It’s no secret that the Orioles have a bit of a dilemma in their bullpen with Kevin Gausman and Jason Garcia.
Gausman is supposed to be a future ace for the team but is being kept in the bullpen right now instead of being stretched out as a starter. Garcia has been very shaky, sporting a 6.35 ERA, so won’t be trusted by Buck Showalter to be thrown out into any close games.
It might be time to consider bringing up right-hander Zach Davies, who has pitched admirably in Triple-A Norfolk so far.
The 22-year-old has a 2.82 ERA in 22.1 innings this season, including 21 strikeouts. Davies has also held batters to just a .238 average and has only walked nine. He’d be ideal against right-handed batters, who have hit just .182 against him, according to MLB.com
Davies was drafted by the Orioles in the 26th round of the 2011 MLB Draft out of high school. He started off at Single-A Delmarva and at 19, had a 3.86 ERA in 114.1 innings.
He pushed through the minor league system the next few seasons and really hit his stride in Arizona Fall League in 2014, where he only gave up five runs in 25.2 innings and struck out 23 batters.
Davies carried over that success into 2015 season so far and is making a serious case to pitch in the bullpen for Baltimore. It’s only a matter of time before Showalter makes a move with Gausman or Garcia and Davies’ name should be at the top of the list to come up.
It depends on which direction Showalter chooses to go, as both are right-handed pitchers and Davies could fill in for either one of them. The team has to decide whether it’s more important to keep Garcia on the team and for Gausman to get stretched out as a starter at Norfolk or if it’s worth giving up on Garcia to bring in Davies’ capable arm.
It seems best to send down Gausman, especially since the team has already invested so much time in Garcia. Gausman needs to be stretched out as a starter and a spot could be available in the rotation very soon if Bud Norris continues to struggle.
The Orioles should act soon though, as Davies looks more than ready to take a spot in a bullpen that is being held by two questionable players. Gausman is too talented to be in the bullpen right now and should be replaced by Davies very soon.
[cardoza_wp_poll id=”101″]
