McFarland: Achen quickly climbing Orioles’ ranks
Babe Ruth Calgary and Calgary Pitching HQ alum Cohen Achen (Calgary, Alta.) has climbed two rungs on the Baltimore Orioles’ minor league ladder this season. Photo: Delmarva Shorebirds
*This article was originally published on Alberta Dugout Stories on May 10. You can read it here.
May 14, 2025
By Joe McFarland
Alberta Dugout Stories
He’s quickly becoming a big story for fans and watchers of the Baltimore Orioles.
It’s hard to believe that just one year ago, Cohen Achen was putting the wraps on an exceptional collegiate career at Lindsey Wilson College and was getting ready to play summer baseball with the Intercounty Baseball League’s London Majors.
Instead, Baltimore selected the Calgary native in the 14th round of the Major League Baseball Draft, and he has since propelled up the organizational depth chart.
Achen started the season with the Single-A Delmarva Shorebirds, going 2-0 with a 3.21 earned-run average in three relief appearances.
Then he made a five-inning appearance for the High-A Aberdeen Ironbirds, allowing two runs on four hits and a walk while striking out two batters, earning another promotion to the double-A Chesapeake BaySox within a week.
There, the right-hander made his first start on May 3 against the Hartford Yard Goats, allowing one run on three hits and a walk while striking out four in four-plus innings.
While the ascent has taken some by surprise, Achen says it’s been a long time coming.
“Just having trust in myself that I am where I am for a reason,” he told Alberta Dugout Stories recently over text. “Trusting that all the work I have put in since I was young is paying off.”
It’s yet another chapter in an incredible story of perseverance and dedication to the game he loves.
IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE
It wasn’t that long ago where Achen’s baseball dream almost came to an abrupt and tragic end.
Pitching for Big Bend Community College in March 2020, the Babe Ruth Calgary and Calgary Pitching HQ alum took a comebacker off the right side of his head.
“I woke up with some blood coming out of my ear,” Achen said in a 2021 interview with ADS. “I stood up, walked to the stretcher, and was sent to the hospital.”
He was diagnosed with a fractured skull and a slight brain bleed, and was discharged from hospital that same day, admitting he also had a concussion.
A week later, the COVID-19 pandemic ground the world to a halt, allowing Achen the time to recover from his injuries, which included three months of vertigo.
“I don’t want to sound crazy, but it made me fall in love with the game even more – if that makes sense,” he said.
“When I wasn’t able to play during the three months of recovery, it made me realize just how much I missed playing baseball and how much I loved playing it.”
After receiving the green light to resume baseball activities, Achen says he had to deal with the physical and mental challenges associated with scary injury like that, but he remained optimistic that he would emerge stronger.
RAIDERS ROYALTY
Heading into the 2020-2021 school year, Achen was tabbed as being a middle reliever at Lindsey Wilson.
However, he had other plans as he quickly snapped up a starting spot and marched to a 5-0 record with a 2.38 ERA in 13 appearances, including seven starts.
Over the following three seasons, Achen asserted himself as one of the top National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) hurlers in the country.
He amassed an overall record of 23-12 with a 3.66 ERA, setting the Blue Raiders’ school record for all-time strikeouts with 341 in a little more than 268 innings.
The 6-foot-2, 210-pound hurler also collected several conference awards and recognitions, including First-Team All-Conference in his senior season.
COUCH SURFING
While it was announced in February of 2024 that Achen would be joining the Majors during the summer, he kept his options open to be seen by MLB scouts.
That’s when he took the call to join the Northwoods League’s Lakeshore Chinooks, where he was outstanding in eight starts, picking up a 3-1 record, 52 strikeouts and a 2.93 ERA on his way to being named a Northwoods League Postseason All-Star.
Several teams had expressed interest in signing him, so Achen was shut down in July to prepare for the draft.
He went back home to Calgary, and watched the first few rounds waiting to see his name show up on the screen.
It finally happened in the 14th round.
“I looked right at my dad and my mom, and we all shot up off the couch and, obviously, everything you’ve ever dreamed of since I first started playing kind of came true in that moment,” Achen said in a July 2024 interview with ADS: The Podcast.
“The tears obviously started rolling for all three of us, even though my dad doesn’t want to say he cried – I know he did.”
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Listen to Alberta Dugout Stories interview Cohen Achen here.
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That kick-started dozens of calls and texts, while the newly-drafted Orioles prospect also had to get his things in order to report to his new team.
EMBRACING THE SO-CALLED ‘JOB’
Achen’s first order of business after getting drafted was to head south to Florida, where the Orioles would put him through some final tests before presenting him with a contract.
Admittedly, he says he was a little nervous going in, but it became easier to handle as he was realizing his life-long dream.
“It was a lot of fun,” Achen recalled. “No one says signing a piece of paper is fun, but for me, it was.”
Since then, the 23-year-old has been laser-focused on being physically and mentally healthy and prepared for whatever the team needs out of him.
He says he’s trying to be a sponge at every stop along the way, soaking in every learning experience to make himself better.
Achen says the Orioles, who have become known for their player development in recent years, have been good at allowing him to be his own player and not changing who he is, saying the coaches have been there to help him finetune a few things to see what works best for him.
It’s a different life than he had in college, and it’s one he’s embracing entirely.
“I’ve been having a blast with every spot I’ve been at and have learned a lot since the draft,” Achen said. “I’m just super-excited to continue this ‘job’ of mine and slowly make my dreams come true.”
If all goes according to plan, Achen would love to become the latest Calgary pitching prospect to make his way quickly to the big leagues.