Baltimore Orioles' Ryan Mountcastle Makes Solid First Step in Injury Recovery

The Baltimore Orioles play the Chicago Cubs on Friday afternoon at Wrigley Field but before they take the field, they did get some positive news on first baseman Ryan Mountcastle.

He was placed on the injured list this week with an illness and the following update comes from the Rotowire fantasy baseball portal:

Mountcastle (illness) took some throws at first base pregame Friday, Andy Kostka of TheBaltimoreBanner.com reports.

ANALYSIS
Mountcastle was placed on the injured list earlier this week due to vertigo. Orioles manager Brandon Hyde noted Friday that while the first baseman is feeling better, he's not fully back just yet. He is eligble to return from the IL on June 20, although it's uncertain at this point whether he'll be ready at that time.

The 26-year-old slugger is a big part of the O's offense. Though he's hitting just .227, he has prodigious power. He's got 11 home runs and 39 RBI this season. 

He's in his fourth year with the Orioles after having debuted in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. He's already got 71 career home runs, including 22 or more in each of the last two seasons. He's a lifetime .255 hitter.

His development coincides with the development of the organization as a whole. 

The O's won just 52 games back in 2021 but won 83 in 2022 and this year they have the second-best record in baseball at 43-25.

The O's open up the series against the Cubs at 2:20 p.m. ET on Friday. Kyle Hendriks pitches for Chicago and Cole Irvin goes for Baltimore.