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Baltimore Orioles: Bowie RHP Dean Kremer Quietly Putting Up Solid Numbers

By Chuck Boemmel

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - MARCH 07: Pitcher Dean Kremer of Israel throws in the bottom of the ninth inning during the World Baseball Classic Pool A Game Two between Israel and Chinese Taipei at Gocheok Sky Dome on March 7, 2017 in Seoul, South Korea. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - MARCH 07: Pitcher Dean Kremer of Israel throws in the bottom of the ninth inning during the World Baseball Classic Pool A Game Two between Israel and Chinese Taipei at Gocheok Sky Dome on March 7, 2017 in Seoul, South Korea. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images) /
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The Bowie Baysox rotation has produced outstanding numbers this season.  One Baltimore Orioles prospect, in particular, is quietly producing solid numbers of late.

Included in the Baltimore Orioles July 2018 trade of Manny Machado to the Los Angeles Dodgers, Bowie Baysox (AA) pitcher Dean Kremer is assembling quite a season.  While not necessarily getting as much attention as Baysox pitchers Zac Lowther and Alex Wells, Kremer’s recent performance, especially, is just as attention-worthy.

Kremer, the Baltimore Orioles eighth-ranked prospect according to MLB Pipeline,  is demonstrating that he has recovered from an oblique injury which hindered him during spring training and delayed the start of his 2019 campaign.  In fact, his recent performance illustrates why he was included in the aforementioned Machado trade.

To date, Kremer has a 7-4 record with a 3.04 ERA over 12 starts (68.0 innings) for the Baysox, with 20 walks, 66 strikeouts and a 1.22 WHIP.  It is, however, his last seven starts over the past month (6/22-7/24) that demonstrate the potential that the Baltimore organization sees in the 23-year-old right-hander.

In those seven starts, Kremer has pitched a total of 39.1 innings with his shortest outing lasting 4.0 innings and his longest going 7.0 innings (twice).  Three of the starts were quality starts, and in fact, Kremer allowed no runs in those starts.

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Currently enjoying a two-game winning streak, Kremer has produced a 6-0 record over the seven-game span and is pitching to a 1.60 ERA.  He held Eastern League batters to a .222/ .274/ .333 slash line while walking 11 and striking out 36.  When opponents have managed to put a ball in play they have a .271 batting average; Kremer has limited the damage when balls are actually hit off of him.

The one game that resulted in a no-decision was a four-inning start at Akron against the RubberDucks (Cleveland affiliate) in which he surrendered two runs on five hits.  Kremer struggled in that game as it took 85 pitches for him to get through the four innings.

That one start aside, Kremer’s recent success is due to what he does best and that is throwing strikes.  Kremer, the 2018 minor league baseball strikeout leader, has thrown 65% of his total pitches over these seven games for strikes and he has struck out almost one-fourth of the batters he has faced.

Kremer will enter his next start, which is expected to be Monday against Reading (Philadelphia affiliate), with a 13.1 inning scoreless streak.  He will use his four-pitch mix (fastball, curve, slider and change-up) to hopefully extend the exceptional run he has been on of late.

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At the rate he is going, it will not be long before Kremer joins the conversation surrounding Lowther and Wells as Bowie pitching leaders.

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