It seemed like the Orioles were out of the dark ages went it came to developing pitchers through their system.
The names of Garrett Olson, Hayden Penn, Jake Arrieta and Matt Hobgood felt like old memories when Baltimore had Dylan Bundy, Kevin Gausman and Hunter Harvey in their system. All three pitchers were sure bets to make the Orioles’ rotation in the future.
However, Gausman has been the only pitcher to stay healthy through the system, as Bundy and Harvey have had continued injuries. Bundy’s has been the most frustrating, as the former first-round pick had just began working his way through the minors again following Tommy John Surgery.
Now it’s being reported that Bundy could miss the rest of this season after the Orioles have decided to shut down the pitcher for now, according to The Sun’s Dan Connolly.
The Orioles will be in a tough situation if Bundy misses the rest of this season because he is out of options and would have to be placed on the major league roster to start 2016. It’s not the type of scenario the team would like to be in, as Bundy is still trying to regain his old form and can’t stay healthy.
It’s not Baltimore’s fault that Bundy can’t stay healthy, but that doesn’t matter to frustrated fans who had hoped the pitcher would be the future ace for the Orioles. It’s also a problem that Harvey can’t stay healthy either, and Gausman is limbo between Baltimore and Norfolk.
These injuries and developmental issues should go to show that no prospect should be untouchable when it comes to trade talks. The Orioles could have received good major league talent if they had chosen to trade one or two of their trio. However, Gausman seems to be the only pitcher with any value right now and the Orioles will have zero thoughts of trading him after the injuries to Bundy and Harvey.
It’s a huge concern that the Orioles really haven’t developed a pitcher since Erik Bedard. It’s even worse when you realize the only other pitcher that was developed before Bedard was Mike Mussina.
Pitching development has been a consistent issue with Baltimore and it might be best for the Orioles to become buyers in free agency next season. The team won’t be able to afford David Price or Johnny Cueto, but Scott Kazmir, Doug Fister and Yovani Gallardo could be options.
Bud Norris and Wei-Yin Chen could leave the team in free agency, which means the team will have holes to fill in. Chris Tillman, Ubaldo Jimenez, Miguel Gonzalez and Kevin Gausman will likely be four of the pitchers in the rotation, but the fifth spot remains to be filled. Zach Davies, Tyler Wilson and Mike Wright might get the chance to battle it out if the team doesn’t want to find someone in free agency.
There was once hope that Bundy could be in that spot, but injuries and slow development have once again cast doubts on his future.
