Pitching out of the bullpen rather than the rotation is “like playing a different sport,” Orioles reliever Bryan Baker said. But Mike Baumann has handled that transition with aplomb.
The 27-year-old right-hander entered spring training as one of a dozen pitchers vying to be Baltimore’s five starting pitchers, but late in camp, the Orioles elected to permanently convert Baumann to a short-relief role. He’s since excelled, allowing one run over 10 1/3 innings, including a scoreless ninth Wednesday as Baltimore shut out the Washington Nationals for a second straight game.
“My thought was that if this is how I can help the team, then this is what I want to do,” Baumann said. “If this is what you guys think I’ll be better at, then absolutely, I’d love to be able to help contribute.”
Although most of Baumann’s major league appearances entering this season came as a reliever, the possibility of a return to starting remained, and it was reflected in his usage. Nine of his 13 relief outings for the Orioles the previous two years lasted at least 30 pitches, a threshold he’s crossed only once in eight games this season.
The change has required some adaptation. Drafted in the third round in 2017, Baumann has been regarded among Baltimore’s top pitching prospects in recent years, sharing the organization’s minor league pitcher of the year honors with Grayson Rodriguez in 2019. He was largely a starter in his minor league career, with 11 of 14 relief outings during his climb up Baltimore’s system coming last year with Triple-A Norfolk as he shuffled between roles.
But Baumann has had resources to adjust, saying he’s studied how Baker, left-handers Keegan Akin and Cionel Pérez, closer Félix Bautista and other members of Baltimore’s bullpen have prepared for their outings. Baker became a full-time reliever after his first professional season, saying it took his 22-year-old self about a month to get comfortable. Describing Baumann as “a good watcher,” Baker said Baumann’s attentiveness and maturity have allowed him to make that transition quicker.
“When somebody gets going in the bullpen, he’s usually watching really closely and probably taking some mental notes,” Baker said. “His attention to detail is pretty impressive. He’s picking everybody’s brains down there, picking up on little things that we do that he could possibly incorporate into his own routine.”
Added Akin, who made a similar transition to the bullpen last year: “If he has questions, he knows that the door’s always open for guys down there. But from what we’ve seen from him so far, it’s been pretty electric, honestly, so I think he’s doing just fine.”
Orioles outfielder Austin Hays played with Baumann at Jacksonville University, where the 6-foot-4 right-hander — fittingly nicknamed “Big Mike” — served as a starter. Hays said he’s seen sharper command from Baumann this year than he did in his previous major league stints; Baumann is throwing strikes more often than either of his previous major league seasons, with a first-pitch strike rate 14% higher than those two years.
“He’s been a starter, and he has the stuff of somebody that could be a late-inning guy, too,” Hays said. “His stuff will play in any role, to be honest with you.
“We always said it when we were at [Jacksonville]: He just looks the part of the big leaguer. He carried himself like a big leaguer, so now to see him in the big leagues doing that, it’s something that we talked about from the first couple times we saw him pitch. He’s right where he’s supposed to be.”
Among the most significant changes for Baumann in his new role is one of the most valuable skills for any reliever: daily availability. As a starter, he pitched once every five games, using the days between to recover and get ready for his next start. Now, “every day, it’s just like, ‘Hey, I gotta pitch,’” Baumann said. Relieving and its shorter stints allow for a “‘let it eat’ mentality,” as Baker put it, compared to what Akin described as the “cat-and-mouse game” of starting and having to face the same hitters multiple times in one outing.
“Sometimes as a starter, you feel like you gotta almost pace yourself,” Akin said. “Not having that mindset and going out there and trying to throw it 100 every single pitch, to me, it’s more fun, honestly, and I think you’re seeing it with him.”
Despite the new role, Baumann said he hasn’t changed much about how he’s pitched. He hasn’t experienced the velocity uptick commonly associated with a move to the bullpen; his average four-seam fastball velocity of 95.6 mph is actually a hair down from 2022, though he’s deployed that pitch more often compared to his starts at the end of last season. His slider has remained among the hardest thrown in the sport, according to Baseball Savant, but his curveball has emerged as a weapon, responsible for seven of his 10 strikeouts, including both of Wednesday’s.
“It’s an incredible pitch, especially if you see it in the offseason,” said starting pitcher Tyler Wells, who trained with Baumann in Jacksonville, Florida, the past two winters. “When we’re facing other major league-caliber hitters in the offseason, he’s making them look pretty ridiculous on them.
“Mike has incredible stuff, some of the best I’ve ever seen. A lot of the fruits of his labor are really showing now out of the ‘pen.”
Tigers at Orioles
Friday, 7:05 p.m.
TV: MASN2
Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM
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