Orioles outfielder, Spruce Creek grad Austin Hays selected to 1st MLB All-Star Game

Austin Hays, a key member of Spruce Creek's 2012 state championship baseball team, was selected to the MLB All-Star Game for the first time in his professional career Sunday.

Hays, who turns 28 on Wednesday, is enjoying a breakout season as the second-place Baltimore Orioles chase down a playoff spot. The 5-foot-11, 200-pound outfielder is batting .312 with an .843 OPS, eight home runs, 34 RBIs, 42 runs scored and 22 doubles.

The MLB All-Star Game will take place July 11 in Seattle.

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"It's very exciting," Hays told reporters Sunday evening. "It just goes into all the work that I did in the offseason, all the adjustments that I made, just being able to come in and be very consistent for the first half of this year.

"It's a huge honor for myself, and to be a part of this organization — being able to wear the Orioles uniform for All-Star weekend."

Manager Brandon Hyde gathered the Orioles together following Sunday's win over the Minnesota Twins and unveiled the team's representives one-by-one. Hays' name was last on the list, and it caught him off guard, as did the roar from his teammates in the clubhouse.

"It was those three first," Hays said, referring to catcher Adley Rutschman and pitchers Félix Bautista and Yennier Cano, all first-team All-Star selections. "So I didn't know if that's where the list stopped or not. Then I got to hear my name, and it was cool."

He's appeared in 76 of Baltimore's 82 games, drawing 67 starts in left field. Among qualified AL hitters, Hays ranks third in batting average, sixth in runs and eighth in adjusted OPS+, per Baseball Reference.

A former third-round pick of the Orioles out of Jacksonville University, Hays breezed through the lower levels of the minors in 2017. He produced a .329/.365/.593 slash line, smacking 32 homers and driving in 95 runs to earn a September call-up.

Ankle, thumb and hamstring injuries stunted Hays' progress the following 18 months. He resurfaced in the majors late in 2019, earned an Opening Day start for the O's to kick off 2020 and has maintained a near-everyday spot in the lineup the last three years.

"I'm hitting the ball hard, like I was (in 2017)," Hays said. "I don't think I had a clear understanding of why I was getting the results that I was getting then. So when I wasn't getting those results, in '18 and the '19 season was up and down with some injuries, I did a lot of searching for stuff. I was trying to do it all based off feel, and not a clear understanding of video and what my plan was at the plate. I've come a long way with being able to identify things and being able to adapt and make changes quicker."

Hyde added: "You would see flashes of what (Hays) could do … It was more about taking consistently good at-bats at the big-league level. For me, this has been his best year by far from an at-bat to at-bat standpoint of him having a really good plan at the plate, trusting it and carrying it through on a nightly basis. I think a lot of it has to do with him staying healthy and being in the lineup for a long time now."

Hays exited Sunday's game in the third inning after sustaining a bruised left hip after colliding with Twins first baseman Donovan Solano, but is considered day-to-day. He did not start Monday's four-game series opener with the AL East rival New York Yankees.

The Orioles were one of the best teams in baseball during the second half of 2022 and carried that momentum into '23. Baltimore entered the week with a 49-33 record, and the franchise will send its largest All-Star contingent since 2016.

From 2018-21, the Orioles endured three 100-loss seasons — the lone exception being the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign, in which they went 25-35.

"We're 15 games over .500, and to do that in the American League East and our schedule, there's got to be a lot of people doing things well," Hyde said. "All four of these guys are four different stories. That’s the coolest thing … For them to all experience their first All-Star Game and the stories they have, a lot of people have put a lot of work in, and it's a credit to them and a pleasure for me to tell them."

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: MLB All-Star Game: Baltimore Orioles outfielder Austin Hays selected