Andrew Baker Found His Pitch

Andrew Baker will tell you, politely but firmly, that the pitch chasing him around scouting reports right now is not a cutter.

“It’s technically not a cutter,” the Colorado Rockies right-hander said. “It’s like a gyro slider.”

Public pitch-tracking systems still file it that way — Baker’s version averages 87.8 mph and has been his most-used weapon at Triple-A Albuquerque this year, thrown 49.7% of the time — but by his own account, it’s really two different sliders wearing one label.

“I have a sweeper

that’s anywhere from 84 to 86, and the hard gyro is the 88 to 91 one,” he explained. “I just don’t call it a cutter. I like calling it a gyro slider, and that’s technically what it is.”

However, it gets classified; the pitch has become a legitimate weapon to pair with a fastball that sits at 97.3 mph — a combination that shows up clearly in the underlying numbers. Bakers’ swinging-strike rate and overall whiff rate both rank near the top of the Triple-A population this season, and his strikeout rate has climbed into elite territory (29.7% at Triple-A, and better than 35% during his time in Double-A). The pitch itself didn’t exist in his repertoire two years ago.

“Last year, I was in High-A with the Phillies, just trying to figure out everything, and my pitching coach there, Ryan Buchter, brought it to me, and he just said he thought that it was something that would really help me,” Baker said. “I just started throwing it then, and it’s slowly turned into probably my best pitch other than my fastball. It’s gotten better and harder, and it’s really working for me.”

Adjusting to life at altitude

That development has coincided with a career year, one that’s come with its own new challenge: pitching a mile above sea level. Since being promoted to Albuquerque, Baker has had to recalibrate both his body and his stuff.

“It’s definitely different as far as the recovery goes here. It just seems like it’s a little bit more enhanced as far as the soreness, and it takes a little bit longer to get over,” he said, crediting time spent with Craig Kimbrel for instilling recovery habits that have helped him adjust.

The pitch shapes themselves haven’t been immune, either.

“There are times where I’ll throw a slider, and it won’t move like I want it to, and I’m kind of like, well, I did everything correctly there to make it do what I wanted it to do, and it didn’t,” Baker said.

Rather than fight it, he’s adapted his approach pitch to pitch.

“You just have to adjust to that and really set your sights where you need to put the pitch, so that if you do miss, it’s not just a dead-zone home run pitch. I’ve changed sights with certain counts and against certain hitters, according to scouting reports. It’s just a new game out here, being at altitude.”

A championship run in Puerto Rico

Baker credits part of his 2026 breakout to a decision that he made well before the season started: spending four months pitching winter ball in Puerto Rico. He suited up for Cangrejeros de Santurce, helped the club win the Puerto Rican championship in his first year on the island, and then represented Puerto Rico at the Caribbean Series in Guadalajara, Mexico, facing off against the Dominican Republic, Panama, and two Mexican League clubs.

“It was a blast, man — it turned out to be a complete dream the entire time,” he said. “It’s just one of those once-in-a-lifetime deals.”

He views the grind as directly connected to his performance this year.

“I think that’s kind of the reason why I’m having a lot more success this year, because I made the sacrifice to go down there for four straight months and continue to play, and that kind of paid off.”

The trade: A phone call before first pitch

The season also brought a jolt that Baker didn’t see coming.

After six seasons in the Phillies organization — six years in which he’d never pitched above Double-A — he was off to a strong start in his return to Reading in April and May, striking out 13.24 batters per nine while walking just 2.65, when the phone rang before a game in Portland, Maine on Friday, May 22.

“The farm director calls me, and I run outside, and it was pretty blunt, straightforward,” Baker recalled. “He told me they were trading me to the Rockies for international bonus money, told me they appreciated everything and how good of a kid I was, and that was pretty much it.”

Baker described the moment as sentimental, but not bitter.

“I knew that was the best thing that could have happened for me. I’ve been there for six years and never made it past Double-A. At the end of the day, they traded me up for a better opportunity, and they gave me a lot of opportunity as well. No bad blood there.”

From catcher to Rockies prospect

Part of what makes Baker’s rise notable is where he started: behind the plate, not on the mound. He caught for most of his life and, by his assessment, didn’t become a full-time pitcher until he signed with the Phillies as a 2021 draft pick out of Chipola College, following a shortened college run that included a semester at Auburn before COVID-19 hit.

“That transition from catching all my life to becoming a pitcher — it was tough. I won’t lie to you,” he said. “But I think I’m turning the corner now, as far as throwing strikes and everything. You remember your athletic traits and combine them with what you’re learning with the pitching, and it’s working out pretty good right now.”

He points to a stretch after a 2024 demotion from Double-A back to High-A as the real turning point in how he approaches the job mentally.

“I just drew the line — I’m going to get myself right, make sure everything I’m doing outside the field is good, and get a better mentality about this baseball,” he said. “You can’t let results get to you. I just think that comes with experience.”

Trusting the stuff over the iPad

That same even-keeled approach shows up in how Baker treats the data available to him. Despite pitching in an era saturated with scouting information, he’s deliberately kept his distance from it as a reliever.

“I don’t look at the iPad. I care about my velo and making sure my stuff is there, but I just go out there and compete,” he said. “I don’t even look at the scouting reports on hitters. They tell me right-left before I go in there, and that’s it. My stuff’s pretty good, and I do my best when I’m just getting here and preparing to play.”

Life off the mound

Off the field, Baker carries a piece of his childhood with him: he lost hearing completely in his right ear after being struck by a line drive at age 11. It hasn’t affected him on the mound.

“Physically, no. It’s kind of literally like I’m walking around covering my right ear, but it’s fully one,” he said. “I’ve lived with it since I was 11, and nothing’s really changed drastically — other than I just need to make sure that the PitchCom is on the left side of my head.”

Six years after being a modest, 11th-round pick out of a Florida junior college, Baker has turned a converted arm, a devastating slider, and a stint pitching more than a mile above sea level into one of the more interesting relief profiles in the Rockies’ system. If the fastball velocity and the whiff numbers hold as he continues climbing, Coors Field may not be far off.

Weekly Pebble Report: August 18th-24th

Triple-A: Albuquerque Isotopes (1-5, 62-64 Overall)

Albuquerque lost five of six at home to the Las Vegas Aviators (Athletics) and slipped from two games over .500 to two under. The series had a single explanation: with runners in scoring position, the Isotopes went 15-for-73 in the five losses and 7-for-12 in the lone win, a 14-4 rout on Saturday. Sterlin Thompson (PuRP No. 16) homered twice and scored seven runs, Ryan Ritter and Adael Amador each collected six hits, and Jose Cordova homered in back-to-back appearances behind the plate.

⬆️ Stock Up: Betancourt Drives In Everything

Bryant Betancourt (HM PuRP) hit .471 over four games, going 8-for-17 with three doubles and a team-high six RBIs despite sitting for a third of the series. His best afternoon came Saturday, when he went 3-for-4 with two doubles and four RBIs in the only game Albuquerque won all week. It was comfortably his most productive stretch of the year for the Isotopes.

⬇️ Stock Down: TJ gets Shook

TJ Shook came in on Friday with Albuquerque leading 3-2 and left having allowed four runs in the ninth, taking both the blown save and the loss. It was his only appearance of the series, and it’s worth saying plainly that he’s been largely excellent for the Isotopes so far this season.

Upcoming

The Isotopes hit the road to meet the Round Rock Express (Texas Rangers) for six games.

Double-A: Hartford Yard Goats (2-4, 57-62 Overall)

Hartford took two of six from Somerset and slipped to five games under .500 for the season. Four of the six were decided in the eighth inning or later, and Hartford lost three of them. Cole Messina drove in eight runs across four games with a pair of home runs, Stu Flesland III delivered another gem in a game the club lost after he left, and Friday’s doubleheader captured the week in miniature: an eight-run afternoon, then a one-hit shutout at night.

⬆️ Stock Up: Wimmer finds the gaps

Braylen Wimmer went 6-for-15 (.400) over five games, and three of those hits went for extra bases — a home run, two doubles, and a pair of stolen bases as well. He reached base 11 times in all, adding four walks and a hit-by-pitch. His homer and double keyed Monday’s 6-5 win.

⬇️ Stock Down: Juarez Can’t Close the Door

Victor Juarez faced 18 batters over two appearances and allowed 10 hits and 10 runs while recording five outs. The finale was the worst of it — he entered Sunday with a 6-4 lead in the ninth and left having surrendered five runs, taking the loss.

Upcoming

The Yard Goats head to New Hampshire for a six-game series with the Fisher Cats (Toronto Blue Jays)

High-A: Spokane Indians (2-4, 54-65 Overall)

Spokane scored 39 runs in six games at home against Hillsboro (Arizona Diamondbacks) and lost four of them, including a 15-13 defeat Saturday in which the Indians scored eight runs in the first inning. The Hops arrived below .500 and took the series anyway. There were bright spots — the bullpen was much sharper than the previous series, with Seth Clausen, Justin Loer, and Grif Hughes combining for 11 innings of one-run ball, and Clausen recorded two saves after a difficult stretch. The Indians sit five games back of a playoff spot.

⬆️ Stock Up: Calaz Carries the Offense

Robert Calaz (PuRP No. 26) hit .480 with four home runs, collecting 12 hits in 25 at-bats and driving in seven runs across all six games. He opened the series 4-for-5 with a homer, then hit two more in Saturday’s slugfest along with five RBIs and added a fourth in the finale. His 12 hits and eight runs scored both led the club by a wide margin, and for a prospect who had spent much of the season struggling, it was encouraging to see this level of production.

⬇️ Stock Down: Herrera Can’t Miss Bats

Yujanyer Herrera allowed 18 hits over 7.2 innings across two starts, giving up 16 runs. He worked 4.2 innings in Tuesday’s opener and surrendered 12 hits — Spokane won that game 12-10 anyway — then lasted three innings Sunday, allowing seven runs. He didn’t walk many, issuing three all week, but nearly everything he threw got put in play, and most of it found a gap.

Upcoming

Spokane will visit the Vancouver Canadians (Toronto Blue Jays) for a six-game set.

Low-A: Fresno Grizzlies (4-2, 65-55 Overall)

Fresno won four of six at home against Stockton (Athletics), closing with a 10-9 walk-off in 11 innings on Sunday. The bullpen carried much of it: three different arms finished the series without allowing an earned run. Ronny Ugarte hit .444, Cristian Arguelles (PuRP No. 5) added a triple among eight hits, and Jack Natili (PuRP No. 20) drove in five, including a three-run homer. Bryson Van Sickle had a rough week, taking his first loss of the season Tuesday and allowing 10 earned runs across two starts. Fresno is now tied for a playoff spot in the California League with 12 games to play.

⬆️ Stock Up: The Rhino has arrived

Daniel Jackson (PuRP No. 12) hit .571 this week, going 12-for-21 with two home runs, two doubles, eight RBIs, and 11 runs scored across all six games. He reached base 19 times in total, adding seven walks, and struck out only twice in 21 at-bats. He was 3-for-3 with a homer Thursday and 4-for-6 with three RBIs in Sunday’s walk-off win. Whatever the adjustment period was supposed to be, Jackson appears to have skipped it.

⬆️ Stock Up: Cole Locks Down the Late Innings

Ethan Cole threw seven innings across two relief appearances without allowing an earned run, striking out six and giving up three hits. He worked three scoreless innings for his first save Wednesday, then went four innings Sunday to earn the win in the 11-inning finale.

Upcoming

The Grizzlies hit the road for six games against the Inland Empire 66ers (Seattle Mariners)

DSL: DSL Colorado (4-1, Season Complete)

DSL Colorado’s season ended Saturday with an 8-2 loss to the DSL Reds, with the winner advancing to the DSL Cup semi-finals. DSL Colorado finished the season at 38-19.

They went out playing well. The week opened with a 7-6 walk-off win over the Marlins, followed by a 9-1 win in which the staff allowed just three hits. Pool play began with a 19-5 rout of the DSL Tigers 2 — 19 hits, a Jeandry Guaraco grand slam among his five RBIs, and a 10-for-12 mark with runners in scoring position — followed by a 6-2 win over DSL Yankees in which five relievers combined for five hitless innings.

⬆️ Stock Up: Morejon Finishes Strong

Luis Morejon closed his season by reaching base 11 times in four games, hitting .429 (6-for-14) with a home run, a double, two stolen bases, and a club-leading six runs scored. His biggest swing came in Friday’s postseason win over the Yankees — a two-out, two-run homer in the third that gave Colorado the lead and effectively decided it.