SALISBURY, Md. - He may be a first-round draft pick. He has a ton of talent and the scouts rave about him. Orioles fans are expecting nothing less than to see Dylan Bundy in the orange and black one day, dominating American League hitters.
If he is feeling any pressure to live up to all those expectations, Bundy was not letting on yesterday here during the media day for the Single-A Delmarva Shorebirds.
"I really don't feel any pressure at all. I just like to go about my business the way I...
SALISBURY, Md. - You had to figure Dylan Bundy might pitch Single-A Delmarva's season opening game and that is exactly what he will do when he takes the mound on Thursday night in Asheville, N.C. for the Shorebirds in his professional debut for the Orioles organization.
There was a lot of speculation about where Bundy would begin his minor league career and he will start right here in Salisbury with the Shorebirds in the South Atlantic League.
"I'm excited to get here and start my career...
SALISBURY, Md. - At the Single-A Delmarva Shorebirds media day this afternoon, Birds' manager Ryan Minor said Dylan Bundy will be his opening night starter Thursday at Asheville and is scheduled to pitch three innings in the club's South Atlantic League opener.
The Orioles' first-round pick from last year's draft has pitched sparingly so far in camp and will likely be limited to several outings around three innings or so early in the year with Delmarva.
"I think so," Minor said of the...
Here is a press release from the Delmarva Shorebirds:
Salisbury, Md. - In conjunction with the Baltimore Orioles, the Delmarva Shorebirds are excited to release the "Break Camp Roster" for the 2012 season. Headlining the roster is Dylan Bundy, the Orioles first round selection in 2011, and the top overall prospect in the farm system according to Baseball America. The Shorebirds roster features four of the top ten prospects in the system according to Baseball America; RHP Dylan Bundy (#1),...
It is time for your official predictions for the Orioles for the 2012 season. Post them here and we will revisit this many months from now in the winter. I said I would do that last winter, but this time I really mean it.
I'm going with 75 wins.
The offense was just about league average last year. If Nolan Reimold and Chris Davis produce some numbers, they could improve a tick or two on that. If he's healthy and stays that way, I see Jim Johnson having a very good year as closer. They...
Dan Klein, the Orioles' third-round draft pick in 2010 out of UCLA and a pitcher the team had high hopes for, will see shoulder specialist Dr. Craig Morgan on April 13. Klein had shoulder surgery last Aug. 16 and had still been experiencing some discomfort at camp at Twin Lakes Park.
Klein was able to do some light throwing during camp, but when he extended the distance and velocity he began to feel the discomfort, according to a club official.
Dr. Morgan is the same doctor that recently...
I see that several fans are expressing the opinion that the Orioles should be starting their top pitching prospect, Dylan Bundy, at Single-A Frederick and not Single-A Delmarva, where he is going to begin the season.
I think the Orioles are doing exactly the right thing with Bundy in sending him to the Shorebirds right now.
The fans' expectations are that Bundy will dominate from the start and blow through the South Atlantic League like a hot knife through butter. That could happen, but it...
Although no one will say much about it, it appears the Orioles have asked Billy Rowell, their first-round draft pick in 2006, to consider converting from a position player to a pitcher. Rowell was drafted as an infielder and has played at first base, third base and right field in the minors.
But after producing some solid offensive numbers very early in his career, he has struggled at bat since and has not lived up to the promise of a first-round pick. After spending three seasons in A-ball,...
Well, there certainly was a lot of discussion this week about Mike Mussina's election to the Orioles Hall of Fame. Mussina played 18 seasons, 10 with the Orioles and eight with the Yankees.
So the question has come up: If he gets elected to the Hall of Fame, would Mussina go into Cooperstown as an Oriole or a Yankee? First of all, he has to make it and I think he has a very good chance.
Mussina's last season was 2008 and a player must be out of the game for five years before his name is...
If you think there has been spring training competition for starting rotation spots for the Orioles, well, that is not the only pitching competition that has been taking place in ballparks throughout Florida the last few weeks.
The Orioles likely have seven spots for their bullpen and probably, right now, 10 to 11 solid candidates for those spots.
Barring a trade, which quite possibly could be coming, here is my plan to keep all 11 players in the organization with opening day...
At a time when it angers and disappoints many Orioles fans that the club has misfired on some key first-round draft picks in recent years, we should probably remember that Mike Mussina was a big hit. Just not with hitters.
Taken 20th overall in round one out of Stanford in 1990, he went on to become one of the Orioles' all-time best pitchers and is a clear candidate for the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
But the news that he was elected to the Orioles Hall of Fame yesterday was not met with...
Upon announcement of his election to the Orioles Hall of Fame today, Mike Mussina said he could understand that the Baltimore fans were frustrated with his decision to sign with the Yankees as a free agent before the 2001 season.
"Looking back, I can understand people being upset, frustrated and bitter. Especially when you leave Baltimore and go to a rival city in the same division. I can understand that. It was a decision that I made at the time and it probably worked out for me," Mussina...
The beginning of the 2012 baseball season in the minor leagues is fast approaching and an Orioles minor league camp packed with players at Twin Lakes Park got at least a little smaller yesterday with a few players getting released by the organization.
Right-handed Japanese pitcher Ryohei Tanaka, signed by the Orioles in April of 2009, was among them. The 29-year-old Tanaka went 22-21 with an ERA of 4.13 in three seasons. He spent all of 2009 and 2010 with Double-A Bowie and was mostly with...
Endy Chavez may prove to be a real nice pickup for the Orioles this year. He has been among the team's best hitters at spring training. In fact, he is batting .500 at 14-for-28. That is robust.
Some have even speculated that Chavez could get some playing time in left field this year - and maybe even play ahead of Nolan Reimold. I say that is crazy talk. It's time to see what Reimold can do once and for all as a regular for this club and three good weeks or so at camp by Chavez should not...
Earlier today, I published an entry with new Orioles director of pitching development Rick Peterson and his goal to have the organization's pitchers work down in the strike zone and get quick outs this year.
As it relates to less-experienced minor league pitchers, Peterson wants them to become better at the mental part of the game.
"One thing we want is to get them to think properly and process properly in game competition, especially the most talented pitchers," Peterson said. "When...
When Ray Miller was the Orioles' pitching coach he used to say his pitchers needed to "work fast, change speeds and throw strikes." Now that Rick Peterson has taken over as the Orioles' director of pitching development, that phrase could become "work down and get quick outs."
Peterson can cite plenty of stats that will show Orioles pitchers the benefits of keeping their pitches low in the strike zone this year.
"Our pitching philosophy is, No. 1, to pitch to the bottom of the strike...
In his first interview since the news came out that he will need season-ending surgery on his ailing right shoulder on April 2, Orioles 2009 top draft pick
Orioles 2009 first-round draft pick Matt Hobgood is going to have season-ending surgery on his right rotator cuff after getting a second opinion from a doctor on his ailing shoulder.
Hobgood, who said he had not felt right or truly free of discomfort since beginning his pro career, will be operated on April 2 by Dr. Craig Morgan of Wilmington, Del., a shoulder specialist.
After an offseason where he seemed to make some progress in rehabbing his shoulder injury, Hobgood was recently shut down...
All it takes is one.
One tweet from Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com saying that the Orioles are shopping both Kevin Gregg and Mark Reynolds, and soon everyone is picking up the report and it is almost taken as fact. The report could very well prove to be true, but I think you always have to be somewhat skeptical of trade rumor talk.
Gregg's name has been out there before, but I don't recall any reports about Reynolds. No doubt many fans would be happy if Gregg were removed from the roster....
Since I was not invited to the meetings, I can't say for sure how involved Andy MacPhail was or was not when it came to decisions involving Orioles minor leaguers over his time with the club.
But it sure does seem that first-year executive vice president Dan Duquette, who clearly takes a large and active interest in player development, will have a big say in which players end up with which minor league teams when the seasons begin in a few weeks. Duquette figures to be the final arbiter when...