On the day that Orioles executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias selected Heston Kjerstad in the 2020 draft, he talked about the second-overall pick playing right field at Camden Yards. As if the position was just waiting for him.

The diagnosis of myocarditis and a hamstring injury prolonged the wait, but Kjerstad made his major league debut on Sept. 14 and was put on the American League Division Series roster. His power could make jaws drop. But would his defense keep him in the field?

Fly balls dropping wouldn’t work in any ballpark.

The Orioles are geared toward getting Kjerstad more comfortable in the corners. He made 37 starts at first base in the minors last year, but they don’t see his future in the infield. In an emergency, perhaps, but they want to develop him where they pictured him.

I’ve talked to scouts from outside the organization who believe that Kjerstad can be, at the least, an average defender with room to grow. Capable of getting better jumps, taking better routes and covering more ground.

If on Opening Day the Orioles infield was Ryan Mountcastle, Jackson Holliday, Gunnar Henderson and Jordan Westburg, that would be formidable. Four players that have been top 100 prospects at one time and two that made it to No. 1.

But that would leave no room for others to include vets Jorge Mateo, Ramon Urías and Ryan O’Hearn who are on the 40-man infield and yes of course someone could DH. But it would also leave no room for Joey Ortiz in that infield, or Coby Mayo, or Connor Norby.

The O's organization is deep and filled with prospects at the higher levels after they produced eight Baseball America top 100 players in January of 2023 and six this year.

So yes, one way to alleviate a so-called logjam of talent is to trade from a surplus. This topic dogs the Orioles, who should be able to take a bow or two for the great farm system they have compiled. But at the same time, they get constant questions about how they are going to deploy all that talent.

I recently talked to Baseball America editor-in-chief JJ Cooper on this most interesting challenge for the club.

SAN ANTONIO de GUERRA, Dominican Republic – Some of the top Orioles officials are gathering this morning for the opening ceremony for their new state-of-the-art training academy in Guerra. The club is hosting a clinic for kids from communities across the Dominican Republic on Wednesday beginning at 10 a.m., with the organization and the Orioles Advocates providing 150 baseball gloves to the participants that were gathered at collections in Baltimore throughout the 2023 season.

Players, coaches and alumni will offer instruction on a variety of baseball skills.

This is a quick break from the winter work done to improve the major league roster and begin another hunt for the first World Series title since 1983.

The biggest move remains the signing of closer Craig Kimbrel at the Winter Meetings for a guaranteed $13 million. The rest is about depth – pitcher Jonathan Heasley, catchers David Bañuelos and Michael Pérez, third baseman Dominic Freeberger and utility infielder Errol Robinson.

Kimbrel always had top two status. An extra infielder or outfielder was less important. A starter to lead the rotation was the crucial pairing.

We already knew that the Orioles produce young talent about as well as any team in baseball and that the club's farm system is No. 1 in the sport. But it's nice when the industry provides further confirmation of all this.

And this week, the Orioles got further confirmation in a four-part series of articles on MLB.com and MLBPipeline.com. The outlet surveyed from office execs, members of scouting and analytics and player development.

And just about everywhere you looked, the Orioles were doing pretty well.

In the first part of this series the execs were asked who will win the AL and NL Rookie of the Year awards? Last year they tabbed Gunnar Henderson of the Orioles and Arizona's Corbin Carroll to win, and both did in 2023.

This time the execs provided 36 percent of their AL votes for outfielder Evan Carter of Texas and 30 percent to O's prospect Jackson Holliday. The Orioles Heston Kjerstad was listed in the also getting votes category.

A month has passed since the last big mailbag reveal, when blue smoke told us that the Orioles would make a trade with the Royals.

Welcome to the Orioles world, Jonathan Heasley.

The deadline to sign arbitration-eligible players or exchange salary figures was last night, followed by the start of the international signing period on Monday. The three-day Birdland Caravan begins Jan. 25. Pitchers and catchers report to spring training by the middle of February.

Heasley could make another new friend before reporting to camp. The Orioles still haven’t acquired a starting pitcher.

I won’t wait until it happens to respond to your questions. Let’s do it now, with a second batch held for later.

NASHVILLE – The Winter Meetings conclude later today with the Rule 5 draft. The Orioles hold the 29^th selection in the first round but can move up as teams ahead of them pass.

Probably won't matter.

The Orioles have made a selection every year in the major league phase since pitcher Alfredo Simon in 2006. They traded Simon to the Phillies for catcher Adam Donachie and cash considerations.

Donachie never played in the majors. Simon was returned to the Rangers but later signed with the Orioles as a free agent in 2008 and 2009.

The rest of the club’s Rule 5 picks were as follows:

My mailbag is getting thick around the waist again. So am I, which prevents me from judging it too harshly.

Rather than let it balloon and risk a rupture, I’ve decided to empty it this morning in the latest sequel to the beloved original in August 2008.

Harder to keep the weight off as we age.

I didn’t burn many calories editing your questions. I might have attached a first name. I might have removed a comma or parentheses. Please don’t contact your lawyer.  

Also, my mailbag plays sweet music and yours has Creed on a loop.

Some facts are informative, some are random. Some are just fun, which is why they have their own name.

Here are a few facts that fit in any category, with some extra notes and thoughts attached.

Fact: Heston Kjerstad became the sixth rookie in Orioles history to hit two or more home runs in his first five career games. Kjerstad joined Chance Sisco (two in 2017), Trey Mancini (three in 2016), Manny Machado (three in 2012), Andrés Mora (two in 1976) and Curt Belfary (three in 1965).

Follow: Sisco and Mora are proof that early power doesn’t always lead to staying power.

Sisco was the organization’s No. 1 prospect in 2017, but he hit .199 with a .658 OPS in parts of five seasons with the Orioles covering only 191 games and played independent ball this summer. Mora was hyped in the ‘70s and elected in 2003 to the Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame, but he hit .223/.256/.383 in 235 major league games.

One of the biggest questions facing the Orioles for next season is how and when to turn over significant playing time to some of their top prospects? When is the right time to not only call up a player but commit to that player as a regular?

The Orioles have more than three players that are on the verge of cracking the everyday lineup or pushing to do that, but the three that are right on the cusp include two we have already seen in the majors in outfielders Colton Cowser and Heston Kjerstad and one we have not. That’s the big one, MLB’s No. 1 prospect in shortstop Jackson Holliday.

We have here three players ranked by at least one major outlet as among the top 25 prospects in baseball. Holliday is No. 1 by both Baseball America and MLBPipeline.com while Cowser is No. 11 by Baseball America and No. 14 via MLB. Kjerstad is No. 24 via MLB and No. 43 by Baseball America.

Sometimes an injury will determine when this player gets in the lineup and then it’s up to the player to take the chance and run with it. Sometimes a prospect will make the roster but not have regular playing time. That is always a big decision to make. Is the prospect better suited to just play every day on the farm or learn on the job in the big leagues even if not playing a lot? How will the prospect handle not playing a lot?

Cowser got into 26 games with the 2023 Orioles and hit .115/.286/.148/.433. Known for a good batting eye and patient approach with nice gap-to-gap pop, he managed a 16.9 walk rate in that limited sample with a 28.6 K rate. There is some swing and miss in his game, but this is also a player that gets at least average grades on defense and is considered a plus runner.

ARLINGTON, Texas – The Orioles are preparing for their first playoff game in Texas since the 2012 wild card game. They headed back to the visiting clubhouse that night and stepped into a champagne shower. A wild scene that left everyone soaked, including media that got too close.

I returned to the hotel, where I’m staying again this week, and the woman behind the desk handed me a plastic bag for my clothes. I didn’t say a word. She didn’t say a word. Just looked at me and understood.

The bubbly won’t be on ice with the Orioles down 2-0 in the Division Series. They need to win twice on the road and get back to Camden Yards for Game 5.

Cover the lockers and floor with plastic again or break out the boxes to be shipped home.

“This team’s pretty resilient,” said veteran starter Kyle Gibson. “They’re young, but they’ve got a lot of experience this year when it comes to playing in big games. None obviously as big as the one (tonight), but I think they’ll be able to draw on that experience and they’ll be all right.”

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde didn’t agree that Kyle Gibson’s start tonight could influence how the playoff rotation and bullpen are constructed for the Division Series that begins Saturday at Camden Yards. He wasn’t going to put that much emphasis on it.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a big start,” Hyde said, responding to a reporter’s question. “I think we know what Kyle can do, and if he doesn’t pitch well today it’s not really going to impact anything. A lot determines the postseason roster on who we play, where we’re playing and those types of things.”

The Orioles played the Red Sox again tonight, Gibson tossed five shutout innings, and they scored three times in the eighth in a 5-2 victory before a sellout crowd of 43,150.

Gibson scattered seven hits and left after 80 pitches. Baltimore native Bruce Zimmermann, recalled earlier today, made his first appearance in the majors since July 4, didn’t allow a run through two innings and earned the win.

"He did a great job of minimizing damage," Hyde said of Gibson. "I thought it was actually a perfect workload for him heading into the playoffs."

The Orioles are starting veteran Kyle Gibson on Saturday and remain undecided about Sunday, which would be Kyle Bradish under pre-clinching circumstances.

Uncharted territory for the franchise under the current regime.

“We’re still kind of playing with some things,” said manager Brandon Hyde.

Hyde isn’t ready to detail how the Orioles are handling their regular season finale or compensating for the extended break before Saturday’s Game 1 of the Division Series.

“It will be a lot of scheduled bullpen appearances for a lot of these guys,” Hyde said. “I didn’t want to schedule too much stuff, honestly, because I didn’t want to jinx anything. I wanted to make sure we clinched first. But now a lot of discussions are in place.”

For some of the youngest Orioles, winning an American League East championship last night was something they had talked about when they were together on the farm. Then those players rose through the ranks in the minors and now are part of a 100-win team in Baltimore.

“That is what you dream of when you get drafted,” O’s 22-year-old rookie Gunnar Henderson said this afternoon. “You have good friends you go through the minors with, to come up relatively the same time and be on a winning team your first full year, you dream of it.”

I asked Henderson if there was a time in the minors when he looked around and thought the group of players he was with then could produce something special.

“Just felt like from all the pieces that were added over the years and the drafts that we’ve had, it’s been cool to see everyone buy in together," he said. "Everyone just wants to win. The work ethic that we have shows we want to play winning baseball. Even at the minor league level it seems all the teams are winning and doing well.

“It’s also about having good people. Never have run into anyone with a cocky attitude or that is hard to be around. It’s all just good people, and that makes for a good clubhouse. That allows everyone to go out there and play their best game. You can really enjoy playing the game and spending time with each other. That allows for great relationships and for us to play our best game.”

Heston Kjerstad grabbed a bat to hit on the field yesterday afternoon but paused to satisfy a reporter’s request for a minute of his time. That’s exactly how much of it he could spare, doing so with the usual smile and polite nature.

Kjerstad would begin the game on the bench, hours after learning that he made Baseball America’s Minor League All-Star Team, along with shortstop Jackson Holliday and catcher Samuel Basallo. He delivered a pinch-hit, RBI double in the eighth inning. Three of his first six career hits have gone for extra bases.

The honors keep finding him, even in Baltimore.

“I spent the majority of the season down there, and you consider that I’ve only been up here a little bit,” he said. “Definitely a solid year, cool to be a part of that and everything. There’s a lot of O’s players on that list, too. It just shows the organization we’re in.

“It’s awesome to be up here and getting things rolling. It’s been awesome to be a part of this clubhouse so far.”

The wait is over.

For the last magic number to hit zero. For the first American League East championship since 2014. For the Rays to accept their wild card fate.

Pop those corks again.

Anthony Santander homered in the first inning, his fly ball traveling 405 feet to left field and clearing the wall. The crowd roared. Dean Kremer tossed 5 1/3 scoreless innings. Pinch-hitter Heston Kjerstad dumped a double into left field that scored Adam Frazier in the eighth.

The ballpark kept getting louder, reaching its peak volume when Trevor Story grounded out against Tyler Wells to seal the Orioles’ 2-0 victory over the Red Sox before an announced crowd of 27,543. The 11^th shutout of the season. The latest reason for the city to embrace its team and not let go.

CLEVELAND - The Orioles must make it through the last three games of this road trip and the six that await them at home before their first playoff exposure since 2016. They don’t know whether they’re beginning at Camden Yards in the Division Series or as the top wild card.

Those are the two possibilities.

I’ve got three more questions as the club focuses on the present but also considers how to construct a postseason roster.

What’s the plan for Tyler Wells?

Or, is there a plan for Tyler Wells beyond monitoring his progress in the minors?

HOUSTON – Ryan Mountcastle remains out of the Orioles lineup for the seventh game in a row, as the first leg of the road trip concludes this afternoon.

Heston Kjerstad is receiving his third consecutive start, again serving as the designated hitter.

Gunnar Henderson is the shortstop, with Ramón Urías at third base. Adam Frazier is at second base, and Jordan Westburg is on the bench.

The club didn’t announce any roster moves this morning.

Kyle Bradish is 11-7 with a 3.12 ERA and 1.087 WHIP in 27 starts. He’s registered 16 quality starts.

On this day a year ago - Sept. 20, 2022 - Heston Kjerstad went 1-for-4 with a triple and three RBI's for High-A Aberdeen in the South Atlantic League Championship Series. He would lead the IronBirds to a win and to a third and deciding game of the SAL final series that they would not win.

And for Kjerstad, who now has five games and 13 major league plate appearances under his belt, with two homers, hitting his second last night, his story includes his bout with myocarditis, one that delayed his minor league debut. But once he got started, he moved fast.

Kjerstad made his O’s professional debut with Low Single-A Delmarva on June 10, 2022, and ended the year with Aberdeen in the playoffs, before he tore up the Arizona Fall League. That led to beginning this year with Double-A Bowie, moving to Triple-A Norfolk and now making the majors. It all happened in a span of just over 15 months from that first game with the Shorebirds.

In a clubhouse interview Sunday morning, I reminded him that this time last year he was playing for Aberdeen in the SAL Championship Series.

“Definitely been awesome,” Kjerstad said. “Been a lot of different places on different teams over the past year. Definitely pumped now to be here. It’s been a real journey and really excited now to get things rolling up here and be part of a team that is this special.”

HOUSTON – The homer hose is curled up like a snake on the Orioles’ bench, retaining its name and purpose. Only water is poured into it unless the celebration is tied to a clinching. And it can strike at any moment.

Ryan O’Hearn chugged from it in the first inning tonight, and Austin Hays took his turn in the third. Hays guzzled again in the seventh, as did rookie Heston Kjerstad. Hydrating in Houston and hoisting the Orioles closer to a division title.

O’Hearn and Hays accounted for five early runs, twice providing leads, and the Orioles kept mashing in a 9-5 victory over the Astros before an announced crowd of 35,050 at Minute Maid Park.

The magic number is eight to claim the first American League East title since 2014. The Rays also won and remain 2 ½ games behind the Orioles.

The bullpen covered 4 1/3 innings, including two by Jack Flaherty, and the Orioles won their 95^th game and 31^st series. They’ll attempt to record their 10^th sweep before flying to Cleveland.

Ryan Mountcastle remains out of the Orioles lineup tonight after leaving Wednesday’s game with discomfort in his left shoulder.

An MRI was negative and Mountcastle has progressed to taking some swings. Manager Brandon Hyde expressed his optimism again yesterday.

“It’s a lot better,” he said.

Heston Kjerstad’s first major league hit last night was a solo home run. He’s out of the lineup tonight.

Aaron Hicks is in right field and Anthony Santander is serving as the designated hitter. Austin Hays returns to the lineup in left field.