Before Bryan Baker ever told his wife and parents, the news hit him the same way it probably hit a lot of people around the Rays: with a jolt. The right-hander found out he had been named to the American League All-Star team, and his first reaction was pure disbelief.
“Definitely not something that I expected coming into the year or anything like that,” Baker said. “It’s a pleasant surprise, for sure.”
For Baker, this is new territory in every sense. He has been in pro ball since 2016, but this is his first All-Star selection at any level. At 31, he’s also shaping up to be the Rays’ most unlikely representative when he takes the field at Citizens Bank Park with Junior Caminero, Yandy Díaz and Drew Rasmussen.
“It’s just very unlikely and kind of crazy how it happened,” Baker said.
A lot had to go right for him to get here, and the path wasn’t exactly smooth at the start. Baker was drafted by the Rockies out of the University of North Florida in the 11th round of the 2016 Draft and debuted as a starter for Rookie-level Grand Junction. The next spring, though, he didn’t even break camp in the rotation.
“I don’t think I was prepared for my first Spring Training,” Baker said, laughing. “I was spraying the ball all over the place, not throwing very hard. Nothing really good came out of it.”
That rough stretch turned into a turning point. Baker came to see it as a wake-up call, and once he moved into the bullpen, the fit was obvious.
He didn’t have to pace himself. He could empty the tank, let the adrenaline take over and attack hitters in shorter bursts.
“I was like, ‘Man, I feel like I probably should have been a reliever a long time ago,’” he said.
The athletic base was there long before the role change. Baker grew up in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., in a sports-crazy family that watched Rays games on TV - "one channel up from ESPN,” he recalled - and made trips to Tropicana Field for Pitch, Hit & Run competitions. He also trained in the garage with his grandfather, Ed, who played center and linebacker at Auburn in the 1950s.
“A pretty rugged individual,” Baker said, smiling. “I was lucky to be able to learn a lot and play a lot of sports with him.”
Basketball came first for the 6-foot-6 Baker, and that background helped shape the athleticism that eventually made him such a natural once he settled into relief work.
His rise with the Rays also traces back to a trade that came together quickly. Two days before Spring Training last year, Baker adjusted his changeup grip, and that pitch’s growth helped make him a target for the Orioles.
Tampa Bay was looking for bullpen help, and president of baseball operations Erik Neander had a Competitive Balance Round A Draft pick available to move. The Orioles had interest, and the deal got done on July 10, earlier than the Draft usually would have forced.
Neander even showed up to the pre-Draft meeting with the scouting staff wearing a Virginia Tech helmet, jokingly, for protection.
“The changeup and the progression of that pitch's development, we felt like it gave Bake the chance to be a really good reliever for a few years ahead,” Neander said. “In our opinion, he was the best reliever that was available to us with the pick.”
Baker knows how valuable that move turned out to be.
“Looking back on it now, it’s probably one of the best things that’s ever happened to me,” he said.
And then there’s the simplest reason he’s in this spot: the Rays needed someone to finish games, and Baker seized the job. Their plan was to spread the late innings across a four-man high-leverage group, but Edwin Uceta’s right shoulder injury in Spring Training, Garrett Cleavinger’s early issues and Griffin Jax’s struggles before moving successfully to the rotation changed that fast.
Baker ended up holding down the ninth, and the numbers followed. Through his first 38 appearances, he had 25 saves, a 1.73 ERA and a .150 opponents’ average. He’s leaned on his fastball and changeup, and he’s turned those outs into the kind of emphatic finishes that have become part of the package.
“The attributes that drew us to him in the first place, they found their way to the surface and really shined through,” Neander said. “He's comfortable, and we've just been getting the absolute best out of him.”
In Other News...
Rays Still Feel Snubbed As A Surprise No 2 Plan Emerges
The Rays are heading into All-Star Weekend with a division lead and four players on the roster, but there is still a familiar edge to the conversation around them. For a club that has spent much of the season looking like one of the American Leagues best teams, the All-Star count has not fully matched the way Tampa Bay sees its own body of work, especially with several other names around the clubhouse drawing snub talk.
At the same time, the organization may be lining up for a major draft decision that could shape the next wave of talent. Analysts have begun linking Tampa Bay to high school shortstop Grady Emerson with the No. 2 pick, a move that would fit the Rays usual appetite for upside and long-term value, even as the draft board could force them to weigh a different path if the top of the board breaks a certain way. [Read more 🡒]
Rays Veteran Finally Got The Recognition Fans Knew He Deserved
Nick Martinez has given the Rays exactly what they hoped for when they brought him in back in February: steady starts, dependable innings and a presence that has mattered as much in the clubhouse as it has on the mound. The numbers have backed it up, too, with Martinez stacking up strong results while helping Tampa Bay win the majority of the games he has started.
Now he gets to carry that momentum into one more outing before the break, with a Friday start against the Mariners set as his final tune-up before the All-Star Game. Around the Rays, the recognition feels overdue for a pitcher teammates and Kevin Cash have leaned on all season, even if the bigger question still lingers after the roster move that put him there. [Read more 🡒]
Drew Rasmussen Suddenly Needs This All-Star Break More Than Ever
Drew Rasmussens first half had already earned him an All-Star nod, and for much of June he looked every bit like one of the American Leagues most dependable starters. The Rays right-hander was coming off a month that brought him the AL Pitcher of the Month Award, a reminder of how quickly he had settled into a key role for Tampa Bays rotation alongside Junior Caminero, Yandy Diaz and Bryan Baker on the clubs All-Star list.
July has been a different story, though, with Rasmussen taking a couple of uncharacteristic hits in his last two starts and seeing his season numbers drift the wrong way. The break now arrives at a useful time for Tampa Bay, because it gives him a chance to reset physically and mentally before the second half puts him back in the middle of the Rays plans. [Read more 🡒]