Orioles Unearthed Incredible Pitching Prospect in Last Year’s Draft

The buzz in the Baltimore Orioles system is centered around players Samuel Basallo and Enrique Bradfield Jr. But there are under-the-radar prospects making waves.

Last year, the Orioles selected a young pitcher in the 14th round out of a small college in Kentucky that, through two months, has blazed through the Orioles’ system as if hitters are no match for him.

For a franchise that is struggling to keep its Major League starting rotation healthy, Cohen Achen won’t be able to help Baltimore for a while. He’s not even considered a Top 30 prospect in the system yet.

But that could change soon.

Who is Orioles Prospect Cohen Achen?

The 23-year-old right-hander was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada in 2001. After his prep career was over, he ended up at Lindsey Wilson College, a NAIA baseball program in Columbia, Ky.

While there, he carved out a name for himself in the Mid-South Conference. In four seasons he went 23-12 with a 3.66 ERA in 50 games (43 starts). He struck out 341 and walked 78 in 268.1 innings. He was good enough to earn a spot in the Northwood League, a collegiate summer league, where he went 3-1 with a 3.60 ERA in eight starts.

Baltimore didn’t drop Achen in their system right away after selecting him in the draft The Orioles gave him some time to work on mechanics and rest after a long college career.

He started his professional career this April and he’s already played for three Baltimore affiliates.

He started the season with the Class A Delmarva Shorebirds, but on April 23 he was promoted to the High-A Aberdeen Ironbirds. A few weeks later, he was promoted to the Double-A Chesapeake Baysox.

He’s started nine games this season and has a 3-3 record with a 3.08 ERA. He has struck out 35 and walked 16 in 38 innings. Batters are hitting just .209 against him and he has a 1.16 WHIP.

Per MLB Pipeline, Achen “… throws a lot of 84-85 mph sliders and a fastball that touches 95 mph.”

That could be why the early returns on Achen at Chesapeake have been so promising. He has pitched in two games (one start) with a 1.08 ERA, with six strikeouts and four walks in 8.1 innings. He’s allowing batters to his just .154 against him.

With a high reliance on his slider, he’s crafty enough to keep hitters off-balance, a good trait to have when progressing through a system that is pitching-needy right now.