LAKELAND, Fla. — Heston Kjerstad has already earned his way onto an Orioles opening day roster before. He’s starting to build a case that he belongs there once again.
The outfielder blasted his first home run of the spring in the Orioles’ 4-4 tie with the Detroit Tigers on Sunday, taking former teammate Jack Flaherty deep with a 399-foot shot to right-center field. Pete Alonso also homered for the second time in as many games to open Grapefruit League play, and Coby Mayo collected two hits as Baltimore moved to 1-1-1.
For Kjerstad, who went 1-for-3, the first-inning homer was a continuation of what the 27-year-old displayed in live batting practice over the past two weeks. After missing the second half of last season for undisclosed reasons, Kjerstad made mechanical changes to his stance — moving away from his leg kick — and showed up to camp with his timing down.
“I feel really good with my swing,” Kjerstad said. “We’ve been having quality work in the new facility and also getting out on the field a lot, taking live [at-bats] off of teammates and everything. Felt really good with those, eye at play, been driving the ball well, in a good spot to build upon it. Definitely early in spring, want to keep making adjustments and expanding on what’s going on. But as of right now, I feel really solid at the plate.”
He faces a crowded outfield that might not have room for him come opening day. Kjerstad is having to earn his way back up the depth chart after hitting .192 with a .566 OPS in the majors and faring even worse in Triple-A after being demoted. However, the 2020 No. 2 overall pick has showed the potential of a prolific power hitter at every level of the minor leagues, and he appeared to be ready for a full-time opportunity when he broke camp with the team last year.
Dropping the leg kick could help unlock Kjerstad’s true power potential. His average exit velocity during his short stints at the MLB level in 2023 and 2024 were borderline elite, but he had a lot of holes in his swing and struggled to make consistent contact even on pitches in the zone. Should his timing improve, Kjerstad has the raw power to rack up home runs in Baltimore.
“He came into camp ready,” manager Craig Albernaz said. “He’s getting great work in. His new setup and stance has proven to be really good right now. Anything with Kjerstad, you just don’t know as far as how he carries himself, his presence, he’s very even-keel. So, for him, it just looks like it’s another game for him, which is awesome, so just good to see him barreling balls up.”
Bradish’s velocity has room to grow
When he returned from Tommy John elbow surgery, Kyle Bradish didn’t just look like himself. He looked like the best version of himself.
Bradish made only six starts but posted a 2.53 ERA with a 37.3% strikeout rate, building plenty of momentum heading into his first full, healthy offseason in two years. Perhaps the most eye-popping was his velocity. The right-hander maxed out at 97.8 mph, which offered plenty of optimism that he could build back up to his pre-surgery levels.
He started Sunday and averaged 94.6 mph with his sinker while topping out at 95.8. Bradish wasn’t focused on velocity or results — he allowed two runs on three hits and a walk with two strikeouts over two innings — this early into camp, but credited the work he put in last summer for getting him within range of his career norms.
“I think it starts with what I did in the rehab process,” Bradish said. “I put on about 10 pounds and got a lot stronger, and then that carried off over into the offseason. Kept maintaining that work ethic and building strength.
“Right now, my main focus is being healthy all year. Yeah, velocity is great and I love throwing hard, but staying healthy is the main key.”
Bradish averaged 94.8 mph on his sinker in 2025 and 95.3 in his limited action during the 2024 campaign, so his numbers Sunday reflected about where he will likely be once the season gets going. But just how much he can dial it back when he needs a strikeout to get out of a jam probably won’t be clear until the end of the spring.
Around the horn
• It was an orange-on-orange matchup Sunday as the Orioles wore their orange road uniforms with gray pants and the Tigers donned their new orange alternates with white pants. Luckily, the game wasn’t televised, so fans at home were spared from having to shield their eyes from their TV screens.
• The Orioles entered the ninth with a 4-3 lead but couldn’t hang on. Right-hander Andrew Magno put a runner on with a one-out walk and allowed him to move to second on a wild pitch before a deep flyball and a single by 2023 No. 3 overall pick Max Clark brought home the tying run.
• Orioles shortstop Payton Eeles left the game with left shoulder discomfort after colliding with outfielder Enrique Bradfield Jr. in the eighth. Albernaz said the decision was “precautionary.” Bradfield was also shaken up earlier in the game when he made a spectacular running catch and hit the outfield wall at full speed, but he finished out the game and reported no lingering issues to the coaching staff.
• Mayo didn’t get a single groundball his way in his spring season debut Friday but made good on his first opportunity Sunday, charging a soft grounder and firing a throw on the run in time to beat the runner to first. His defense at third base, and his throwing in particular, will be under the microscope this spring as the team decides who to start at third base while Jordan Westburg is on the injured list.
Orioles’ Coby Mayo, starting at third base today, gloves a soft grounder off the bat of Austin Slater and hits Pete Alonso at first base with an off-balance throw. pic.twitter.com/F5Ui8ctFgG
— Matt Weyrich (@ByMattWeyrich) February 22, 2026
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