Minor league updates on Lew Ford, Bobby Bundy, Oliver Drake and more

Outfielder Lew Ford, who made several key contributions to the Orioles' 2012 playoff run, has been out since May 10 after a sports hernia injury. Ford saw a doctor recently and surgery is a possibility. No decision on that has yet been made. It was quite a story last season when the Orioles signed Ford out of the Atlantic League on May 17 and called him up from the minors in late July. He was on the club's playoff roster in October. With a glut of outfielders at the higher levels of the minors, he began this season with Double-A Bowie, but moved to Triple-A Norfolk after eight games. He was batting .170 in 13 games with the Tides. Infielder Nicky Delmonico, who has played in just one game since May 21 for Single-A Frederick, could be back in the lineup as soon as today. He fouled a ball off his foot in a recent game and missed a few games, but X-rays were negative. Delmonico is batting .324 with five homers and 17 RBIs in 20 games. Jonatan Isenia, a 20-year-old right-handed pitcher that was injured pitching for the Netherlands during the World Baseball Classic, has been on a throwing program for about three weeks at the Orioles' extended spring training program in Sarasota, Fla. On that program, pitchers progress from throwing at 60, 90, 120 and 180 feet to throwing bullpen sessions and then during practice and then on to simulated games. Isenia, from Curacao, went 0-1 with a 1.47 ERA in 13 games last summer pitching in the Orioles' Dominican Summer League program. He was shut down for several weeks after pitching in two games for the Netherlands in the WBC due to a sprained ulnar collateral ligament. "He feels great and he's doing great, so hopefully he continues along that path. Hopefully, he clears every hurdle and keeps moving forward," Orioles director of player development Brian Graham said of Isenia. Meanwhile, Oliver Drake continues to make solid progress after shoulder surgery last August. He has pitched in several games at extended spring training and is scheduled to throw two innings today. If he keeps making progress, he could join an O's affiliate in the next few weeks. Right-hander Bobby Bundy, who had bone spurs removed from his right elbow last July 21, has not yet advanced to a throwing program, but he may do so starting next week. "He had a setback at one point," Graham said. "He just had a reoccurrence of inflammation from the original surgery and that area is still healing. We'll see how the throwing program goes (when he starts one), how he feels and how he rebounds." Bundy was the Orioles' 2008 eighth-round draft pick.