O's Sept. fueled by -- and fueling -- their youth

This story was excerpted from Zachary Silver’s Orioles Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Even if the Orioles don't accomplish what they set out to, clinching the unlikely postseason berth they’ve made into a fighting reality, they've already won so much.

Yes, Baltimore appears a year ahead of schedule in its hunt for consistent competitiveness. But the fact that this chase is bolstered by a roster made up mostly of players who figure into the future, then short-term experience is long-term gains.

“This is going to be really beneficial for them going forward into next year, of just playing in these types of games,” manager Brandon Hyde said this week. “Being able to be in a tight ballgame in a pennant race against the Red Sox, that's only going to be helpful going forward just to be able to experience what that feels like.”

Players like Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, Kyle Stowers, Terrin Vavra, Kyle Bradish and others are getting the chance to experience what a postseason chase feels like. They had to wait only until their rookie campaigns. The Orioles hope such experience is what fuels them in Septembers and Octobers to come.

And in fact, such players are leading the charge, whether it be Rutschman’s game-winning pinch-hit walk Sept. 2 against Oakland, Stowers’ game-tying home run in the ninth inning off Liam Hendriks on Aug. 25 or, most recently, Henderson’s game-winning bases-loaded knock on Friday against Boston.

According to FanGraphs, the Orioles are receiving the sixth most Wins Above Replacement from rookie position players (3.5) in the Majors and the fifth most from their pitchers (2.9).

“We got guys like Gunnar, Terrin, Stowers and Rutsch -- giving us that extra little bit of juice with their youth,” said reliever Dillon Tate. “Having them is like a big spark for us, especially for the guys I think that are a little bit older, got a little bit more miles on us. It's fun playing with them.”

“All these guys that are coming up, it seems they're not scared of the spotlight,” added starter Austin Voth, “and they're just helping us win every day.”

Remarkable is not just how much the O’s rookies are performing, but how quickly they’ve found success. The club believes it’s a testament to the player-development system they’ve installed over the past three years, and that the best, truly, is yet to come. They’ll ride the wave for now.

“You never know how it translates into the big leagues. Honestly, sometimes the moment can get a little too big for young players, they try to do a little too much,” Hyde said. “… For them going through this this year, it's going to be huge for them going forward. It's going to be fun to watch them grow up.”