Jordan Westburg

Jordan Cole Westburg (born February 18, 1999) is an American professional baseball infielder for the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball (MLB). While he was primarily a shortstop throughout college and the minor leagues, he has mainly played second and third base since his MLB debut in 2023.

Amateur career

Westburg attended New Braunfels High School in New Braunfels, Texas, where he played baseball, basketball, and football. He was a fellow baseball teammate and 2017 graduate with Bryce Miller. They grew up in the same neighborhood and were childhood friends.

Westburg committed to play college baseball at Mississippi State University after his junior year. As a senior in 2017, he batted .457 with four home runs and 22 RBIs, earning All-State honors. Undrafted in the 2017 Major League Baseball draft, he enrolled at Mississippi State.

In 2018, Westburg's freshman year with the Mississippi State Bulldogs, he appeared in 42 games (making 31 starts) in which he batted .248 with two home runs and thirty RBIs. He missed over two weeks due to a hamstring injury. As a sophomore in 2019, Westburg started 66 games, hitting .300 with six home runs and 61 RBIs. He earned Southeastern Conference Player of the Week in March, batting .476 with two home runs and 11 RBIs over five games. That summer, he played in the Cape Cod Baseball League for the Hyannis Harbor Hawks alongside being named to the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team. In 2020, his junior season, he batted .317 with two home runs and 11 RBIs over 16 games before the college baseball season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Professional career

The Baltimore Orioles selected Westburg with the 30th overall pick in the 2020 Major League Baseball draft. Westburg signed with the Orioles on June 28, 2020, for a $2.3 million bonus. He did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by the pandemic.

Westburg made his professional debut in 2021 with the Delmarva Shorebirds of the Low-A East. On June 1, he was promoted to the Aberdeen IronBirds of the High-A East. In mid-August, he was promoted to the Bowie Baysox of the Double-A Northeast. Over 112 games between the three clubs, Westburg slashed .285/.389/.479 with 15 home runs, 79 RBIs, 17 stolen bases, and 27 doubles. He returned to Bowie to begin the 2022 season. After batting .247 with nine home runs and 32 RBIs over 47 games, he was promoted to the Norfolk Tides of the Triple-A International League in early June. Over 91 games with Norfolk to end the season, he batted .273 with 18 home runs and 74 RBIs. To open the 2023 season, he returned to Norfolk. In 67 games for Norfolk, Westburg hit .295/.372/.567 with 18 home runs and 54 RBI.

Westburg was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time on June 26, 2023. He drew a walk in the rain and scored a run in the second inning, drove in a run with a fielder's choice in the third and got a one-out single in the fifth in his first three plate appearances as the starting second baseman in his MLB debut that night in as the Orioles defeated the Cincinnati Reds at Camden Yards by a score of 10–3. He hit his first major league home run on July 24, 2023, against Philadelphia Phillies starter Cristopher Sanchez at Citizens Bank Park.

Westburg began the 2024 season in the Orioles' opening day lineup as the designated hitter against the Angels, and recorded an RBI single.

On April 1, he hit a two-run walk off home run against the Royals, sealing a 6-4 Orioles win. It was his first walk-off of any kind in MLB, and Westburg additionally stated he had never walked off a game at any level of baseball before. The following month, he would record his second walk-off hit in a May 11 game against the Diamondbacks. In the bottom of the 11th inning, he hit a single on the first pitch of his at bat to score the runner from second base and end an extra-innings game with a 5-4 win. He also recorded a career high four hits in the same game, going 4-5 at the plate. Westburg enjoyed a successful first half of 2024, being named to the All-Star team on July 9. He entered the all-star break hitting .271/.318/.496, with 15 home runs and 50 RBI. He went on the injured list after sustaining a fracture in his right hand when he was hit by a Yerry Rodríguez pitch in the fifth inning of a 10–4 home win over the Toronto Blue Jays on July 31.