Baltimore Orioles outfielder Heston Kjerstad has missed every game this season.
The Baltimore Orioles have hovered around the .500 mark to open the 2026 season, a slower start than expected for a club with postseason aspirations. Part of the challenge has been the number of injuries to key position players, leaving the lineup thinner than anticipated.
One of the biggest absences has been outfielder Heston Kjerstad, who has yet to make his season debut after suffering a Grade 1 right hamstring strain in late March, just days before Opening Day.
On Sunday, Orioles president of baseball operations Mike Elias announced a positive update on his status. “Mike Elias said a rehab assignment for Heston Kjerstad is ‘right around the corner.’ Doing full baseball activities,” reported Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports.
This update is significant for Baltimore, as Kjerstad represents another quality outfield option for a team that has been forced to shuffle pieces early in the year. The fact that he is already performing full baseball activities suggests that, barring setbacks, he could be ready to debut sometime in May after his rehab assignment.
This is an important season for Kjerstad individually, who has struggled to establish himself at the big-league level despite once being viewed as a top prospect. The former No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft has shown flashes of his potential, but the production has not yet matched the pedigree.
Across three MLB seasons, he owns a .218 batting average, .284 on-base percentage, .649 OPS, 10 home runs and 36 RBIs, numbers that fall short of expectations for a player with his offensive ceiling.
Still, there were signs of progress this spring before the injury. Kjerstad looked more comfortable at the plate, showed improved swing decisions and the results followed. That momentum was halted by the hamstring strain, but the Orioles remain optimistic that he can pick up where he left off once healthy.
And there will be plenty of opportunities waiting for him. Baltimore is dealing with multiple injuries to position players, creating openings across the outfield and DH spots.
If Kjerstad can stay on the field and finally tap into the potential that made him a top prospect, he could become a major boost for a lineup still searching for consistency.
With his rehab assignment nearing, the Orioles are hopeful that Kjerstad’s long-awaited breakout might finally be within reach. Baltimore owns a 13-14 record entering Sunday, sitting in third place in the American League East.