Polo And Baumann Take Control of The Mound

There were plenty of performances to talk about this week, but two pitchers in particular stood out and continued to show just how much talent the Braves have throughout their minor league system.

Davis Polo and Garrett Baumann both put together impressive outings this week, and while the two performances were very different, both showed why these are two names Braves fans should keep an eye on as they continue developing. It wasn’t just the pitching that stood out either. Both pitchers got some big help from their defenses when they needed it most, showing how important those plays can be when a pitcher is trying to work out of trouble.

Davis Polo Reaches 100 Strikeouts

On Thursday, Polo took the mound against the Charleston RiverDogs, the Single-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. The RiverDogs came into the game with a talented lineup that included three of Tampa Bay’s top 30 prospects, so Polo wasn’t exactly getting an easy matchup.

He started the game by giving up a single, but the baserunner didn’t stay there for long. Polo picked him off shortly after, immediately erasing the mistake and giving himself a clean slate. He then got the next two outs on ground balls to finish the inning. That early defensive play was a good example of what Polo was able to do throughout the outing. He attacked the hitters, trusted his stuff and, when the ball was put in play, the defense was there to back him up. His changeup and slider gave the RiverDogs plenty of problems, creating some swing-and-miss while also forcing hitters into weak contact. The third inning was probably Polo’s biggest test of the night. He gave up a leadoff home run and, after recording another out, walked a batter before giving up a single. Suddenly, he had runners on first and third with only one out. Instead of allowing the inning to get away from him, Polo buckled down. He struck out the next batter and then got a flyout to center field to end the threat. That was an important moment in the game because Polo didn’t need to be perfect. He just needed to make the right pitches, and his defense took care of the rest when the ball was put in play.

Then came the milestone. In the fifth inning, Polo recorded his 100th strikeout of the season for the GreenJackets. It was an impressive accomplishment and made him the first GreenJackets pitcher to reach 100 strikeouts in a season since 2022. Polo finished his outing with 6.2 innings on just 83 pitches and only two walks. His fastball command allowed him to get ahead of hitters, while the slider and changeup stayed low in the zone and helped produce a lot of weak ground-ball contact.

After spending all of the 2025 season on the injured list, Polo’s return this year has been something worth watching. He is showing that he can compete with some of the other talented arms in the Braves organization, and reaching 100 strikeouts is another big step in that process.

While Polo was reaching a milestone in Single-A, Garrett Baumann was putting together one of the more impressive pitching performances of the week at the next level.

Davis Polo final line

• 6.2 innings pitched

• 4 hits

• 1 earned run

• 2 walks

• 7 strikeouts

Baumann Goes the Distance

Coming off an impressive outing last week, Baumann turned things up another notch Friday night, pitching a complete game against the Birmingham Barons at Regions Field. Baumann retired the side in order to start the game and immediately looked comfortable on the mound. The second inning gave him his first bit of adversity. He allowed a leadoff single, but quickly answered with a strikeout. Then came one of the best defensive plays of the night. Ambioris Tavarez made a great heads-up play at second base, catching a line drive and immediately getting the ball back to Carson Taylor to double up the runner. Just like that, what could have turned into a stressful inning was over. Those are the plays that can sometimes get overlooked when looking at a pitching line, but they can make a huge difference. Baumann made his pitches, but Tavarez and Taylor made sure the Barons didn’t get another opportunity. Baumann continued rolling through the third inning, getting a popout, a flyout and then a strikeout to retire the side.

The fourth inning finally saw Birmingham get some damage against him. Baumann gave up a double followed by a triple, allowing the first run of the game. But once again, the defense helped him limit the damage. Baumann got a flyout, followed it with a strikeout and then finished the inning with a groundout, leaving the runner stranded and preventing the Barons from turning the extra-base hits into a much bigger inning. He continued to cruise through the fifth before running into another little bit of trouble in the sixth. Baumann gave up a double to start the inning and another double with one out, bringing the Barons’ second run across. But just like he had done earlier, he found a way to stop the bleeding and got the next two batters out.

From there, Baumann settled in and finished the game with three more innings, allowing just two hits during that stretch. He eventually walked back to the dugout after the ninth inning having completed the entire game. The numbers are impressive on their own, but his efficiency is what really stood out. Baumann threw just 96 pitches over nine innings, with 70 of them going for strikes. That comes out to a 72.9% strike rate, which is an incredible number for a pitcher who went the entire nine innings. He didn’t need to constantly chase strikeouts either. He mixed his pitches, attacked the zone and trusted his defense when hitters put the ball in play. And his defense gave him plenty of reason to trust it. From Tavarez and Taylor turning a potential baserunner into a double play to the rest of the defense making the routine plays behind him, Baumann was able to keep pitching aggressively without feeling like every ball in play was going to turn into trouble.

Garrett Baumann final line

• 9 innings pitched

• 7 hits

• 2 earned runs

• 0 walks

• 8 strikeouts

More Than Just Two Good Starts

What stood out to me about both Polo and Baumann this week wasn’t just the numbers. It was how both pitchers handled the moments when things didn’t go exactly as planned. Polo gave up a home run and found himself with runners on first and third. Baumann gave up multiple extra-base hits in two different innings. Neither pitcher let those moments turn into big innings. That’s where the pitching and defense came together.

Polo’s defense helped erase a baserunner early in his outing and made the plays behind him when he needed them. Baumann got a huge double play from Tavarez and Taylor and consistently had his defense making the plays necessary to keep Birmingham from putting together a big inning. That’s what you want to see from young pitchers. The ability to make your pitches is obviously important, but learning how to work through trouble, trust your defense and move on to the next batter is a huge part of developing as a pitcher. And both Polo and Baumann showed that this week.

Polo now has 100 strikeouts and continues to make up for lost time after missing the 2025 season. Baumann is coming off back-to-back weeks of impressive performances and just showed that he can go nine innings while remaining incredibly efficient.

The Braves have plenty of pitching prospects that already have fans excited, but performances like these are a reminder that there are always more names to watch. This week, Davis Polo and Garrett Baumann gave Braves fans two more reasons to keep paying attention.

And with both pitchers continuing to develop, along with the defense behind them making the big plays when they’re needed, it’s going to be fun watching where these two arms go next.