The hitters who occupied the top three spots in the Orioles’ lineup more than anyone else are all Silver Slugger Award finalists.

On Thursday, catcher Adley Rutschman, infielder Gunnar Henderson and outfielder Anthony Santander were named American League finalists for an honor that recognizes the top offensive performer at each position. Henderson, who split his time at shortstop and third base, is a finalist for the utility award.

The Silver Slugger winners will be announced next Thursday during a 6 p.m. telecast on MLB Network.

In his first full major league season, Rutschman, 25, hit .277 with 20 home runs, an .809 OPS and 92 walks against 101 strikeouts. Rutschman led the other finalists, Kansas City’s Salvador Perez and Seattle’s Cal Raleigh, in hits, doubles, walks, average, on-base percentage and OPS.

The 2019 first overall draft pick is also a finalist for the AL’s Gold Glove Award for catchers. The only Orioles catcher to win a Silver Slugger was Mickey Tettleton in 1989.

Henderson got off to a slow start to his rookie year before taking off. The 22-year-old ended the year with 28 home runs, tied with Cal Ripken Jr. for the second most by an Orioles rookie, to go with a .255 average and an .814 OPS.

His fellow candidates are Los Angeles’ Brandon Drury, Tampa Bay’s Isaac Paredes and Toronto’s Whit Merrifield. Henderson ranked second among them in home runs and OPS, trailing Paredes in both metrics. The utility honor was introduced last year; an Orioles infielder was last a Silver Slugger recipient in 2013 when first baseman Chris Davis and shortstop J.J. Hardy both won.

Santander, 29, is a finalist in the outfield for the second straight season, joining Tampa Bay’s Randy Arozarena, Texas’ Adolis García, New York’s Aaron Judge, Chicago’s Luis Robert Jr., Seattle’s Julio Rodríguez and Houston’s Kyle Tucker. Three will be named winners, with no separation by specific outfield position.

Santander’s 95 RBIs led the Orioles, while his 28 home runs tied Henderson for the team lead, but he ranks outside the top three among the outfield finalists in those measures. Cedric Mullins was a Silver Slugger winner in 2021 after his 30 home runs and 30 steals season, while Mark Trumbo (2016) and Adam Jones (2013) have also won the honor as Orioles outfielders.

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Unseeded Stillwater lost its first two sets against third-seeded Rogers but stormed back to win their Class 4A state volleyball quarterfinal in five sets Wednesday at the Xcel Energy Center.

The 21-25, 18-25, 25-20, 27-25, 17-15 victory advanced the Ponies to an 11 a.m. Thursday semifinal matchup against No. 2-seeded New Prague, which defeated Minnetonka in four sets.

Things did not look good for the Ponies right away. With their backs against the wall, the Ponies tightened up their defense and went on to pull off the improbable reverse sweep.

Stillwater coach Sara Baumgard said that even though things might’ve looked bleak, the comeback and upset were not a surprise to her and shouldn’t be to anyone.

“What a comeback, but it’s not a shock at all,” she said. “It may be a shock to the fans, but this is the M.O. of this team. That’s how we got to the section finals, was a reverse sweep. The grit, the perseverance, the mental toughness of this team is hands down the best I’ve coached.”

Stillwater senior Mackenzie Peters said that even after losing the first two sets, the players weren’t rattled.

“We all knew we had this game,” she said. “It didn’t matter the score. We knew we had it, because all of us want it so bad. Everyone on the team, on the bench, on the court. Few subs in, few subs out, they’re always engaged in the game. That’s what makes our team what it is, and that’s how we can always come back from these.”

Stillwater had obstacles to hurdle throughout the season, with Baumgard saying the season has felt like multiple seasons in one. But the players said they have the confidence and the skill to go far in the tournament and are peaking at the perfect time.

“We definitely are underdogs in this situation,” Peters said. “I think, with our record, that’s not what all the other teams have. But our mentality, our skill level, and how far we’ve come this season is what’s brought us here.”

“Surprised, yes, but I also think we all trust each other so much that even at our worst, we knew what our best could be,” senior Alexa Lehman said. “And so us being here — we earned it. We deserve to be up with the top dogs.”

Eagan dug itself holes numerous times against Anoka throughout their Class 4A state volleyball quarterfinal Friday at Xcel Energy Center. And on numerous occasions, the Wildcats successfully battled back.

But their final dilemma proved to be too much to overcome, as fourth-seeded Eagan was bounced in five sets by fifth-seeded Anoka, 29-27, 28-26, 26-28, 26-28, 15-4 in a thrilling quarterfinal.

“Yeah, fighting from behind is exhausting. The whole time you’re trying to push, you’re trying to fight,” Eagan coach McKenna Melville said. “That team was a really good defensive team. We knew that coming in, and we just had to keep on fighting. … We made it harder for ourselves.”

And they almost came through. The Wildcats trailed 18-9 in the second set before rallying to push it to extra points. But they weren’t able to finish off the set, creating a 2-0 hole for the match.

Eagan continued to start slow in sets but rallied to win each of the final two to force a fifth set.

“We’re fighters, through and through. We’re not going to let a game go without doing our absolute best, and today that was our absolute best,” senior setter Ava Bertsch said. “I think regardless of what team we play, we’re like, ‘No, we’re going to fight,’ because that’s who we’re meant to be. We fight for each other. … We just won’t quit.”

Eagan’s rally shifted the pressure to Anoka (26-3), which was playing in its first state tournament since 2012. Anoka coach Chris Fenwick said his team “thrives off pressure.”

True to form, sophomore Hayden Reeder’s mindset heading into the fifth was simply “we’re going to crush this.” They did, controlling the entire set en route to an impressive closeout.

“They played with a lot of heart and will,” Fenwick said, “and they showed that they’re definitely the high-caliber team we thought we were at the start of the year, and we just proved it just now.”

Logan Brent led Anoka with 28 kills, with Reeder tacking on 24. The Tornadoes will take on Goliath — err, three-time defending state champion Wayzata — in the semis at 9 a.m. Thursday. The Trojans (32-0) downed Edina in three sets Wednesday.

A battle with the state’s powerhouse with a state championship game spot on the line. Not bad for a program that hadn’t been to state in more than a decade.

“You look at Anoka volleyball and you don’t really expect them to put it to people,” Reeder said. “We definitely do, and we have confidence. Underdog for me, personally, is the best.”

Eagan was a bit of a surprise entrant after downing No. 2-ranked East Ridge in the section finals. Still, state was where first-year Wildcats coach McKenna Melville envisioned her program.

“I knew what it was to be at state. I knew the feeling, I knew the adrenaline. … I knew what it took,” said Melville, who starred for Eagan as a player. “Ultimately, that is the goal, but I don’t think the goal in my brain ever stopped at, ‘Oh, let’s get to the state tournament.’ The goal in everyone’s head should never be, ‘Oh, I just want to get to the state tournament.’

“So that’s things we can learn from, and I think now we’re the new kids on the block again and we’re back and we’re ready to go.”

In response to Hayes Gardner’s excellent article, “‘Essentially gifting the land’: Economists pan land deal with Orioles; state says it will ‘reinvigorate’ Camden Yards” (Oct. 27), there are still many unanswered questions about the development agreement included in the memorandum of understanding between Gov. Wes Moore and Orioles Chairman and CEO John Angelos. These include:

Is the state receiving adequate value for this agreement? Under the MOU, the state will lease the property to Angelos for 99 years and receive $94 million in rent over that time. Based on a present value analysis of the rents to be received over the term of the lease, $94 million is worth somewhere between $13 million and $20 million in today’s dollars. So how much are the state-owned properties included in the development agreement worth?

Without a procurement process whereby the Maryland Stadium Authority would solicit proposals from qualified developers and without an actual bid competition to see what the highest value is, there is no exact answer. However, in anticipation that the MSA and Orioles may want to look at developing these properties, the MSA engaged Cushman & Wakefield for planning purposes to estimate the value. I encourage MSA to release this report to the public.

The second question arises because under the proposed terms, the Orioles will have up to 10 years to begin construction. Who manages the property in the interim, and who collects rents from existing tenants and who bears responsibility for maintaining the property during this period? Currently, the MSA receives more than $3 million annually in rents but, under the development agreement, it will receive $1.5 million in rents from the Orioles for the first five years and $500,000 in rents for the next five years. Isn’t the state losing money?

The third question derives from the fact that, in 2021, the MSA invested significant dollars to upgrade aging infrastructure in the warehouse and to freshen all the common areas. There is approximately $30 million of debt still outstanding for that work, and the MSA pays more than $3 million per year in debt service. Will the Orioles assume responsibility for this debt service, or will the MSA still have this responsibility? Where will the funds to service the debt come from?

The fourth question is: Why would the Orioles be selected as the developer of this property when they have no prior development experience? The MSA is the only developer who has ever worked on the Camden Yards complex and successfully developed Orioles Park, M&T Bank Stadium and the warehouse. The concept of “live, work, play” was originally advanced by the MSA all the way back to 2017. Why would the MSA not be the developer or a partner in the development for the property it owns?

The fifth question is why would the state agree to allow the Orioles to have a 30-year lease for the stadium but a 99-year lease for the developable properties? Under this scenario, the team could change owners while Angelos keeps the development rights. Because there is no cross-default provision between the stadium use agreement and the development agreement, the state will tie up the developable properties for 99 years, receive only a base rent and receive none of the upside while it retains all of the downside risk. To develop the properties, the Orioles will need to secure financing, and its lender will want the state to subordinate its rights to collect even the paltry rent unless the debt payments are made. If the development fails, the Orioles walk away with no risk and the state will inherit a failed development with debt still outstanding.

My last question is: Why isn’t the state seeking competing bids from actual developers, as is typically required under Maryland law? The last time the state tried to pick a favored developer without real competition it didn’t turn out well. The State Center project was halted by a lawsuit that accused the state of violating its own laws in selecting a developer without competition. Ironically, the plaintiff in the suit was Peter Angelos. There are numerous developers both locally and nationally with real experience in developing sports-related properties.

In the statement from Kerry Watson, the Orioles’ executive vice president of public affairs, he talks about benefits to Maryland from the collection of sales tax, jobs that number in the thousands and community opportunities. David Turner, Gov. Moore’s communications director, cited the economic impact of entertainment districts around Major League Baseball stadiums in Atlanta, St. Louis, Colorado and Texas. He mentions tax revenues, too. Wouldn’t it be fair for policymakers and citizens to see these projections so we can weigh the likelihood these benefits are achievable?

In summary, I ask that the Cushman & Wakefield report and projections for tax revenues and other benefits to be derived by the state be shared with policymakers and the public. I also ask that Governor Moore explain why competing bids were not solicited and how the citizens of Maryland can be assured that they are receiving fair value for assets owned by the state that would be under private control for 99 years. More sunlight is a good thing.

— Thomas Kelso, Phoenix

The writer served as chairman of the Maryland Stadium Authority from 2015 to 2023.

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