BALTIMORE — He is one of the faces of fun for the Orioles. And why not? When you are off to this kind of start all is well for Ryan Mountcastle through five games.
"It feels good," said Mountcastle in the clubhouse on Wednesday morning. "Defensively [I'm] just getting some decent plays out there and offensively trying to drive in runs and that’s our main goal is try to get some runs for the team and have been doing a decent job of that."
Decent indeed. Mountcastle is mashing yet again. The 27-year-old leads the O’s with a .333 batting average, .611 slugging percentage and .975 OPS. He is second on the team with 7 RBI and has the Birds looking for their second series win to start 2024 before they head out on their first road trip of the year to Pittsburgh and Boston.
"Let’s try and get two series wins if we can get this game in on Wednesday [against the Kansas City Royals], get a nice 4-2 record and get going on the road. It’s a tough little road trip. [I'm] excited to get it going."
Mountcastle's fielding at first base is an area he has vastly improved upon over the last couple years. Growing up as a shortstop he moved around positionally coming up in the O’s organization.
He has found his infield home.
"He has come a long way," said manager Brandon Hyde on Tuesday. "I think we have a luxury. Not many first basemen in the big leagues got drafted as a shortstop. So, he has shortstop type of tools and then he’s got some range. He’s got great hands. He is obviously a bigger kid. So, he moves extremely well. To be able to play first base and get comfortable playing the position - there is a lot more that goes to it than a lot of people think - from the footwork standpoint to picking balls in the dirt, etc. He has just made huge strides."
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