Former Razorback optioned down to Triple-A, only three ProHogs active

Kjerstad, who ends his longest stint in the big leagues, is now his third season with Baltimore. He played in 54 of the team's 64 games before getting sent down.

He got 156 at-bats with the big league team, slashing .192/.240/.327 with four home runs. His extended stint coincided with injuries to fellow outfielders Colton Cowser and Cedric Mullins.

Cowser returned on June 2 from a thumb fracture and Mullins was the corresponding move for Kjerstad's demotion as he returned from a hamstring strain.

Kjerstad really struggled both with the bat and in the field. He ranked in the first percentile in fielding run value at -7, according to his Baseball Savant page.

He also ranks in the fifth percentile in chase percentage with a chase rate of 38.3%.

The rest of Kjerstad's sabermetric stats with the bat don't grade out well either. He ranks in the 40th percentile or worse in every batting category and only ranks above the 50th percentile in sprint speed (62nd) with a sprint speed of 27.7 feet per second.

According to Roch Kubatko of MASN.com, Orioles interim manager Tony Mansolino referenced a "specific plan" for Kjerstad, but did not go into detail about what that could be.

The Orioles are in last place in the AL East at 26-39, 13 games below .500 and 14 games behind the first place New York Yankees after winning at least 90 games the last two years and making the playoffs in both.

The demotion means that just three former Razorbacks are left on active 26-man rosters at the major league level, the lowest number in some time.

Former Golden Spikes Award winner Andrew Benintendi of the White Sox is the lone position player left along with relievers Ryne Stanek of the New York Mets and Jalen Beeks of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Fellow reliever Trevor Stephan is on his way back after undergoing Tommy John Surgery and allowed two runs in his first rehab start in the Arizona Complex League. Because of the length of recovery from the injury, Stephan will need an extended rehab stint before rejoining the Cleveland Guardians at the Major League level.

Both Stanek and Beeks are enjoying one of the better years of their MLB careers.

Beeks has a 3.03 ERA in 31 2/3 innings with 30 strikeouts and a save. This comes after his ERA was at least 4.50 the previous two seasons. He's enjoying being away from Coors Field in Colorado, where he spent the first half of the 2024 season, a notorious hitter's ballpark because of the high elevation.

Stanek continues to be both effective and one of the hardest throwers in baseball even in an age where increased velocity becomes more common. His average fastball velocity sits at 98.4 miles an hour and ranks in the 97th percentile in the majors this year.

He has 20 strikeouts in 22 1/3 innings with a 3.22 ERA and a save.

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