Harvey says he feels close to being major league-ready
2013 first-round pick hits 96 mph; Santander aims for prominent role
FORT MYERS, FLA. — Orioles right-hander Hunter Harvey, who made his second major league spring training start in Tuesday’s 9-8 loss to the Minnesota Twins at CenturyLink Sports Complex, said he doesn’t feel like there’s much between where he is now and where he needs to be to be a major league starter.
“I feel like I’m close,” Harvey said. “I need to get my off-speed command a little bit better. I’d like to throw more strikes with it and feel it day by day better, but I do think I’m ready.”
Manager Buck Showalter said after the outing that he believes Harvey will get another chance to pitch in the Grapefruit League, with the team trying to keep its primary starters away from divisional opponents this spring. But so far this spring, the 2013 first-round draft pick made it known that if he’s not ready just yet, he’s back to where he was as a top pitching prospect before a variety of injuries including one that required Tommy John surgery in 2016.
Against a lineup full of Twins regulars, Harvey battled his command a bit and walked two, but was only harmed by shortstop Jorge Polanco’s one-out home run in the second inning.
“He was pretty impressive,” Showalter said. “You can tell he feels really good physically. That’s the most important thing. Command was good in spots, but it was good to get him back out there. But he threw the ball well.”
Harvey began his day by getting second baseman Brian Dozier to strike out looking at a 96 mph fastball on the outside corner, and worked with his fastball in the 94-96 mph range all throughout the first while mixing in his curveball and changeup as well.
His fastball was mostly at 94 mph in the second inning, and he endured some long at-bats, but the overall result of throwing over 50 pitches was a welcome challenge for some- Orioles outfielder Anthony Santander, who made his major league debut in August, is batting .333 through nine spring training games. He has hits in six of those games. one who has been limited to short rehabilitation starts since his elbow injury first cropped up in July 2014. He’s pitched 311⁄ innings in game innings since, with 53 pitches thrown in his final start of 2017.
“It’s nice to be able to throw 50 pitches again,” Harvey said. “My fastball felt better today. Still working on the off-speed stuff. I threw a good changeup, and had one I pulled and put in the dirt. But my body feels good. It felt better today.”
While he’s on the 40-man roster and features one of the best arms in camp regardless of his level of seasoning, the Orioles’ handling of Harvey this spring and into the season will be a subject of great interest both inside the organization and around the game.
One National League scout in attendance who requires anonymity to speak publicly on other teams’ players said in a text message: “Good stuff, long way to go still. He can help them at some point this year.” Santander aiming to be more than a passenger: When Orioles Rule 5 draft pick Anthony Santander was healthy enough to play last summer and the team was forced to add him to the active roster in August, he joined a team that didn’t really have a place for him — or anyone else — who wouldn’t be contributing.
So as he embarks on a healthy spring with an additional 44 days active on the 25-man roster required before he loses the restrictions that came with the Rule 5 draft, Showalter will be looking for more days like Tuesday.
Santander homered to right-center field off right-hander Trevor Hildenberger in the fourth inning against the Twins, his second of the spring, and added a sixth-inning single to give him his second multihit game of Grapefruit League play.
“Santander swung the bat well again,” Showalter said. “It’s good to see Anthony get it going, because we need him to be more than just a guy who’s trying to get 40 games under his belt.
“We’re looking at this guy as someone we hope can stick and be a contributor. He’s worked really hard defensively, running, everything. He’s trying to make a mark.”
As a strapping 23-year-old switchhitter, Santander has long been coveted for his bat. But the Orioles were willing to ignore the fact that he had shoulder surgery in the fall of 2016 and selected him from the Cleveland Indians in the Rule 5 draft that December.
He collected eight hits, including three doubles, in 30 at-bats as a rookie at the end of 2017, but has more closely resembled his prior form so far this spring. Santander has hits in six of his nine spring games and is batting .333/.320/.625.
Whether Showalter is able to use him liberally come Opening Day on March 29 will hinge on the rest of his game, but the manager has praised Santander’s work with vice president of baseball operations Brady Anderson on improving his speed and defense to go with what was already a strong arm.
Santander’s two hits Tuesday were bested only by catcher Caleb Joseph, who had three in as many chances to raise his spring average to .462. Third baseman Danny Valencia homered for the first time this spring in the second inning, while center fielder Craig Gentry and first baseman Trey Mancini had two hits apiece.