Former Tide Akin gets call from O’s
Norfolk 2019 rotation stalwart awaiting debut
Keegan Akin had dinner on his mind Saturday when the Baltimore Orioles quickly changed his plans.
They’ll provide the food for the foreseeable future.
The Orioles recalled Akin, a hard-throwing lefthander who spent the entire 2019 season in the Norfolk Tides’ rotation, from their alternate training site in Bowie, Maryland. The former Western Michigan star’s first appearance will be his much anticipated major league debut.
With minor leaguers gathered in limited numbers as they navigate the oddest season in memory, Akin didn’t get the news of his promotion in a latenight conversation with his manager.
It was much less glamorous, but no less exciting.
“We didn’t have any food at the house today, so my fiancée and I were about to go grocery shopping,” Akin, 25, said on a Zoom call with reporters. “I saw the name pop up on my phone, so I was like, ‘I guess we’re not going grocery shopping.’ I didn’t really have much to say. It kind of caught me off-guard.”
Akin’s ascent comes as a surprise to few. Considered one of the top prospects in Baltimore’s organization, he’s long been in the conversation as possible big-league help.
He went 6-7 with a 4.73 earned-run average for the Tides last season. He had 131 strikeouts against 61 walks in 1121⁄ innings, spending all
3 season with Norfolk.
Orioles catcher Bryan Holaday, a 32-year-old veteran of parts of nine MLB seasons, caught Akin during spring training and again for about a week in Bowie.
“I thought he maintained what he was doing there, just really trying to stay aggressive and pound the strike zone,” Holaday said. “I’m looking forward to seeing what he does.”
After players were sent home from spring training in March due to the growing threat of coronavirus, Akin trained in a backyard barn his family built for use during the chilly months in his native Michigan.
Since arriving in Bowie, he’s worked to get on a starter’s schedule while continuing to seek consistency with his secondary pitches.
Despite just one relief appearance in four professional seasons, Akin won’t be a starter in the major leagues, at least initially. Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde said he planned to use him in a long relief role s i n c e h e ’s fully stretched out.
“We’re excited for him to potentially make his debut and happy to see him here today,” Hyde said. “He’s been doing a nice job down there getting his work in and is going to give us some length with a guy that’s built up innings-wise.”
Akin, who is known throughout the organization for both his supreme confidence and his broad physique, said there was no particular offseason improvement in his repertoire, which includes a fastball that touches 95 mph.
It’s just been a matter of honing that self-assuredness.
“I wouldn’t say my stuff got better — slider, breaking ball or change-up,” he said. “I feel way more comfortable with them on the mound and more confident with it.”
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