Heston Kjerstad was born in Amarillo, Texas, on February 12, 1999. He played high school baseball at Canyon Randall High School in Amarillo, TX. He was the ninth-ranked outfielder and the 30th-ranked overall player in Texas.
Kjerstad, as a junior, hit .477 with 32 RBI, was also named the District 3-5A MVP, and was a first-team All-State player. He also played summer ball with D-Bat 17u Robertson and was named to the Connie Mack World Series All-Tournament teams after he hit .524 with five extra-base hits.
Kjerstad was ranked the 82nd outfielder in the country and the 426th-ranked overall player. He committed to play college baseball at the University of Arkansas.
Where Did Heston Kjerstad Go to College?
Kjerstad at Arkansas played three seasons where he slashed .343/.421/.590 with a 1.011 OPS; he had 34 doubles, one triple, 37 home runs, 129 RBI, 137 runs scored, nine stolen bases, and 54 walks. In his first season, he slashed .332/.419/.553 with a .972 OPS; he had 16 doubles, 14 home runs, 58 RBI, 65 runs scored, three stolen bases, and 26 walks. In his second season, he slashed .327/.400/.575 with a .975 OPS; he had 13 doubles, one triple, 17 home runs, 51 RBI, 53 runs scored, five stolen bases, and 21 walks. His final season was cut short due to COVID, but in 16 games, he slashed .448/.513/.791 with a 1.304 OPS; he had five doubles, six home runs, 20 RBI, 19 runs scored, one stolen base, and seven walks.
When Was Heston Kjerstad Drafted?
Kjerstad was initially drafted out of high school by the Seattle Mariners in the 36th round in 2017. Still, he chose to attend Arkansas, leading to him being drafted second overall in the 2020 draft by the Baltimore Orioles.
Heston Kjerstad Orioles Tenure
2021
Kjerstad was ranked by Baseball America as the 62nd prospect entering the season and the 69th prospect by MLB.com. He did not play this season.
2022
This was Kjerstad’s first season playing in the Orioles organization, and he was not ranked in the Top 100. He played for Single-A Delmarva and High-A Aberdeen, combining to play in 65 games where he slashed .309/.394/.457 with a .851 OPS; he had 17 doubles, two triples, five home runs, 37 RBI, 45 runs scored, one stolen base, and 29 walks. He also played in the Arizona Fall League for Scottsdale, where he slashed .357/.385/.622 with a 1.007 OPS; he had nine doubles, one triple, five home runs, 17 RBI, 13 runs scored, and five walks; he was also named the MVP.
2023
Kjerstad entered 2023, ranked by MLB.com as the 80th overall prospect. He played for Double-A Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk and made his big-league debut. In the minors, he played in 122 games and slashed .303/.376/.528 with a .904 OPS; he had 29 doubles, eight triples, 21 home runs, 55 RBI, 87 runs scored, five stolen bases, and 42 walks. He played in 13 games with the Orioles and slashed .233/.281/.467 with a .748 OPS; he had one double, two home runs, three RBI, three runs scored, and two walks. He also played in the Future’s game, going 1-2.
Future
ITD ranks Kjerstad as the 31st overall prospect and the Orioles third ranked prospect. His stay on the rankings may be short, as he will likely start 2024 with the Orioles.
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