Rank History
| Year | Team | Position | Team Rank | OFP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | BAL | RHP | 7 | 50 |
Grades Update: Dec 2020
| OFP | Role | FB | CB | SL | CH | Cnt/Cmd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | 50 | 60 | 45 | 55 | 45 | 55/50 |
Dec 2020 Report
Evaluator: Jason Kamlowsky
Age: 25 yr
Height: 6-4
Weight: 225 lbs
Hits/Throws: R/R
Acquired: 2017 Draft - Round 3
RuleV: On 40-Man Roster
Physical Description: Impressive physical stature. Long and thick lower half that has already filled out giving him plenty of strength in his legs. Good looking upper body with plenty of muscle down through his forearms. Could take on some extra weight although it is not a necessity to be effective. Sturdy righty whose body is built to eat innings at the big-league level. Wouldn't look out of place on a Major League mound.
Delivery & Mechanics: No nonsense approach and repeatable delivery. Gets right to work attacking hitters. Slight side step off the first base side of the rubber with the hands starting at the chest and working down to the waste then back to the chest. Minimal effort through the balance point. Balance point out of the windup is place of strength and allows him to get tremendous drive off his back leg. Long, overhand delivery with enough deception to keep hitters honest. Gets consistent full extension through the pitch and follow-through. Can fall off to the first base side. Athletic enough to recover on bunts and slow rollers.
Fastball: Has a four-seam fastball that explodes out of his hand. Touches 99 but sits consistently around 93-96. Good glove side run. Uses it to get ahead early in the count and gets bonus points for movement. Command is plus and throws it to all four quadrants. Does need to harness it early in games. Elevates in the zone which may present an issue. Has no fear of coming inside on hitters. Overall potential plus pitch. Grade: 60
Curveball: 77-80 MPH show me pitch. Much different look than the slider with more traditional loop. More confident throwing to lefties. Development of this pitch could be the difference between him being a high-floor SP3 or a back-end starter. Grade: 45
Slider: 88-89 MPH with hard, tight spin. Breaks like a cutter and he uses it effectively against righties and lefties. Can generate swings and misses and is already a put-away offering. Command can be spotty at times although it gets better later in games. Seems to get a better feel in the middle innings. Projects as an above-average offering. Grade: 55
Changeup: 84-88 MPH work in progress. Velo isn't a concern relative to his fastball. Shows some late movement but not enough to warrant more than an average offering at present. When he gets on top of it, he is much more effective. Will need to improve consistency. Grade: 45
Control and Command: Fills up the zone and gets right to work. Made vast improvements in pitchability and sequencing in 2019. Flashed above average on secondary pitches. Needs more consistency, although the slider is coming along nicely. Fastball command is already above average. Sometimes tends to push his changeup and will need to work better down in the zone. Mound presence is among the best in the Orioles system. Control: 55 | Command: 50
Overall: I will try and temper my enthusiasm here but Baumann could be the SP3 Robin to DL Hall and Grayson Rodriguez's Batman for years to come. He broke out in 2019 pitching effectively across two levels. Threw a no-hitter for Bowie and had a stretch of 27 innings in AA where he gave up just one run. There is some concern he may be better in a relief role so he can let his stuff fly like a bull coming out of the chute. Fastball velocity holds late into games and gives me a lot of optimism that he can hit his ceiling as a starter, however. One of the fastest risers in a very good system for pitching. Should make his Baltimore debut sometime in 2021. Mid-rotation upside, with back of the rotation SP a more realistic ceiling.
OFP: 50
Role: 50 - #4 / #5 SP
Risk: Moderate
