Bautista keeps coming up big for Orioles

BOSTON – Félix Bautista is an exceptionally large man with a blazing fastball and a high walk rate in the minors.

That was pretty much the scouting report when Bautista reported to spring training as a new addition to the Orioles’ 40-man roster. A bubble guy who made it based on his plus velocity and strikeout rate.

An arm that the Orioles didn’t want to risk losing in a Rule 5 draft that, coincidentally, didn’t materialize due to the lockout.

Bautista is proving that he deserved the spot anyway.

He broke camp with the team while again on the bubble - which must be pretty thick to hold the guy - and hasn’t allowed a run in his last five appearances, to lower his ERA to 2.25.

“I’m feeling good right now,” Bautista, 26, said via interpreter Brandon Quinones. “My stuff feels good, the way I’m conducting myself feels great. Obviously, there are going to be days every now and then where things might not go the way you want them to, or I might not feel the best, but thankfully, the results have been there and I’ve been feeling really good with my approach so far.”

Manager Brandon Hyde couldn’t stash Bautista in the bullpen, and not just because of the right-hander’s size. He needed his relievers to get important outs and to cover innings after a shortened spring training and with starters on limited pitch counts. Bautista might have come across as being a bit raw, with his 5.1 walks per nine innings in 117 minor league games and a triple-digit fastball that often missed its target, but high-leverage situations were waiting for him.

There must be a trust factor. Bautista earned his place in the circle.

“Yes, definitely, I really appreciate that he’s doing that, that he’s showing trust in me, showing confidence in me to put me in those big situations,” said Bautista, signed to a minor league deal in 2016 a year after the Marlins released him.

“I’ve enjoyed pitching in those, and I’ve done really well so far.”

Bautista has allowed five runs in 20 innings with eight walks and 23 strikeouts in his 20 appearances. He has two saves.

Two of the three home runs he’s surrendered came in a May 16 game in New York.

“I love when he’s on the mound,” Hyde said. “I had no idea what to expect with him going into this year. I saw him in spring. He throws 100, showed a good split, a slider. But third deck, big leagues, you have no idea what to expect. The guy had a high walk rate in the minor leagues, you would expect that to go up in the big leagues. Well, his has gone down.

“He’s worked his way into, for me, a guy I’m really comfortable throwing against right-handed and left-handed hitters. He’s really good against left-handers because of the split, and the high fastball. And he’s enjoying every moment. I’m so happy for this kid. He’s not a kid anymore. But I just love what he brings. He’s got the ability to strike anybody out at any time, and he's pitching great right now.”

Bautista’s ERA yesterday was tied for second in the American League behind the Rangers’ Brock Burke among rookies with a minimum of 20 innings.

To harp on Bautista’s size isn’t to suggest that he’s out of shape or overweight. I wouldn’t say his turn-ons include “all-you-can-eat buffets” and his turn-offs “closing times at all-you-can-eat buffets.” He’s just tall, broad-shouldered and very imposing.

Listing him at 6-feet-5 and 190 pounds, as Baseball-Reference.com does, seems like a failed attempt at humor – though I did chuckle the first time I read it, so maybe not.

“He’s a big human being,” catcher Robinson Chirinos said with a smile.

“The first time I caught him in a game, I was surprised he’s been released, he’s been in the minor leagues for a long time. I was like, ‘How would a guy with that arm and the stuff he has never play in the big leagues?’ But thank God we have him now here. I’m happy for him.”

Outfielder Ryan McKenna met Bautista last year in Triple-A after the Orioles optioned him. He immediately had questions.

“I had never really talked to him before, I hadn’t seen him,” McKenna said. “I asked some of my teammates in Norfolk about him. I asked, ‘Hey, who’s that?’ And they were like, ‘He throws super hard, big guy, super good guy.’ It was awesome to see in spring training, he did really well, and obviously, getting his opportunity here, it’s a lifetime dream come true. I just thought he was an impressive human being, and then also, he throws really well.

“It was interesting seeing him on the mound and then Aaron Judge at the plate. It’s like two of these unique humans going at it. I haven’t faced him in the batter’s box, but it’s really impressive, his presence on the mound.”