The first of what should be a wave of Orioles prospects to debut in 2020 has arrived. The club on Saturday recalled left-hander Keegan Akin, summoning their No. 13 prospect per MLB Pipeline from their alternate training site in Bowie, Md.

Akin, Baltimore's second-round Draft pick in 2016, is considered its most MLB-ready pitching prospect after spending the entirety of '19 at Triple-A Norfolk, going 6-7 with a 4.73 ERA for the Tides. Akin went 14-7 with a 3.27 ERA the year prior at Double-A Bowie, earning the organization’s pitcher of the year honors.

“I would say I was blindsided,” Akin said upon hearing the news. “We didn’t have any food in the house today. I saw the [call] pop up on my phone, and I said, ‘Well, I guess we’re not going grocery shopping.’”

The Orioles will use Akin as a long reliever initially, though he is a candidate to make starts later in the season. Akin was built up to around four innings and 75 pitches at Bowie and has been exclusively a starter in his pro career. Akin's first appearance -- whenever if comes -- will serve as the first of several O's prospects expected to debut in 2020.

To make room for Akin on its 28-man roster, Baltimore optioned outfielder Cedric Mullins to its alternate training site. Mullins made the team out of Summer Camp, but he played sparingly in a reserve role, going 1-for-13 (.077) when called upon. The move gives the Orioles 15 pitchers and a four-man bench.

Mullins now heads to Bowie, where Akin had been training with 13 other of the club’s Top 30 Prospects. Several more are expected to debut in the Majors this season, namely No. 4 slugger Ryan Mountcastle and No. 10 righty Dean Kremer, probably in that order. In the meantime, they remain engaged with live intrasquad competition and individually tailored development plans at the alternate training site.

As has been the case since the current front office took over about two years ago, the development plan for Akin focused on honing his secondary pitches and sharpening his command. Improved use of the slider and changeup specifically helped him lead the International League with 133 strikeouts last summer, though Akin also walked 61 in 112 1/3 innings.

That performance earned Akin an invite to Major League Spring Training this past February, where he made four starts before being optioned back to Norfolk. He would’ve began the season there had the coronavirus pandemic not struck; instead, he returned home to western Michigan during the shutdown and threw in a backyard barn he and his father built for training in the winter months.

“We were one of the states that got hit the worst with the COVID, and things were shut down to the point where you were lucky enough to go to the gas station or grocery store. That was really about all you had,” Akin said. “I had to fall back into the barn thing, as much as I didn’t really want to. I wanted to work with some of the pro guys over in the Grand Rapids area, but at that point I had to take what I could get, knowing coming in it was an important year and those days were crucial at home.”

Pitching plans
The Orioles have chosen to put Akin in the bullpen and start Asher Wojciechowski on short rest for Sunday's series finale with the Nationals. Why? Manager Brandon Hyde said it was to keep all of Baltimore's starters on schedule given the extra day of rest they’ll all get with Monday’s off-day. Plus, Wojciechowski threw only 67 pitches in his last start Wednesday against the Marlins. He won’t be pushed for much more Sunday, which could create opportunity for Akin's debut.

From the trainer’s room
Hyde provided a vague but positive update on Hunter Harvey, who remains sidelined at the club's alternate training site with right elbow soreness. Hyde said the club hopes to have Harvey back by the end of the month, though they’ve been short on specifics since the right-hander began the season on the injured list.

“I would say he’s still more like three weeks away,” Hyde said. “He’s still in his throwing progression. He’s feeling great, and it’s going very well.”

Last weekend, executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias said Harvey was in a throwing progression and three weeks away from returning. Harvey, who has a long history of arm troubles, has not been made available to speak to the media since mid-July, which is also the last time he threw off a mound.