The Baltimore Orioles’ top draft pick from 2012, pitcher Kevin Gausman (4th overall), has been turning some heads in Spring Training down in Sarasota, Florida.
One of those heads was on the shoulders of ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian, who was in camp earlier this week.
The 2012 All-American out of Louisiana State University made his debut last week, pitching 1 2/3 innings of relief in a win over Toronto. His fastball was clocked as high as 98 MPH, while sitting mostly in the 96-97 range.
That’s the kind of stuff that has earned Gausman the nickname “Gasman,” a play on his last name that pays homage to his scorching fastball.
Kurkjian tweeted the following:
Gausman’s isn’t just a fireballer, though, as he uses his fastball to set up a devastating change up, which is also getting some attention.
Another ESPN writer, Jayson Stark, had this to say:
In addition to the unnamed scout mentioned above, there have been plenty of reports that many within the Orioles organization view Gausman as being ahead of the team’s 2011 top draft pick, Dylan Bundy, at this point in time. That’s not necessarily surprising – Gausman played three seasons of college baseball at LSU (he was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 6th round in 2010, but opted for college), while Bundy came to the Birds straight out of high school.
Bundy is 20, Gausman is 22.
So far this Spring, Gausman has made two appearances, pitching 3.2 innings while allowing two ER, with two walks and four strikeouts. Bundy, meanwhile, has pitched 3.0 innings, allowing no earned runs on three hits, walking two and striking out three.
Regardless of which pitcher makes an impact on the team “first,” there is little doubt that both of these pitchers will be integral parts of the future of Baltimore baseball.
Fans have every reason to be excited about Gausman and Bundy.
The “Gasman” cometh.
