Leftovers for breakfast

Adley Rutschman caught last night for short-season Single-A Aberdeen, the media attention much lighter, and threw out two more runners attempting to steal. The first overall pick went 0-for-4 with a walk and run scored and is 4-for-20 with the IronBirds and 6-for-34 with a home run as a professional.

The bat will come around. Give it time.

Executive vice president Mike Elias is impressed by Rutschman on many levels.

"Everything that I've heard has been exactly what we expected," Elias said last night. "He's a hard worker. He's had some good games so far, mixed in well with the staff. I feel for him because he's got a lot of attention on him right now. A lot of people are counting on him and he's handling it really well.

"There are a lot of demands being the No. 1 pick than there are to even being the No. 2 pick. He's going to be fully equipped to handle all that. I think he's going to have a real good summer, and we're just thrilled that we have him."

The farm system rankings, which used to cause past executives to fume, are looking more pleasing to Elias.

"You probably saw that some of the midseason rankings came out, for what they're worth," he said. "FanGraphs, Baseball America. It doesn't mean everything, but we all look at them, and we're moving in the right direction. A lot of that has been the pitching has really, I think, taken a step up this year. A lot of them are having good seasons. Bringing Rutschman in is certainly a big part of that.

"I do feel good about the top-end talent that we have - Rutschman, (Ryan) Mountcastle, DL Hall, Grayson Rodriguez, Yusniel Diaz. That's a pretty good group. Those are all top 100-type talents, and I think our depth is getting better but that is an area I'd like to see us continually improve through the draft, through having a full-fledged international program.

"We want to have kind of a deeper farm system than we have right now. But we've got a good farm system. It's an above-average farm system."

* Losing his roster spot and returning to the minors didn't put left-hander Paul Fry in a funk. All it did was slip him into a different uniform and make him a better reliever after his return to the Orioles.

Fry returned on June 26, six days after he left, as an injury replacement for left-hander Josh Rogers. Fry has allowed one run in 10 appearances over 10 1/3 innings. Only four hits surrendered, with 14 strikeouts.

The scoreless streak reached seven outings in a row after he retired all four batters faced Sunday in Anaheim and his ERA was lowered to 3.76.

Left-handed hitters are 7-for-60 (.117) against him this season.

"Ever since we sent him down to Triple-A and he's come back, he's been ... it's a different look for me on the mound," said manager Brandon Hyde. "He's pitched well against left-handers all year long. But now against right-handers also. I feel like he's been incredibly aggressive with throwing strikes and being able to put guys away.

"That's a really good slider, and the two-seamer plays. I think he's on a really nice run right now and throwing the ball outstanding. Love the progress that he's made the last couple months, and obviously been a huge part of our bullpen and why we're playing better."

* The Orioles are carrying an extra utility infielder on the roster in José Rondón rather than call up an outfielder to replace the injured Dwight Smith Jr.

Rondón can play left field. So can Jace Peterson. Hanser Alberto spent an inning in left this season. And Stevie Wilkerson is handling pretty much every position except catcher.

After popping up last night as a pinch-hitter in his Orioles debut, Rondón was inserted at third base and Peterson moved to left field. Wilkerson came out of the game with a sore knee.

Hyde seems comfortable with the arrangement while it lasts.

It isn't mounted in a time frame.

"I think we have some versatility," Hyde said. "I don't know how long Smitty's going to be out and I think our roster, obviously, can change, and it has changed a lot over the course of this season and probably will again.

"I don't know if we're going to get another outfielder here or not, but I do think that we have some versatility that we can hang in there in the meantime."

* Mark Trumbo revealed yesterday that he's now aiming for a September debut with the Orioles after again begin shut down with some soreness in his right knee.

He lasted only two games with Triple-A Norfolk, hitting a home run, before returning to Camden Yards.

Hyde respects the effort.

"Yeah, absolutely," he said. "I just like having Mark around. I, obviously, wish that he had his spikes on during the game and was with us, but I'm just glad he's here and I hope that his knee feels better and he's able to contribute a little bit in September. If he's healthy enough to do that and he wants to do it, I'd be more than happy to have him around."

* Former minor league pitcher Lucas Long apparently has decided to change careers after the Orioles released him on May 20. Or at least he's set up to do it.

Long was on the Double-A Bowie roster at the time of his release but didn't pitch for the Baysox. He was transferred from Triple-A Norfolk on May 3 and went on the injured list three days later.

The release came two weeks later.

The assumption can be made that Long, 24, is prepared for the possibility that he's done with baseball because he tweeted the following yesterday:

"Excited for the a new opportunity with Carlson Partners and ready to help out with all of your Commercial Real Estate needs #TenantRep"

Long was a 24th-round pick in 2014 out of San Diego. He was 0-2 with a 9.53 ERA, 2.03 WHIP and .380 average against this year in seven games (one start) with Norfolk. He evolved into an intriguing possibility for the Orioles in 2017 after registering a 2.95 ERA in 31 games (14 starts) with Bowie, but has gone 23-36 with a 4.41 ERA and 1.35 WHIP in 120 minor league appearances.