Felix Bautista Might Just Be The Baddest Dude On The Planet

Do you guys remember how dominant Edwin Diaz was for the Mets last year? Every time he pitched, it became must-see television. His presence took on a life of its own because you had the iconic entrance music with the trumpets. This was back when the Mets had hope and were fighting for the NL East. Even though the season ended poorly for the team, Diaz's season was far and away one of the most electric campaigns we'd seen by a reliever in recent memory, and he did it in the biggest media market in the world. 

I bring all this up because Felix Bautista, in many ways, has exceeded what Diaz did a year ago. When you look at his numbers, you can't help a chuckle at how overwhelming they are. There is a contingency of people who believe that a reliever should never win the Cy Young. And while I can't put Felix Battista at the forefront of the American League Cy Young conversation, given his numbers, he should garner some consideration.

Bautista does lead the American League in saves with twenty-six. That's nothing to scoff at, but as I've stated before, saves are becoming less and less important to me. You want to convert every opportunity, but any schmuck can close down a three-run game in May against Seattle. At the same time, we've never seen a reliever strike out hitters with the consistency that Bautista has done this year. In 47 innings, he struck out 91 batters. That's good enough for a 17.4 strikeout per nine rate. That's not a typo. He's almost striking out two batters an inning. 

Last night in Baltimore's biggest regular season game in forever, he pitched two scoreless frames, including one in extra innings to help lock down the Orioles 4-3 victory on the road against the Tampa Bay Rays. This is the first time all season in which the Orioles have found themselves in sole possession of first place. Bautista's ERA currently sits at a microscopic 0.96. Since May 24th, he's given up one run in twenty three innings, striking out forty three hitters in the process.

Much like the Orioles themselves, Felix Bautista truly is an excellent story. He was initially signed by the Marlins as an international free agent in 2012, only to be released in January 2015. He did not play professional baseball in 2015. He slowly worked his way through Baltimore's minor league system for the next several years. His development was halted in 2020 when he had to sit out due to the pandemic, but the guy just kept grinding. He made his Major League debut last year for the Orioles and never looked back. Considering it took him so long to get to the bigs, it's ironic that Baustista had almost zero learning curve in the Majors. He was dominant from day one. 

The Orioles have done a masterful job of acquiring good young talent, and Batista is a prime example. Nobody gave two shits about this dude until he started blowing guys away with a 100 mph fastball. Drafting is essential, and hitting with your first-round picks like Adley Rutschman is almost necessary at this point, but great organizations can find guys. And the Orioles have found an absolute weapon with Felix Bautista.