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Michael Baumann, P
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Scouting report
Baumann had an ascendant 2019, moving from what I considered to be a two-pitch relief prospect to a nearly ready, four-pitch rotation piece. His 2020 was cut short by injury (other alt site pitchers typically threw 500 to 600 pitches there, while Baumann only threw close to 200). Not long after a horrendous late-August outing during which Baumann struggled to find the strike zone, he was shut down with a flexor strain. Because his arm action is so long, both command consistency and injury risk might be ever present here, at least as far as outsider perception is concerned. There's No. 4/5 starter stuff, though. While compromised, Baumann was still up to 95 at the alt site (he sat 92-95 and was touching 97 in 2019). His heater's angle and carry are its headlining attributes, as he generates plus-plus vertical movement that will miss bats at the letters. The rest of the repertoire is only okay, but it's deep, and part of what I think is a viable north/south style of pitching. Baumann's upper-80s slider is terse and cuttery, the type of pitch that induces weak contact rather than whiffs, while his more shapely curveball at times has some arm-side action that is helpful against lefties. He has enough changeup feel to mix that pitch in once in a while; it's more likely to get groundballs than whiffs. If healthy, he'll likely debut in 2021. (Alternate site)