Dowling Catholic's Trever Baumler already one of the state's top baseball players as a sophomore

It’s a hot summer evening as Mary Lynn Baumler sits in the stands along the third-base line at Principal Park on June 22. Baumler is at the park to watch her son Trever, a sophomore for Dowling Catholic. She also has her phone ready so she can watch that night’s Delmarva Shorebirds game on it. Another son, Carter, is a right-handed pitcher for the Shorebirds.

Early in the Dowling game, she gets a text from her husband, Brad, who is in Maryland to see Carter. That game is in a weather delay.

“I guess that’s good for us,” she said. “Maybe we’ll catch it between games.”

This is just one of the many challenges that come up during the summer for the Baumler family. They’re trying to catch as much baseball as they can while their two sons play at the same time. It’s likely only going to get more difficult.

Carter is playing for the Single-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles and is one of the organization’s top pitching prospects. Trever is one of the best high school players in Iowa. He is a heavily recruited player by college coaches and is drawing interest from professional baseball teams.

“I try to live up to Trever Baumler,” Trever said. “Not try to be Carter Baumler and all that stuff.”

He’s doing a good job of doing that. Trever, a hard-throwing right-handed pitcher just like Carter, is different than his brother in a lot of ways. The biggest: Trever not only boasts a ton of potential on the mound, he's also one of the top power hitters in the entire state.

"He does it all," said Dowling Catholic baseball coach Mark Roering. "He's a well-rounded baseball player, for sure."

And he's only getting better.

Trever Baumler becomes a home run star

One of Brad Baumler's favorite photos of son Trever is the scrawny kid standing on a baseball field wearing an oversized helmet and holding a baseball. The baseball is larger than Trever's hand. Trever kept the ball after he crushed it over a Walnut Creek Little League fence for his first home run.

He was 9 years old.

"It was a no-doubter," Brad said.

It was the first of many for Trever, a slugger at an early age. Brad said Trever hit 10 to 15 homers every season in USSSA competition. Carter, four years older than Trever, would have competitions with his brother every weekend. They played in separate tournaments but would see who could hit more bombs. One weekend, Trever came home with four or five home run balls. Another weekend, an angry opposing pitcher stormed off the field after Trever ripped a home run off him in the championship game.

"I remember the coach, he's like, 'Don't be upset, he just hit three more before this,'" Brad recalled.

Some of Trever's power stems from the hard work he put in. When Trever was younger, he attended the Doyle Baseball Camp with Carter. The camp was run by then-Colorado Rockies hitting coach Blake Doyle, who taught Trever and Carter different hitting and pitching drills.

But Trever also had something that couldn't be taught: elite plate discipline. Even at an early age, he was able to lay off bad pitches and swing only at pitches in the strike zone that he could hammer.

"It's called a hitter's eye," Brad said. "He always had it."

Trever had plenty of help from Carter, who often threw him soft toss. As the two worked out together in the cage, the competitive juices started flowing. Carter began unloading fastballs and off-speed pitches. At first it was a challenge for Trever, but as time passed he started getting more comfortable at the plate. When sports shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic, Carter had Trever catch bullpens for him.

"For him to do that is pretty freaking impressive," Carter said.

Trever could also throw it. By the eighth grade he was throwing in the 70s and blowing fastballs by hitters. He was a bona fide star.

College coaches notice his pitching potential

The attention was on Carter right away. But it quickly shifted to Trever.

Carter, formerly a star pitcher for the Maroons, drew interest from college coaches across the nation. When he went on recruiting trips to places including TCU, Missouri, LSU and Iowa, Trever tagged along. Trever, 13 at the time, already had set his sights on playing in college. So while Carter checked out the schools, Trever did the same thing. Their dad made sure to tell the coaches about the hard-throwing and hard-hitting younger brother.

"I remember (coach) Steve Bieser at Missouri saying, 'You know, Trever, I just want you to know that we're really working to get you someday,'" Brad said. "I kind of chuckled about that."

Carter was selected by the Orioles in the fifth round of the 2020 draft. So, naturally, college coaches and Major League Baseball scouts wanted to take a look at Trever, too. But Trever quickly proved he was more than just a last name. He had a lot to offer. Things even Carter didn't do.

There was the power at the plate but also heat on the hill. Trever hit a growth spurt and hit the weight room during his freshman season at Dowling Catholic, then saw his velocity make massive jumps. He began hitting the low 90s. Wichita State was the first to show interest. Others, including Iowa, followed.

But Trever already had a choice in mind: TCU. It was the school Carter committed to play at before signing with the Orioles. Trever had been impressed by the school, the program and the coaches when they recruited Carter. So when the Horned Frogs came after him, Trever jumped at the offer.

"I kind of knew that was the place I want to be at," Trever said.

Trever is still getting interest from college programs. And MLB teams are still watching. He said he's already spoken to one MLB scout and several have been in contact with Brad. One scout told Brad they expected to be back in two years when Trever is a senior and eligible for the draft. The interest will only intensify.

"He'll be a guy we have to see," said one MLB scout.

Trever's big breakout season

Trever entered Wednesday ranked second in the state in home runs (11), second in total bases (73) and third in hits (53). He has spent the majority of the season catching or in the outfield. He hasn't been able to get on the mound yet this season after sustaining a minor fracture in his elbow. Trever is expected to make a full recovery with rest and hopes to pitch in the postseason.

Trever said he plans to be a two-way player at TCU. While he projects mostly as a pitcher, Trever said he has no intentions of giving up hitting. Instead, he wants to become a hitting and pitching star like Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels.

"I want to be Shohei," Trever said. "I mean, who doesn't want to be? I love swinging it and throwing it. He's got all the tools."

Brad still does hitting drills with Trever and helps him break down his at-bats. Early in Trever's career, he needed Brad's help. Now it's Trever who can discover the adjustments he needs to make.

"Baseball is an up-and-down game," Trever said. "There's a lot of ups and downs. But I love when you hit those ups and the work pays off."

Carter is in his first season pitching in pro ball after undergoing season-ending surgery that cost him the entire 2021 season. His career is off to a strong start. He's not surprised by Trever's emergence.

"It's really cool to see," Carter said.

Tommy Birch, the Register's sports enterprise and features reporter, has been working at the newspaper since 2008. He's the 2018 and 2020 Iowa Sportswriter of the Year. Reach him at tbirch@dmreg.com or 515-284-8468. Follow him on Twitter @TommyBirch.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Dowling Catholic's Trever Baumler drawing interest from MLB teams