Bundy’s finally getting up to speed
5 years after being drafted, back from elbow surgery, right-hander making mark
TORONTO — Darren O’Day still remembers the first bullpen session he saw a 19-year-old Dylan Bundy throw on the back fields of the Ed Smith Stadium complex in Sarasota, Fla., during the first days of spring training in 2012.
“I’ve seen a lot of bullpens, but it was the best bullpen I’ve ever seen,” said O’Day, the Orioles’ veteran setup man. “Four pitches, consistent movement, all sharp, all plus offerings. I thought to myself, ‘This guy is going to be good.’ Now everybody is just so happy for him being healthy, being able to compete. This is where he belongs. That’s how good he is.”
Fast-forward to Thursday — the latest chapter of Bundy’s indoctrination into the major leagues — when he entered the Orioles’ game against the Toronto Blue
Jays with the game on the line. Bundy pounded the corners of the strike zone with 95- to 97-mph heat against reigning American League Most Valuable Player Josh Donaldson before ending a 10-pitch battle with a called third strike on a 96-mph fastball just above the knees, stranding two base runners in a one-run game the Orioles won, 6-5.
They wouldn’t have won without Bundy. The key to the outing was his location. Bundy, 23, has learned that he’d rather locate at 94 mph than miss his spot at 97 mph. The next inning, he created trouble for himself, putting two runners on base, but got an inning-ending double play that he later said was the best part of his outing. He had kept the ball on the ground, which meant he was getting good movement on his fastball.
Right now, Bundy relishes his role as a key piece of one of baseball’s best bullpens. He entered the season with just 12⁄3 innings of major league experience as a September call-up in 2012. Since then, he’s undergone Tommy John surgery and overcome other injuries that limited him to just 17 minor league games thereafter.
Because he signed a major league deal when the Orioles made him the fourth overall pick five years ago, Bundy entered this season having exhausted all of his minor league options, meaning the Orioles have to carry him on their major league roster this season or risk losing him. And because he had pitched just 631⁄3 innings over the previous three seasons, the only place he could fit in was as a reliever.
But the Orioles have a plan for Bundy beyond this season, and it doesn’t involve being in the bullpen. They would like to get Bundy to a point where he can go into spring training next year competing for a starting-rotation spot.
“I’m just happy going out there throwing one, two, three innings,” Bundy said. “That’s fine with me. Whatever the future plan is, it’s up to them, and if they want me to start later in the year or next year or not even start, it doesn’t matter. Right now, my main goal is to do my work out of the ’pen and throw when they want me to throw and try to help the team as best as I can.”
Orioles manager Buck Showalter called Bundy into his office in the visiting clubhouse of Rogers Centre on Friday, the day after his scoreless 21⁄3-inning outing, in which he worked out of sixth- and seventh-inning jams.
“I ask him, ‘Do you think about it? Do you feel it? Do you ever worry?’ ” Showalter said, inquiring about the long-lasting effects of elbow-reconstruction surgery. “He said: ‘I don’t even think about it anymore.’ ”
Bundy has 26 innings under his belt this season, and Showalter said the club ideally would like to get him somewhere between 60 to 75 innings before the end of the season before it can consider him a possible starter next season. In Showalter’s mind, 70 innings is the right number, and provided Bundy stays healthy, it seems reasonable. If the Orioles want to give him more innings, they could find a place for him to log time in winter ball.
Showalter is quick to point out Bundy’s growth. When he first joined the organization, his time to the plate was 1.6 seconds. It is now 1.2 to 1.3 seconds. He’s been impressed with how relentlessly Bundy goes after hitters.
It is obvious that Bundy’s arm also is getting stronger. His average fastball velocity has gone up — from 94.34 mph in April to 94.93 mph in May to 95.87 mph so far in June — all while throwing longer outings. He’s getting hitters out with three pitches — his fastball, curveball and changeup — and Showalter said that after this year, the organization will revisit reincorporating the cutter and slider into his arsenal.
“He’s doing this without all his pitches, and he may not ever if we found that was hurting him some,” Showalter said.
Bundy’s game log shows that he’s gradually starting to throw more pitches. He had his two highest pitch totals in his past two outings, throwing 47 on Thursday and 51 in his previous appearance, June 4.
“I think right now, the main focus is getting my arm strength back,” Bundy said. “That’s what I think everyone wants to see, me throwing 35, 50 pitches right now with three days off or two days off. I think that really gets the arm strength back, because it’s kind of the same as starting if I throw two three-inning outings. That’s like six innings in a week, which is pretty much a start. I’m just doing whatever they want me to do, and I’m happy with it.”