Keegan Akin #45

Married, wife's name is Jackie. The couple has a son, Karson, born in April 2023...Has a dog named Josie...Grew up a Detroit Tigers fan and attended Game 3 of the 2014 ALDS at Comerica Park when the Orioles completed the sweep of the Tigers...Participated in the 2024 Birdland Caravan...Enjoys hunting in the offseason...Attended Western Michigan University and Bullock Creek (Mich.) HS...Is the highest draft pick in WMU history since 1970. As a junior at Western Michigan University in 2016, he set the school record for strikeouts in a season with 133...Named a Third Team All-American by Baseball America after being voted First Team All-Mid-American Conference (MAC)...Named to the All-MAC Defensive Team, MAC Tournament Most Valuable Player, All-MAC Tournament Team and won the MAC West Player of the Week honor twice during the 2016 season.

2023

Went 2-2 with a 6.85 ERA (18 ER/23.2 IP) in 24 games (one start) for Baltimore...Appeared on his second career Opening Day roster (2022)...Placed on the paternity list on 4/14 for the birth of his son, Karson; reinstated on 4/17...Optioned to Triple-A Norfolk on 5/9 and recalled on 5/27; pitched in four games with the Tides during his option, making one start and compiling a 1.29 ERA (1 ER/7.0 IP) with one hit, no walks and 13 strikeouts...Served as the opener on 5/31 vs. CLE, his first start since 9/5/22 (G2) vs. TOR...Worked his longest outing of the season on 6/11 vs. KC, tossing 2.2 scoreless innings with a season-high six strikeouts; marked his second outing of 2.0+ innings in 2023 (5/8 vs. TB, 2.0 IP); 26 of his 44 relief appearances last year were 2.0+ innings, second-most in MLB...Placed on the 15-day injured list on 6/30 with lower back discomfort...Made a rehab appearance with the FCL Orioles on 7/31 and with the Tides on 8/3...Transferred to the 60-day IL on 8/23, ending his season.

2022

Made his first career Opening Day roster and spent the majority of the season on the active roster; optioned to Triple-A Norfolk on 9/26 and recalled on 9/28...Set career bests in games (45), wins (3), ERA (3.20), saves (2), WHIP (1.09), and opponent average (.227)...Recorded his first career save on 6/27 at SEA after tossing 3.1 scoreless innings on one hit and two walks with three strikeouts...His 79.1 innings pitched in relief were third-most among Major League relievers...Threw at least two innings in his first 19 outings to start the year, the longest such streak by a reliever to begin a season in MLB history, surpassing MIL's Chuck Crim (14 G, 4/8-5/30/87); no prior Oriole reliever had done so in more than 10 straight outings...Threw 2+ innings in 26 of 44 relief appearances, second-most in MLB...Threw 864 of 1,235 (70.0%) pitches for strikes, the second-best strike percentage in MLB behind TOR's Kevin Gausman (70.2%) and best among relievers (min. 1,000 pitches); became the first O’s pitcher in club history (since 1954) to throw more than 800 pitches in a season with a strike percentage of at least 70.0...Made a spot start in game two of the doubleheader on 9/5 vs. TOR (L, 2.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, BB, 4 K); both runs scored on a Bo Bichette home run after he left the game; marked his first start since his final appearance of 2021 on 9/22 at PHI.

2021

Threw the 100th inning of his career and struck out Kevin Smith on a foul tip for his 100th-career strikeout on 8/31 at Toronto...Threw his first-career quality start on 8/26 vs. Los Angeles-AL, tossing a career-high 7.0 innings of one-run ball with three hits (one home run), two walks, one hit batter, and six strikeouts; according to Baseball Reference, he recorded a game score of 71, tied for the fifth-highest by an Orioles pitcher in 2021...Won consecutive games for the first time in his career (8/26-31)..One of two Orioles starters to complete 7.0 innings in 2021 (John Means, 6x)...Went 2-10 with a 6.90 ERA (59 ER/77.0 IP), 38 walks and 65 strikeouts in 17 games as a starter...Pitched to a 5.50 ERA (11 ER/18.0 IP) in seven games as a reliever, owning a 1.28 WHIP and a .296 (21-for-71) opponents average...Is one of seven pitchers in Orioles history (since 1954) to not earn a win in his first 11 starts of a season (5/30-8/20); his 8.87 ERA over that span is the highest among the seven...Recalled from Triple-A Norfolk on 5/10 and spent the remainder of the year with the O’s...Placed on the 10-day Injured List with a left adductor strain on 9/24 before being transferred to the 60-day Injured List on 9/28, ending his season.

2020

Made his Major League debut on 8/14 vs. WSH, entering the game in the fifth inning (3.0 IP, 3 ER, 2 H, HR, BB, K)...Struck out Luis García in the fifth inning (second batter faced) for his first career strikeout...Made his first career start on 8/31 at TOR (ND, 4.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 6 K)...Earned his first career win on 9/16 vs. ATL (5.0 IP, 3 H, BB, 9 K)...His nine strikeouts were a career-high and the most by an Orioles rookie since RHP Dylan Bundy fanned nine on 8/7/16 vs. CWS...Struck out six batters in a row in his 9/16 start; per the Elias Sports Bureau, the last Orioles pitcher with six-straight strikeouts in a game was RHP John Wasdin on 9/30/01 at NYY (LHP John Means passed this mark with seven-straight strikeouts on 9/20)...The Orioles went 4-2 in his six starts...Made six starts, going 1-2 with a 4.03 ERA (10 ER/22.1 IP) and two relief appearances, going 0-0 with a 8.10 ERA (3 ER/3.1 IP)...Allowed three home runs in his 25.2 innings pitched; faced 104 consecutive batters without allowing a home run from 8/14-9/27...Averaged 12.27 strikeouts per nine innings; ranked fourth among American League rookies (min. 25.0 IP)...Made two starts (three appearances) at Oriole Park, pitching to a 1-0 record with a 2.03 ERA (3 ER/13.1 IP), six walks and 18 strikeouts; owned a 1.05 WHIP and held opponents to a .167 (8-for-48) at home...Attended his first big league Spring Training camp, going 1-0 with a 7.45 ERA (8 ER/9.2 IP) and nine strikeouts in four games.

2019

Named an International League Mid-Season All-Star; became the first Norfolk pitcher to start the Triple-A All-Star game since 2005 (RHP Jason Scobie)...Led the International League in strikeouts (131); became the first Tide to do so since RHP Manny Hernandez led the league with 157 strikeouts in 1990...His 131 strikeouts were the most by a Tides player as an Orioles affiliate...Ranked tied for first in the International League with a .252 OPP BA (109-for-432)...Led Triple-A Norfolk in starts (24), innings pitched (112.1), and wins (6)...Struck out a season-high 10 batters on 4/12 vs. Toledo...Held right-handed batters to a .226 (75-for-332) batting average...Entered the season ranked as the No. 6 Orioles prospect, according to Baseball America...Had his contract selected from Triple-A Norfolk on 11/20, and was added to the 40-man roster.