REPORTS: Baltimore benefits from the continued success of Orioles’ breakout lefty bat.

Just over a year has passed since MLBTR’s Darragh McDonald discussed Ryan O’Hearn’s then-developing breakout in Baltimore and concluded, “The Orioles may have found the lefty bat they wanted.” After a DFA, O’Hearn was acquired from the Royals in exchange for cash. The Orioles then designated O’Hearn for assignment, but he was sailed through waivers unclaimed and sent straight to Triple-A Norfolk.

It was the kind of seemingly insignificant exchange that is done hundreds of times in a year and swiftly forgotten, unless it isn’t. As most Orioles fans know, O’Hearn did turn out to be the left-handed bat Baltimore had been looking for. O’Hearn was slashing at the time of Darragh’s article from the previous year.had six home runs in 115 plate appearances, slashing 308/.348/.542. Although the sample size was small and his walk rate was low (5.2%), O’Hearn’s batted-ball statistics provided evidence for a large portion of the initial surge. With considerable playing time against right-handed pitchers, he concluded the season with a solid slash line of.289/.322/.480, which was 18% higher than the league average by wRC+.

The previous season was a startling breakout for a player who had hit.211/.282/.351 with a 27% strikeout rate across the four seasons with Kansas City (2019–22) prior to being designated for assignment. While O’Hearn came to Baltimore with more than four years of playing time, the Orioles would have been happy to have him for just that one season, which would have kept him under control until the 2024 campaign. It made perfect sense to offer him a contract and take him to arbitration; even if he went back to his 2019–22 form or made some at-bat regressions, the entire acquisition process would have been worthwhile based only on 2023.

O’Hearn, however, hasn’t reverted to his 2019-22 form. He hasn’t regressed closer to league-average. He hasn’t maintained the status quo and or even taken just a small step forward. Rather, he’s taken his game to an entirely new level, not just in terms of his raw run-production but also his approach at the plate.

In 189 plate appearances this season — all but 11 coming against right-handed pitching, it should be noted — O’Hearn is batting .287/.384/.489. He’s been 38% better than league-average, per wRC+. He’s already belted nine homers, six doubles and a triple.

He’s also struck out 19 times. In 189 plate appearances. Lest you think that was a typo, let’s write it out: nineteen times.

O’Hearn, who entered the 2024 season with a lifetime 25.6% strikeout rate in the big leagues, has at 30 years old simply become allergic to strikeouts. He’s also nearly doubled his walk rate from last year’s 4.1% to 7.9%. That feat isn’t as eye-popping on its own, given O’Hearn’s penchant for drawing free passes earlier in his career (11.5% from 2018-20), but it does serve to further underscore the evolution of his approach at the plate.

By measure of Statcast, O’Hearn chased 32% of pitches off the plate in 2023. This year, that number is down to 26.5%. He’s making contact on balls out of the strike zone at a career-best 64.4% clip, and his ability to connect on pitches within the strike zone has also ticked up. This year’s 90.6% mark is a career-best and sits more than five percentage points north of the 85.3% league average.