Keys sweep Carolina League's weekly awards

Baumann, Yahn shine during Frederick's 4-2 week

(Photos via Patrick Cavey and Alyssa Howell)

May 6, 2019

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (May 6, 2019) - For the first time this season, one team claimed both the Carolina League's Pitcher and Player of the Week awards. Frederick right-hander Michael Baumann is the Pitcher of the Week, and infielder Willy Yahn is the Player of the Week for April 29-May 5,

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (May 6, 2019) - For the first time this season, one team claimed both the Carolina League's Pitcher and Player of the Week awards. Frederick right-hander Michael Baumann is the Pitcher of the Week, and infielder Willy Yahn is the Player of the Week for April 29-May 5, the league office announced on Monday.
Baumann's lone start last week was a gem on Tuesday, as he held Wilmington hitless over 6.2 fantastic innings, during which he fanned a career-high 12. The Keys carried the no-hit bid into the ninth, when the Blue Rocks scored five runs on just one hit to stun Frederick 5-4. The Keys were one out away from their first no-hitter since Mikey O'Brien accomplished the feat on August 20, 2015, against Lynchburg.

After posting a 3.88 earned run average in 17 starts with the Keys last season, Baumann has enjoyed similar success in 2019 with a 3.86 ERA in his first four starts. The former third-round pick is tied for third in the CL with 34 strikeouts, including a pair of double-digit performances. The Minnesota native boasts a 2.82 ERA in his 39 career Minor League appearances.
Yahn overshadowed an impressive group of position players to claim his first professional weekly honor. The UConn product paced the Carolina League in both batting average (.524) and OPS (1.476), while also hitting his first two Minor League home runs. Yahn registered a multi-hit effort in four of the five games he played, including a ridiculous three-game run against Wilmington during the mid-week series (8-for-13, two home runs, eight RBIs).
In his first High-A season, Yahn has thrived to the tune of a .321 batting average in 21 games. A 25th-round pick by Baltimore in 2017, Yahn is a .283 hitter throughout his first 142 Minor League games. Following a league-wide off day on Monday, Baumann, Yahn and the Keys open up a six-game homestand with the first of three against Potomac on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Following a league-wide off day on Monday, Baumann, Yahn and the Keys open up a six-game homestand with the first of three against Potomac on Tuesday at 7 p.m.