Orioles promote Keegan Akin to majors (updated)

The first prospect from the Orioles' alternate camp site has found his way to the majors.

The club announced today that it has recalled left-hander Keegan Akin from the Bowie complex and optioned outfielder Cedric Mullins as the corresponding roster move.

A starter is needed Sunday in D.C. if left-hander John Means stays on the bereavement list. Manager Brandon Hyde indicated yesterday that he could resort to a bullpen game, but Akin is in position to make his debut.

Akin, 25, threw four innings and around 70 pitches in his last intrasquad start at Bowie and is available to pitch over the weekend.

The second round pick in 2016 out of Western Michigan University made 25 appearances last summer with Triple-A Norfolk and registered a 4.73 ERA and 1.513 WHIP in 112 1/3 innings. He averaged fewer than one home run per nine innings, but the 4.9 walks were cited as a reason why he wasn't included on the expanded September roster.

Akin, who will wear No. 45 with the Orioles, also averaged 10.5 strikeouts per nine innings in his first season above the Double-A level.

Baseball America rates Akin as the No. 9 prospect in the organization.

Mullins was 1-for-13 with an outfield assist that produced the first leadoff double play in major league history because it came in the 11th inning under the new rules with a runner placed on second base.

The 60-man player pool has one opening after the Orioles added infielder Gunnar Henderson and left-hander Brian Gonzalez yesterday morning.

Director of pitching Chris Holt dropped a hint yesterday but Akin wasn't ready to bite.

"I would say I was blindsided," Akin said on his Zoom conference call. "I had a little heads-up yesterday from Chris Holt, but I didn't want to look too far into it. You see guys kind of get a heads-up, I guess, and nothing ever comes from it. So I just kind of took that with a grain of salt and went from there."

The call came today as Akin and his fiancée were headed to the grocery store.

"We didn't have any food in the house today," he said. "I saw the name pop up on my phone and I said, 'Well, I guess we're not going grocery shopping.' I answered it and I really didn't have much to say. It caught me off guard.

"It was definitely an exciting moment. Called Mom, called Dad, let them know. They were all pumped up. So it was good, it was fun."

Akin would have started the year with Norfolk prior to the cancellation of the minor league season. The alternative was workouts at Bowie, which eventually led to the same outcome.

"Obviously, it's a little different from years past with everything going on, but the focus was come into the alternative site at Bowie and get on my five-day rotation as a starter and slowly build up," he said. "I faced some of the hitters down there and basically get going and get after it and get things working."

Akin experienced his first major league spring training before the shutdown, going in with "open ears and ready to listen and learn."

"I was fortunate enough to start three or four games in spring training and it was good," he said. "Had a lot of fun. Just have to learn to execute pitches. If you make mistakes they will hit it out of the ballpark. I learned that the hard way, but it happens."

The Orioles gave Akin a specific plan at Norfolk with his secondary stuff and pitch mix, which he carried into the shutdown and alternate camp site.

"I would say that was kind of my main focus coming into spring this year," he said, "and obviously with the shutdown being home, I knew I had to just work hard on those and kind of keep those as priority, knowing that if this day came, I guess, the pieces would all be there and everything would work out and I would have those pitches and everything would work out for them."

Akin worked out again in a barn next to his father's Michigan house that they had built as protection from the harsh winters and to eliminate the 45-minute or more drive to the closest facility. It also came in handy after his March return from spring training.

"We were one of the states that got hit the worst with the COVID and things were shut down to the point where you were lucky enough to go to the gas station or grocery store. That was really about all you had," he said.

"I had some connections where I could work out in the Grand Rapids area, but that was shut down, too, so I had to fall back into the barn thing. As much as I didn't really want to. I wanted to work with some of the pro guys over in that area, but at that point I had to take what I could get, knowing coming in it was an important year and those days were crucial at home."

Akin hasn't been told whether he's starting Sunday. He's available tonight and his fiancée and their families will be watching. The MLB app is downloaded and ready.

Now that one highly rated prospect is primed for his major league debut, it's reasonable to expect more of them to follow.

Akin said he faced Ryan Mountcastle recently at Bowie and surrendered a home run.

"I would say things are going well for Ryan," Akin said.