Baker becomes second Alaskan to record out as pitcher, reach base as batter in same Triple-A game
Dylan Baker
Dylan Baker of Juneau made the most out of his first Triple-A game.
The 29-year-old pitched two innings of relief and drew a walk in his only plate appearance with the Louisville Bats in a 13-10 loss to Indianapolis.
Baker became the ninth Alaskan to reach the Triple-A level and the second to record an out at pitcher and reach base as a batter in the same game. The first was Soldotna’s Joey Newby in 2011.
Baker entered the game in the second inning and faced the minimum six batters through two frames, striking out three.
The rocket right-hander now ranks No. 3 among pro pitchers from Alaska with 350 strikeouts, passing former Single-A pitcher Matt Way of Sitka (349) on the state’s all-time list. Way pitched professionally from 2009 to 2014.
In the top of the fourth inning, he drew a two-out, five-pitch walk in just his third plate appearance as a pro player dating back to 2012. This was the first time he had reached base.
In the bottom of the fourth, Baker was chased after allowing the first five batters to reach base without registering an out. He suffered the loss, dropping his career record to 21-26.
Baker, of Juneau-Douglas High fame, was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the fifth round of the 2012 MLB Draft out of Western Nevada College.
He has played in the farm system for Cleveland, the Los Angeles Dodgers and now Cincinnati Reds over the years.
Baker returned to the Double-A level this season for the first time since 2018 after getting called up from an independent team in the American Association. He has started eight games among his 16 appearances with the Chattanooga Lookouts.
His eight starts at the Double-A level are the second most for an Alaskan, ranking behind only Soldotna’s Marshall Boze, who racked up 13 starts in Double-A and 58 starts in Triple-A during his pro career from 1990 to 2000.
Of the nine Alaskans to play at the Triple-A level, only three of them – Boze, Juneau’s Chad Bentz and Soldotna’s Chris Mabeus went on to play in the majors.