Orioles Dylan Bundy Dominates in Pro Debut
Dylan Bundy‘s Orioles debut for the Delmarva Shorebirds versus the Asheville Tourists, a Rockies affiliate, marked the start of a fourth season for me scouting prospects in the South Atlantic League. In previous years, highly ranked pitching prospects have come and gone, bringing with them reportedly unhittable “stuff.” In most cases, those arms never live up to advanced billing as the prospect hype does not match performance on the field. With Dylan Bundy, his ability may have been undersold, as exemplified by the lack of major media at his first professional start.
Video after the jump
In the first inning, Bundy peppered the strike zone with fastballs in the 95-98 MPH range. Four-seamers exploded with late life up in the zone, while his two-seamer showed late, darting action to the front of the plate. Asheville hitters were completely overwhelmed by both fastballs, which left scouts looking at each other confused over what had just occurred.
A veteran scout next to me commented, “He (Bundy) may not need to throw a breaking ball the entire start.” He followed up that comment by saying, “His fastball velocity is too easy. Did you see him throw in the outfield before the game? I’ve never seen a pitcher throw so hard from so far away.”
The good times continued into the second inning as I moved down the third base line to collect video and view the young right-hander from a side angle. Bundy threw more pitches in the second inning, causing me to wonder about his fastball command and if it was an issue worth mentioning.
When focusing on counts and accompanying pitch types/locations, it became obvious Bundy was pitching with purpose. On a 1-2 count, he threw a two-seam fastball low-and-away to waste the pitch and followed that up with a four-seamer above the letters in an attempt to put the hitter away. Instead of pitching by the book, Bundy worked the sequence backwards, but definitely had a plan.
The third inning was a repeat of the first two as Bundy worked another perfect inning. He once again featured the fastball, but began throwing more off-speed pitches to simply get his work in. Still dominant, he continued to rack up the strikeouts against the seven-through-nine hitters who happened to be the best hitting prospects on the Asheville roster in shortstop Trevor Story, catcher Will Swanner and designated hitter Rosell Herrera.
Beyond the fastball, Bundy’s curveball was a 77-78 MPH offering which became tighter each time it was thrown. With sharp, late 12/6 action, combined with excellent arm speed, the pitch has the potential to be a plus offering. In such a short stint, his struggling to command the few curves thrown early was understandable. However, his throwing more of them in the third showed just how quickly Bundy was able to make in-game adjustments.
At 83-86 MPH, Bundy’s changeup also improved throughout the outing. He left the pitch up in the zone early and was staying a touch tall on his follow through. Additionally, adrenaline can often lead to a pitcher overthrowing the changeup early. By the third inning, Bundy had ironed out his command of the pitch and even doubled up on it to Rosell Herrera. Herrera did have the hardest hit ball of the day off of a change, but it was laced foul towards the bullpen mounds. At its best, the pitch features heavy drop, nearly identical arm action to his fastball and creates a distinct third velocity for Bundy to pitch from. At present, it appears to be his third best offering, but that’s certainly not a knock considering the strength of the rest of his arsenal.
Beyond Bundy’s stuff, the young Oklahoman conducts himself as if he’s already in a Baltimore Orioles uniform. An infielder’s dream, Bundy works quickly – sometimes only needing four to six seconds between pitches. In some respects, Bundy could be likened to a human pitching machine as he presents as the most efficient pitcher I’ve scouted in terms of pitching mechanics and expending energy on the mound.
FanGraphs chatters frequently ask how the Baltimore Orioles are going to “mess Bundy up” considering the lack of production from what was once considered the deepest collection of starting pitching prospects in the game in Chris Tillman, Jake Arrieta, Zach Britton and Brian Matusz. However, this is a new regime in Baltimore and the Bundy family has made it abundantly clear that his intense training regimen will continue to be a pillar of his development as a pitcher. After watching him loosen up during pre-game, it appears as if the Orioles organization is not messing with a good thing at this point, which is quite progressive on its face.
In scouting Dylan Bundy, it was the first time I’ve truly left the park thinking, “I just watched a future ace.” With his already being in the top-10 overall in some prospect circles, his upward mobility is limited, but don’t be surprised if he finished 2012 as the top ranked pitching prospect in baseball with a legitimate shot at the number one prospect in baseball, period.
Great stuff, Mike.
Seems like he doesn’t consistently finish the back end of his delivery, but that can obviously be worked on. I love that he has barely any movement in his delivery–not a lot of moving parts that can get out of whack or will need to be corrected. If he’s throwing that hard with that easy of motion early on that bodes well.
I don’t see what you’re talking about. He consistently finishes the back end of his delivery by licking his fingers. You obviously didn’t watch the video
In terms of pitchers I’ve seen over the last 3+ years, Bundy’s mechanics are definitely the cleanest.
is it me or should Bundy be in AA right now?
It’s not you. Dave Cameron agrees.
How soon before he’s in Baltimore? Late this year is too soon, right?
lol he is 18, right? No way he makes it there before 20.
He’s 19, turns 20 in November. So you’re right he won’t be up before he’s 20, but he’ll be up in less than two years.
Jim Palmer, after seeing him in spring training, said he wouldn’t be surprised if he gets a late season call up this year
I’m thinking we’ll see Bundy in 2013 which I didn’t think was possible until watching him.
When could he be in the majors? Summer of 2013 or spring of 2014?
He’s probably on the Bryce Harper schedule.
I’ve been waiting all winter for Bundy’s debut and he did not disappoint. Seriously, what’s the timetable now? I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but surely, he’ll finish the season in Double-A, right?
I wrote about this a few days ago and tried to gauge his minor league progression from others who were similar. You can read it here.
http://www.eutawstreetblues.blogspot.com/2012/04/when-will-dylan-bundy-arrive.html
Finish? He might be there before June at this rate.
“Dour-seamers exploded with late life”
I really enjoyed this typo. Is it so difficult to hit, it leaves one dour?
Me, too. The explosion from those dour pitches must’ve really surprised the hitters.
No way they were expecting the dour-seamer, that was not in the scouting report.
His rwo seamers aren’t too shabby either; they have a lot of late movement.
This Bundy has a peculiar habit of going to his mouth with his pitching fingers after every pitch. And he probably has no idea that he’s doing it.
Which gets me to Rule 8.02 (a) (1) of the Official Major League Rules Book:
8.02 The pitcher shall not-
(a) (1) Bring his pitching hand in contact with his mouth or lips while in the 18 foot circle surrounding the pitching rubber.
EXCEPTION: Provided it is agreed to by both managers, the umpire prior to the start of a game played in cold weather, may permit the pitcher to blow on his hand.
PENALTY: For violation of this part of this rule the umpires shall immediately call a ball. However, if the pitch is made and a batter reaches first base on a hit, an error, a hit batsman or otherwise, and no other runner is put out before advancing at least one base, the play shall proceed without reference to the violation. Repeated offenders shall be subject to a fine by the league president.
Are there any current MLBers that repeatedly go to their mouth after pitches?
See Pelfry, Mike. Notorious hand-licker.
Since Bundy, in contrast to Pelfrey and KFC, seems to be finger lickin’ good, I could see an MLB manager or two trying to disrupt his psyche by pointing out the rule. Yet I suspect that today’s umpires are allowing post-pitch finger licking if the pitcher immediately wipes their hand thereafter, as Bundy did on a few of his pitches.
I found this comment to be extremely interesting considering it’s something that never would have even crossed my mind.
yeah, it’s definitely a habit, as he did it even when he was heading towards the dugout.
It seems like he is short-arming in his delivery. Is his arm just that quick? This could cause shoulder trouble in the future.
Overall, it seems like his quick and compact delivery and torque is what gives him the velocity. The dependence on his solid frame and durability could cause him to have a shorter career than those who are able to use leverage.
This kid is impressive. I can’t think of a great pitcher to which I can compare the wind-up, as it seems so efficient and, again, compact. Hope to be able to see him live at some point.
I’d only argue that it seems that he is decelerating his arm too fast, we should be seeing recoil in a delivery that is generating 98MPH and he has almost none.
i’d compare him to a righthanded matt moore, in size, stuff, and his easy delivery. they are both 6’2″, bundy might be a bit more stocky.
Bundy is closer to 6-foot.
Any breaking down of his delivery should be made with a caveat that it’s nitpicking in the grand scheme of things considering his motion is so easy and effortless to begin with.
“However, this is a new regime in Baltimore”
Is it? I thought that the reason so many interviewees turned down offers for the GM position was because they would have been forced to keep people who were already in the organization that Angelos liked, despite a possible lack of competence
Just because you keep current employees, does not mean the philosophy needs to remain the same. The Mets switched GM’s, but certainly did not fire every employee in the organization. However, the philosophy changed drastically from one year to the next.
Bundy did not strike out Will Swanner
Yes, he went 6-3 sandwiched between a pair of strikeouts.
This is what you wrote
Still dominant, he continued to rack up the strikeouts against the seven-through-nine hitters who happened to be the best hitting prospects on the Asheville roster in shortstop Trevor Story, catcher Will Swanner and designated hitter Rosell Herrera.
You make it sound like he struck out the 7-9 hitters.
Hey Chris, you sound like you can Colby Rasmus’ father have a lot in common.
You could very well see Bundy make a jump from AA to the big leagues. This been the problem with the Orioles in dealing with their propects. Look at Tillman, Matusz and Britton. You get the same result every time. And its always out of deperation because of lack of depth on the big team
Prospects regularly jump from AA to MLB these days. In general, AAA isn’t really a prospect league at all anymore.
What is his major league ETA do you think? With the O’s in the cellar and some rotation depth I doubt they’ll rush him… but I’d be really happy if he was on the O’s 2013 opening day roster, just sayin’
Probably later in 2013, but it will be sooner than I initially expected.
Klaw mentioned that he would’ve started him in AA. So there’s that.
Bundy scouting report with video. Newman, you’re a goldarned miracle.
Glad you enjoyed it E-Dub.
“Did you see him throw in the outfield before the game? I’ve never seen a pitcher throw so hard from so far away.”
——-
Distance has nothing to do with speed.
But how far you are throwing and the speed at which you are throwing will determine the arc you need to deliver the ball to its target. If he is throwing harder, he may just be throwing on more of a stright line from a distance where most people would throw with more arc, which is why the person who made the comment was impressed.
It’s not rocket science.
Good breakdown Chris. No need for me to really add anything although John’s comment made me cringe a bit.
To me, this guy looked in control. He reminds me of Neftali Feliz. I hope the Orioles take their time with him, because he has a chance to be really, really, good.
In control would be a bit of an understatement actually.
Apparently, he did it again tonight. 3 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 6 K.
I wonder if he can pitch from the stretch? They may have to bring him in in relief to find out since no one can get on base!
There is no way he makes the club in 2013. He should finish 2012/start 2013, presumably, in AA and pitch a full season in AAA. All pitchers need to build arm strength–the way in which this is achieved is by throwing more pitches each time he takes the mound. If a pitcher is limited to, say, 80 pitches per start, he will NEVER build arm strength! This is why old-school pitchers could throw 150-200+ pitches a start. It also leads to less injury. The more you limit a pitcher’s pitch count, the quicker they get injured. This kid also needs to experience adversity to see how he adjusts and bounces back from being hit around and losing a game. Plus, he will need to develop and solely concentrate on his off-speed stuff at AA–specifically his change-up. Any big leaguer could hit a fastball–just ask the Pirates and Tigers how they feel about Chapman. I know it’s exciting for everyone to think that he should be with the O’s right now, but eveyone needs to put their “thing” back in their pants and zipper-up their fly. Real baseball organizations have more money invested in pitching than fantasy baseball owners which is why pitchers of Bundy’s pedigree get babied throughout their career. And don’t even comment about Strasburg; he was a polished COLLEGE PITCHER when he was drafted which is why he made it to the show as quickly as he did.