs and adjust to the spin that kept coming his way, he developed a toe tap as part of his load — the step he takes before swinging.

It felt great during the winter. “But you’re not seeing live pitching,” Rutschman said. He found success in spring training, even. But in real game scenarios, Rutschman’s toe tap — and two oblique strains — lessened his impact at the plate.

The decision to alter his swing mechanics was not an easy one. He had spent months working on that swing. To move away from it was as much of a risk as sticking with the toe tap. But in Seattle in June, with no toe tap, Rutschman began to feel that he was an improved hitter.

Injuries prevented Rutschman from gaining momentum, but the statistics supported the switch. After ditching the toe tap, Rutschman produced a .731 OPS (prior to that, his OPS was .632).

This winter, then, Rutschman worked to simplify everything in his swing. His hands are slightly farther from his body to allow for better rotation. And his up-and-down front foot movement has several benefits: He can catch up to the fastball, but more so than in the past, and he has better balance. That allows him to adjust to off-speed pitches and breaking balls.

“In ’22 and ’23, I could land and rotate quickly and cover the fastball. But the changeup and curveball, in order to get to those, I would have to [swing] just with my hands,” Rutschman said. “[Now,] trying to progress into more of a load where I can lengthen out with both my hands and my body. You want to be able to hit the ball hard on a line against as many pitch types as you can. So, that’s an adjustment. Trying to create a little more length in my swing to be able to do damage.”

The numbers are supporting his all-pitch approach. Entering Tuesday, Rutschman was hitting .281 against fastballs, which is his highest mark since his .311 average against heaters in 2023.

He is better than ever before against off-speed pitches, such as changeups and splitters. His average is .400 compared to .150 last year. And his success translates to breaking balls, such as sliders, as well: Rutschman has a career-best .292 average vs. those breakers.

Considering that pitchers have shifted their approach against Rutschman slightly away from the fastball in favor of spin-oriented pitches, Rutschman’s ability to do damage against any offering — not just the fastball — is imperative.

Last year was a physical and mental test of Rutschman. So far in 2026, he’s back to his best. Maybe, just maybe, he’s actually better than ever.

The journey getting to this point in his swing mechanics took withstanding punches and attempting to fix the holes he knew pitchers would eventually target. With a .290 average and .873 OPS so far, it’s possible those hardships were worth it.

“I have belief in myself and what I’m capable of doing. You always have to believe it’s just a matter of time,” Rutschman said. “Maybe it wasn’t last year. Maybe it’s not you for a two-year span, three-year span. But at some point you have to believe you are capable of something and you’re going to do it.”