Shorebird of the Week – August 25, 2011

David Baker looked relieved to be through an inning, but in truth he has pitched well for Delmarva.

David Baker took the hill last night against Lakewood and pitched effectively despite the team losing 5-1.

As part of a duo (along with last week’s SotW Matt Bywater) which has stabilized the starting rotation to some extent, David Baker has taken advantage of an opening in Delmarva’s staff to prove he can be effective at this level.

The native of Hemet, California began with a bang, pitching seven shutout innings against Asheville back on July 14 and hasn’t really looked back – six of his eight starts since joining the Shorebirds would meet the definition of ‘quality’ starts (three or fewer runs allowed in six or more innings.) Overall with Delmarva his 3-4 record belies a solid 2.92 ERA, 43-17 strikeout to walk ratio, and .199 average against. His 1.03 WHIP is outstanding.

So how did this guy fly under the radar? While he was drafted in the 14th round in 2009 and pitched effectively (1-0, 2.30 in 15 2/3 innings) in limited GCL duty later that season, his 2010 numbers for Bluefield were terrible – 0-2 with a 7.90 ERA in 4 starts covering just 13 2/3 innings. Maybe the problem was giving up 11 walks in that limited span.

But whatever the 20-year-old Baker did wrong last season, he’s seemed to fix the problem this season. After being one of the few bright spots of Aberdeen’s horrible start this year (1-2, 2.45 in five starts where he fanned 23 and walked just 8 in 25 2/3 innings) the organization challenged him a bit at Delmarva and David has more than measured up.

Interestingly enough, David is more of a fly-ball pitcher than most so his game is more about getting people to hit the ball in the deepest parts of the park – he has allowed 7 home runs in 75 innings overall this season. Yet giving up a solo home run may not be the worst thing in the world compared to what happens when a sinker ball pitcher’s stuff doesn’t sink. Watching him last night, the runs he allowed came on a pair of line-drive singles and a home run – but if not for a pickoff play gone awry he may have escaped the inning with no runs. Otherwise, the BlueClaws didn’t threaten David all night.

Obviously the next challenge for David will be advancing to pitch a full season next year, whether here or in Frederick. But Baker has shown he can handle this level quite well and may be putting himself on the Orioles’ radar screen for future scrutiny.

Author: Michael

It's me from my laptop computer.