Kjerstad, Lucas Promoted to Triple-A Norfolk
June 5, 2023 - International League (IL)
Norfolk Tides News Release
In conjunction with the Baltimore Orioles, the Norfolk Tides today announced that Orioles top prospects Heston Kjerstad and Easton Lucas are being promoted from Double-A Bowie to Norfolk. According to MLB Pipeline, Kjerstad is ranked #50 on their MLB Top 100 prospect list and #4 in the Orioles Top 30. Kjerstad is also ranked #91 according to Baseball America's Top 100 prospects list, and entered the season ranked #12 in Baltimore's organization.
HESTON KJERSTAD (pronounced KERR-stad), 24, was born in Amarillo, Texas and was drafted by the Orioles in the 1st round (2nd overall) of the 2020 MLB Draft out of the University of Arkansas. In 2017, he was drafted by the Seattle Mariners out of Canyon Randall High School but did not sign. In 46 games played with Bowie, Kjerstad hit .310 (57-for-184) with 30 runs, 10 doubles, three triples, 11 home runs, 23 RBI, 15 walks and three stolen bases while slashing .383/.576/.959. Kjerstad leaves Bowie leading the Eastern League leaders in slugging percentage, while also ranking in triples (T-2nd), home runs (T-3rd), OPS (T-3rd), hits (T-3rd), extra-base hits (T-3rd, 24), batting average (4th) and hit-by-pitches (T-6th, 7). In 2022, Kjerstad was named an MiLB.com Organizational All-Star and earned Most Valuable Player of the Arizona Fall League for the Scottsdale Scorpions.
EASTON LUCAS, 26, was born in Thousand Oaks, California and was originally drafted by the Miami Marlins in the 14th round of the 2019 MLB Draft from Pepperdine University. The Orioles acquired him on December 2, 2019 in a trade with Miami for Jonathan Villar. The southpaw has made 11 relief appearances for Bowie, going 1-0 with a 1.59 ERA (3 ER, 17.0 IP). He struck out 24 batters while walking four, has a 0.77 WHIP and has allowed a .155 opponent's average (9-for-58). Among the 71 Eastern League pitchers with at least 17.0 innings pitched in relief, Lucas ranked in WHIP (1st), strikeouts to walks ratio (1st, 6.00), walks per 9.0 IP (2nd, 2.12), ERA (4th), strikeouts per 9.0 IP (4th, 12.71), and opponent's average (8th). He leaves Bowie with an 8.2 scoreless innings streak over five games since May 12.
With the addition of Kjerstad (#50), the Tides have six current Top 100 prospects (MLB Pipeline): Colton Cowser (#29), Jordan Westburg (#49), DL Hall (#79), Joey Ortiz (#80) and Connor Norby (#85). Along with the call-ups of Kjerstad and Lucas, Hudson Haskin will return to Norfolk from Bowie. Haskin is currently ranked #13 on MLB Pipeline's Top 30 Orioles prospects list.
Ticketing Information
Fans can purchase tickets in person at the Harbor Park box office or online at NorfolkTides.com/Tickets. The Harbor Park box office is currently open from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Monday through Friday each week. The box office also opens at 10 a.m. on Saturdays when the team is at home, and is open from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. on Saturdays with no home game.
Single-game tickets start at $15 for Reserved Seats, with Box Seats available for $16. The Tides also offer special discounts to children ages two through high school, active military with ID (4 tickets per ID) and senior citizens (60 +). These special discounts are available in the Lower and Upper Reserved sections and can be purchased for $12. Children under two years old are admitted free of charge. For groups of 20 or more, please call the Norfolk Tides front office to speak with a group sales representative at 757-622-2222.
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