7/9/2023 baseball Edit

FSU right-hander Jackson Baumeister drafted by Baltimore Orioles

Jackson Baumeister had 95 strikeouts in 69 innings.

Bob Ferrante • TheOsceola

Editor

The Baltimore Orioles selected Florida State right-hander Jackson Baumeister at No. 63 overall ($1.24 million slot value) on Sunday night in the Competitive Balance B round that followed the second round of the MLB draft.

It's the second straight season an FSU pitcher was taken in the second round after Parker Messick was picked by the Cleveland Guardians in 2022. CJ Van Eyk also was selected in the second round to Toronto in 2020.

Baumeister went 5-5 with a 5.09 ERA, 95 strikeouts and 29 walks in 69 innings in 2023. He had 14 strikeouts in an April win over Clemson, and Baumeister closed the regular season by retiring 17 of 18 batters at one point in a no decision at Louisville.

Orioles Director of Draft Operations Brad Ciolek on Baumeister:

"We’ve been monitoring Jackson for a while now, ever since high school. We’ve always liked the arm that he’s had. He runs it up to 98, sits at 93, 94. I think the thing that really made us intrigued with Jackson is how the fastball plays. We think that we can maximize his arsenal by having him pitch further up in the zone with his fastball.

"He also has a complete repertoire as far as a starting pitcher is concerned, a sweepy slider that is conducive to getting chases for right-handed hitters. Curveball is a little bit of a softer breaker but we think we can add some velocity to improve that. And we’re going to also look to up his repetition of his change-up. Just really intrigued overall as far as the arm strength and the secondary weapons are concerned."

Coming up

Rounds 3-10 will be held on Monday at noon (streamed on MLB.com) and rounds 11-20 on Tuesday at noon (streamed on MLB.com).