The playoff race should be exciting in Major League Baseball over the final weeks of the season, but in Birdland, we’re focused on the first overall pick in next year’s draft. The Royals are trying their best to finish with the worst record in baseball, but the Orioles’ schedule in September is much more difficult which should give them the edge to winning the number one pick in June.

Harvey Shut Down Again

In order to speed up a rebuild, a lot has to go right. Injuries, especially to key prospects, can derail any plans that you have. The Orioles thought they were finally over the injury hump with pitching prospect Hunter Harvey, but a fluke injury in which the right-hander dislocated his shoulder has now turned into elbow problems once again. Harvey has been shut down for the foreseeable future. Buck Showalter noted how they thought if everything went as planned, Harvey would be pitching with the big league team now.

Instead of Harvey getting a taste of the majors that would hopefully allow him to hit the ground running in 2019 like centerfielder Cedric Mullins, it appears we are still far away from seeing the 23-year-old in an Orioles uniform.

Gausman is a Stud, Bundy is a Dud

Even though it was predictable, it doesn’t make it any easier seeing Kevin Gausman dominate for the Atlanta Braves. The righty hasn’t allowed more than three runs in any of his four starts which includes completing eight innings in two of those starts.

We have seen Gausman have these type of stretches for the Orioles so this isn’t a complete Jake Arrieta situation. The biggest issue with Gausman has always been consistency and when he does struggle, it gets ugly quick. It remains to be seen if this is just another good stretch for the 27-year-old or if it’s the start of becoming the pitcher we all thought he would be when in Baltimore.

Regardless, it’s frustrating and annoying.

Meanwhile, Gausman’s former teammate Dylan Bundy has completely forgotten how to pitch. Bundy has now allowed seven earned runs in three straight starts and has allowed at least five earned runs in six of his last eight starts. The ERA is now 5.31 which is unacceptable. I hope we find out Bundy has been hiding some kind of injury because this dramatic of a decline from someone with his pedigree and track record should get a lot of people fired.