Some interesting names emerge as O's add to player pool

He was not even a non-roster invite to spring training in February, but the guy they call "Big Mike" could make his major league debut during the shortened season of 2020. Right-hander Michael Baumann, who has some of the best stuff on the Orioles farm, was added to the club's 60-man player pool on Friday.

The O's list of additions also included their 2019 top draft pick, catcher Adley Rutschman, along with pitchers Keegan Akin and Isaac Mattson, catcher Taylor Davis and outfielder Cedric Mullins.

Baumann's addition is intriguing to me. I would guess the organization would have preferred to have him spend some time at Triple-A before making his major league debut, but they don't have that option this summer. Why not take a look at Baumann at some point during the truncated season? At the worst, he'll throw some for the taxi squad, but that arm may prove too good to not take a look at this season.

Baumann was the club's co-Pitcher of the Year on the farm in 2019, sharing the Jim Palmer Award with Single-A Delmarva's Grayson Rodriguez. The 24-year-old right-hander went 7-6 with a 2.98 ERA between Single-A Frederick and Double-A Bowie. Over 124 innings, he allowed just 85 hits and four homers with a .194 average against and a 1.05 WHIP. He recorded a 3.27 walk rate and a strikeout rate of 10.31 per nine innings.

At Frederick, he posted a 3.83 ERA, but he was 6-2 with a 2.31 ERA and 0.94 WHIP at Bowie. He moved up a level, but kept working to get better - and he did just that. It was a dominant performance that included the third nine-inning no-hitter in Bowie history, on July 16 against Harrisburg. He needed just 95 pitches and never more than 16 in any inning.

While the Orioles certainly see Baumann as a potential future starter as he's big and durable, they could use him a number of ways this year, including getting some innings out of the bullpen. The guy has a fastball that touches the high 90s and a power slider that gets 60 grades from some scouts. He's driven and seemed to take to the club's technology and data-driven approach to pitching last summer.

"It's nice to have those things to look at," he told me during a spring training interview in Sarasota. "It's instant feedback and it gives you a purpose to get better that specific day. Gives you something to strive for and gives you a developmental goal and what you need to work on. It was good. It was an uncomfortable situation. But that is what you will have to do at the highest level. Make big pitches when, ideally, you might not have done that in lower levels."

Baumann gets high marks from Orioles director of pitching Chris Holt.

"Mike is a very physical, toolsy pitcher who has an impeccable fastball," said Holt. "The slider is very good and he's still working on developing the curve and changeup to be plus offerings. He is another example of a guy who, especially as he got to Double-A, really began to put his game together. And he was using his mix and using the attack plan information to his advantage. But basically just continuing to pitch off his strengths."

Baseball America rates Baumann as the Orioles' No. 10 prospect, while MLBPipeline.com puts him at No. 8 as the club's third-highest-rated pitcher, behind Rodriguez and DL Hall. Manager Brandon Hyde said yesterday that we could soon see Hall added to the player pool, and I would think Rodriguez should get consideration as well.

It seems unlikely that the Orioles will use Rutschman in a game this year, but he made it to the player pool on Friday. At worst, now he will get some needed reps this season on the taxi squad.

The O's added Akin to the 40-man last November. At the end of the 2018 season he was named the organization's co-Minor League Pitcher of the Year and the Eastern League Pitcher of the Year. He went 6-7 with a 4.73 ERA at Triple-A last summer, when he dealt with using the major league ball and also spent extensive time working on his secondary pitches and altering a pitch mix that had been very fastball-heavy until 2019. His walk total was too high for the Tides and he was second in the International League in walks, but he also led the league in strikeouts. He should certainly make his big league debut this year.

Mattson was among four young right-handers the O's acquired from the Los Angeles Angels in the trade for Dylan Bundy. Mattson, 24, was drafted in round 19 in 2017 out of the University of Pittsburgh. He spent most of 2019 at Double-A, but for three teams went 6-3 with a 2.33 ERA with 110 strikeouts in 73 1/3 innings. He throws a fastball with a high spin rate between 90 and 94 mph. After last season he went to the Arizona Fall League and pitched to a 1.69 ERA in seven games for Mesa. He made the Fall Stars Game. In 82 career games in the minors, he is 14-7 with a 2.89 ERA and 10.9 strikeout rate.

Davis was among the spring non-roster invitees, but was not included among the O's initial group of 44 on the player pool. But he's added now. He was signed as a minor league free agent in January after spending nine seasons in the Cubs organization, so Hyde is familiar with him.

Mullins is a player I don't think O's fans should count out, even after his mostly disappointing 2019, when he started as the O's center fielder but later was demoted to Triple-A and then Double-A. He finished strong for the Baysox, batting .324 in the last 10 regular season games. Then he hit .353 (12-for-34) in eight playoff games with 10 runs, five steals and two homers. He won the Brooks Robinson award as the O's top minor league position player in 2018.