SURPRISE, Ariz. — Texas Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said earlier this week that Rule 5 draftee Carter Baumler will see more opportunities earlier in games to better assess how the right-hander fares against a higher level of competition.
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How’s this for a taste? Baumler faced (and struck out) arguably baseball’s best second baseman when Ketel Marte and the Arizona Diamondbacks came to town Tuesday. On Saturday, vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers at Surprise Stadium, he faced a group of big leaguers from the back-to-back champion’s roster that included their high-profile free agent signee.
Baumler, who has never pitched above the Double-A level, pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings vs. the Dodgers and has yet to allow a run in three Cactus League games. He gave up two hits, one of which was a soft single from $240 million man Kyle Tucker, and struck out a batter in relief of right-handed starter Jack Leiter as he continue to vie for a big league bullpen job.
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“They’re trying to put me into more game-like situations that’re going to come in the season,” Baumler said. “It’s a good thing, and I’m just trying to take advantage of that.”
He landed six curveballs for called strikes, including one vs. Tucker, and struck catcher Dalton Rushing out on three pitches. His curveball has generated nine total whiffs or called strikes in two games against big league hitters and has only been hit into play twice on 26 throws. His mid-to-high 90’s fastball generated a swing-and-miss vs. the Dodgers and his 89 mph slider has been thrown for called strikes. Those, alongside what Schumaker described as a “real” curveball, create a kind of arsenal that the Rangers don’t have in their bullpen.
“It’s definitely a plus pitch for me,” Baumler said of his curveball. “I mean the goal is obviously to throw everything for a strike. Today I fell behind a little bit. Usually the curveball I can kind of trust to be there.”
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