Michael Baumann Finishes Strong At Double-A

Righthander Michael Baumann arrived late to Double-A Bowie’s party this summer, but he joined in the playoff push.

The 24-year-old Baumann continues to climb the prospect rankings in the Orioles system since they drafted him in the third round in 2017 out of Jacksonville. He joined 2018 first-rounder Grayson Rodriguez as the organization’s co-minor league pitcher of the year after posting a combined 2.98 ERA with 142 strikeouts in 24 games (22 starts) between high Class A Frederick and Bowie.

Baumnn’s personal summer highlight was a July 16 no-hitter, but he impressed across the board, with only one run allowed and 32 strikeouts in his first 27 innings after the promotion.

“I think the biggest thing was just with my consistency,” he said. “Cleaning some stuff up with my delivery and also polishing up some secondary pitches and command.”

Pitching in the Eastern League enabled Baumann to gain experience in a pennant race. The Baysox eventually lost in the EL finals.

“It was a blast going into that situation,” he said. “The rotation and the bullpen were all pitching well, and I’m a firm believer that winning’s contagious, and they set the bar high. I think we were all just going out there and trying to ride the momentum.”

The Orioles chose Baumann as their minor league pitcher of the month for July and he was twice named the Eastern League pitcher of the week. Baumann was named the Carolina League pitcher of the week for the period of April 29-May 5 and was selected as a midseason all-star in that league..

First-year Bowie manager Buck Britton referred to Baumann as “a big piece” of the second-half surge.

“For him to keep up where he left off in Frederick is pretty impressive for a guy making the jump,” Britton said. “From A ball to Double-A is a pretty big jump, especially from the pitching side. He did a nice job and he helped solidify that rotation once we lost (Bruce) Zimmermann.”

BIRD SEED

— Britton was elevated from coach to manager with Escogido of the winter Dominican League. Britton led the Baysox to the Eastern League finals and was chosen as the EL’s manager of the year. Two other Orioles also were named managers of the year: low Class A Delmarva’s Kyle Moore and the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League’s Alan Mills.

— Righthander Dean Kremer tossed 2.1 scoreless innings for Surprise in the Arizona Fall League’s championship game. Kremer, who finished the 2019 season with Triple-A Norfolk, posted a 2.37 ERA and 0.89 WHIP with 23 strikeouts in 19 innings in the AFL.