Keegan Akin 2022

[Tony-OH]

1 hour ago, MarCakes21 said:

@Tony-OH how much of this changes start to start?  Like ball, or air temperature, or humidity or just plain stuff?  Or is it pretty consistent across the season to go back and reference averages from last season compared to a single game this year?  I noticed you did the same with Lyles.

I honestly don't know 100%, but I was more looking for changes in the new year from last year. I do know certain days a certain pitch may not be working so you can't draw complete conclusions, but if you see a major change in direction or depth of the pitch in their first few appearances of a new year, you can certainly surmise that they have changed something.

[higgybaby]

He looked good again tonight. 

[Frobby]

1 hour ago, higgybaby said:

He looked good again tonight. 

Very encouraging.   

[Il BuonO]

Wonder if he gets any consideration for a start. Looks much more comfortable out there.

[linedrive]

I do like him as a starter, but I remember reading that he likes the relief role, so if he's successful there and comfortable, keep going with that.

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

52 minutes ago, Il BuonO said:

Wonder if he gets any consideration for a start. Looks much more comfortable out there.

That's what I'm wondering too. I'd settle for Akin being a good reliever, but at some point it's worth stretching him out as a starter. It's not like a bad start by Akin will cost the O's a playoff spot. 

[Snutchy]

He's going out there with confidence. It's almost like there is a burden off of his shoulders. In my opinion, he should stay in long relief.

[Sports Guy]

Clearly him being out of shape is effecting him!

[jamalshw]

I know he said he enjoys the relief role and he's doing well so far. If he still wants to start, I would be okay with stretching him out and giving him a chance next spring, but I'd love to see a full season of him in the pen. Between Zimmermann, T.Wells, Baumann, Lowther, Rodriguez, Hall, and Bradish, we should have enough options for starters to get looks this year. Lets see what Akin can do in relief. We can give him the bulk role if we need a bullpen game and let him go 3-4 innings after a 1-2 inning opener if we need, but I want to see if he can develop himself as a good multi-inning reliever, a role that will become more important with the shorter starts. We certainly need to find viable starters as we build back to relevance, but we need to find viable relievers as well. 

[OriolesMagic83]

I like keeping Akin as a long reliever.  His upside as a starter was probably a #5 starter/spot starter.  A good reliever who can pitch 2-4 innings regularly is very valuable on a team where the starters outside of Means and Lyles will struggle to pitch more than 4 innings.  He seems to enjoy the role and its likely less stressful for him than being starter.

[waroriole]

Agree with the consensus here that if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. Akin is excelling so far. If that’s because he’s more comfortable, then don’t mess with it. 

[SteveA]

3 minutes ago, waroriole said:

Agree with the consensus here that if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. Akin is excelling so far. If that’s because he’s more comfortable, then don’t mess with it. 

Arthur Rhodes made a similar transition early in his career and he had a nice, long career in MLB.

Oliver Perez probably has grandkids now, and he's still in the majors.

A lefty who can pitch 2 or 3 innings out of the bullpen can have a very, very long career in the majors.

[interloper]

Yeah this is not a Tyler Wells situation. Keep Akin right where he is. 

[Sports Guy]

25 minutes ago, interloper said:

Yeah this is not a Tyler Wells situation. Keep Akin right where he is. 

I don’t think there is such thing as a Tyler Wells situation.  We have zero idea what we have in him.

As for Akin, I’m fine with leaving him where he is or starting him.  Honestly, I would defer to him in some ways.  I would ask him what he wants and if he wants starts, I would tell him that you can have some but the leash is short.

[Aristotelian]

Kind of like Mullins last year, I will admit to being in the "never again" crowd with Akin, but he is proving me wrong so far. I missed his second appearance but the first one he looked like a different pitcher from anything I'd seen previously, completely different level of command and confidence. Along with Baumann, an Akin turnaround would be one of the more exciting stories after all the frustration with pitching last year.