Could Baxter take this animal in a fight?

Considering Olathe is a pretty well-populated suburb, Matt and I have had our share of wildlife in the backyard. There was a family of foxes living under the deck when we first moved in and we've seen a large, majestic owl hanging out in one of the trees back there before. But this latest animal has me stumped.

I first spotted him yesterday. I was sitting in the living room when I heard a weird scratching noise outside, so I went to the deck door just in time to see a chubby, grayish-brown mammal scratching at one of the deck posts. He slipped under the deck before I could get a really good look at him, but my initial impression based on the size and shape was, that's a beaver.

Today, though, I got a better look at him. He sauntered back onto the deck in full view while I was eating my breakfast. He even hung out long enough for me to snap some photos.

Pretty safe to say it's not a beaver, I think. There's no big, flat tail or buck teeth, plus we're not really near any major water sources, so it would be odd for a beaver to roam this far. Matt suggested last night that it might be a hedgehog, but I think it looks a little too big to me. I don't think it's a porcupine, unless it's a really young one with underdeveloped quills. Despite all my Boy Scout training, like I said, I'm stumped.

Anybody know what this thing is? Baxter likes to snoop around in the backyard and under the deck, but I'm loathe to let him go back there, whether this thing is rabid or not. He's more of a lover than a fighter. How should we handle this guy?