Get to know Orioles rookie Joey Rickard

Coming into the season we knew the Baltimore Orioles lineup was going to be loaded with talent and even more so with immense power potential. Little did we know though that rookie and Rule 5 draft pick Joey Rickard would be among its most productive all-around hitters and a key cog in keeping that powerful offense moving.

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Rickard earned his spot on the team with a strong spring. He received some extra playing time early in the regular season when Adam Jones was dealing with a rib cage injury. Now manager Buck Showalter is plugging Rickard in as his primary leadoff man.

(Yahoo Sports) That goes to show how strong an impression Rickard has made, and he’ll look to continue building on that in Sunday’s matchup against the Kansas City Royals, which can be viewed as the MLB Free Game of the Day on Yahoo Sports. You can stream the game at Yahoo’s Sports Home, MLB index and video home beginning at 2:15 p.m. ET.

In the case of Rickard, the Rule 5 Draft served its purpose. It was designed to prevent teams from stockpiling and stifling talent in the minor leagues. It forces teams to make difficult roster decisions each winter, and in Rickard’s case he ended up being the odd man out of the Tampa Bay Rays outfield logjam. Tampa Bay didn’t add him to the 40-man roster in the allotted time, so now he’s getting that opportunity elsewhere. More importantly, he’s taking advantage of that opportunity.

Coming into Sunday’s game, Rickard is hitting .319/.329/.435. Perhaps that’s not the most ideal on-base percentage for a lead-off man, but he’s proving to be a weapon nonetheless because he brings something different than pure power, which is what Baltimore has in abundance.

Just between the trio of Chris Davis, Manny Machado and Adam Jones, they returned a staggering 109 home runs from their 2015 squad. Then you factor in potentially healthy seasons from Matt Wieters and J.J. Hardy, to go along with a full season at second base for Jonathan Schoop. Then you consider the new dimension that was added with the offseason additions of Mark Trumbo, who’s on fire right now, and Pedro Alvarez. Those are two guys who epitomize the term slugger.

Yeah, that adds up to a ridiculous amount of power potential on one roster.

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(AP) It’s all coming together nicely with the power and surprising pitching too. Not only are the Orioles second in team home runs with 27 but also they’re not striking out as much as you’d expect from a power team either. So far, they’ve only fanned 135 times, which is tied for the 10th-fewest in MLB.