FSU baseball: Jackson Baumeister drafted No. 63 overall impact

FSU baseball starting pitcher Jackson Baumeister went No. 63 overall to the Baltimore Orioles in the 2023 MLB Draft Sunday night. Baumeister ranked No. 167 on the Top 250 Draft Prospects list going into the draft.

The pitching unit was the weakest part of the program Link Jarrett inherited when he became head coach in the 2022 summer. Baumeister became the Friday starter once pitching ace Wyatt Crowell was lost for the year with an arm injury requiring Tommy John surgery.

Baumeister went 69 innings, striking out 95 batters while walking 29 with a 5.09 ERA. I’m surprised Baumeister went this high in the draft because of his inconsistency at FSU over the past two years.

However, he did show some progression between his freshman and sophomore seasons. Baumeister has an explosive mid-90s fastball, but struggles with his offspeed pitches. He was lights out when he had those working, but those performances were seldom.

How will his departure impact FSU baseball?

Baumeister is an arm they would have relied on heavily in 2024 as a starter. He was second in innings pitched behind Conner Whittaker. FSU head coach Link Jarrett has added some pitching firepower from the transfer portal, but the process to improve that unit is still underway.

Whittaker, Ben Barrett, and Jamie Arnold all had at least eight starts in 2023. Arnold has been pitching well in his summer league. FSU has some JUCO arms that could help if they don’t sign with a team if drafted.

The closest comparison for Baumeister joining the program would be UCF’s Cam Leiter, and their production was similar this past season. While pitching has been a priority, Link Jarrett knows they have to get better offensively and has added some firepower to help.

All of FSU’s best hitters last season were freshmen and sophomores, so I expect the offense to improve even more next year to help out the pitching.