Minus big fastball, Joe Gunkel found his way to the 40-man roster

In a sport that often seems almost obsessed with high-end velocity, right-hander Joe Gunkel has had a strong minor league career without lighting up any radar guns. Now he wants to take a shot at doing that in the major leagues.

Gunkel took a big step toward his major league debut when the Orioles added him to their 40-man roster on Nov. 18. He'll go to spring training as a long shot to make the team, but during the 2017 season, he might get his chance to help the Orioles at some point.

From Hershey (Pa.) High School and West Chester (Pa.) University, Gunkel was drafted in 2013 in round 18 by Boston. On June 3, 2015 he was acquired in a trade by the Orioles for outfielder Alejandro De Aza.

Using his usual excellent control, Gunkel went 8-14 this year with an ERA of 4.02, making his first four starts for Double-A Bowie and then 24 more with Triple-A Norfolk. Over 161 innings, he allowed 182 hits with 21 walks and 109 strikeouts. His ERA was 3.56 for the Tides in mid-August until he gave up some late runs to elevate that.

"I felt good (about the year)," Gunkel said. "It wasn't really statistically what I would have wanted. But I felt I threw the ball well. I pitched deep into games and I worked a lot on the mental side of the game. I think some of those struggles that I had really helped me grow in that aspect of the game. All in all, I felt it was a good year. I learned a lot and made a lot of progress.

"They always tell you in Double-A and Triple A that you are just one phone call away. Now, being on the 40-man roster, it just makes it a little easier for them to get you up there."

I asked Gunkel what he meant about working on the mental side of the game.

"Just being able to slow the game down when things don't go your way," he said. "Early in the Triple-A season, there were a couple of outings where things just got away from me. And, you know, runs started piling up quickly. As I went through the year, I learned how to slow the game down, pitch to pitch. To be able to limit the damage when runners get on base. You just need to calm yourself down and stay relaxed, but still in an attack mindset and execute pitches."

Gunkel has had excellent control throughout his career and he showed that again in 2016. He averaged just 1.17 walks per every nine innings pitched.

"I've always kind of had a pretty good feel for my fastball and off-speed pitches," he said. "Throughout high school and college, I never walked too many. Just a lot of focus and knowing what counts you can nibble and try to hit a corner and what counts you need to throw a strike in. When you are ahead of hitters, it is a lot easier to have quick at-bats. I try to stay aggressive.

"Being able to get ahead (is a key). Kind of move the ball in and out. Moving the ball around and changing speeds. Last year, I had a lot of success getting ahead 0-1, then would move the hitter off the plate and then go back away. Speed them up and slow them down during the at-bat, keep guys off balance."

Gunkel throws a fastball, slider and split-finger fastball. He used to throw a straight changeup, but switched to the splitter after a suggestion from new Orioles bullpen coach Alan Mills following the 2015 season.

Gunkel's fastball works between 88 and 92 mph, often at 89 and 90 mph. He's not throwing the ball by anyone most games, but he has a career walk rate of 1.57, a strikeout rate of 7.45 and a 1.12 WHIP.

"The velocity is something you can't really control," Gunkel said. "You're going to throw as hard as you can throw. It's not like I can muscle up and throw 96 (mph) if I wanted to. So you have to make what you have work. If I can make 88 to 92 on the corners work for me, then that is what I am going to do. I can't be someone that I am not. I don't look at the velocity charts too much after the game. I try not to get myself worrying about that out there."

An intelligent and highly competitive pitcher, Gunkel has drawn some comparisons to right-hander Tyler Wilson. Gunkel went 8-4 with a 2.59 ERA in 17 starts at Double-A Bowie after the trade in 2015 and he helped the Baysox win the Eastern League championship. In his career, he is 28-25 with a 3.30 ERA over 430 innings.

Born in West Palm Beach, Fla., Gunkel moved to Hershey during his freshman year of high school. He is living and working out in New Jersey this winter and just recently started his offseason throwing program. He'll join the rest of the pitchers on the 40-man roster in February in Sarasota. He came close to getting called up a few times last summer.

"As a starter, there are four days when you can worry about it and it's always on your mind," he said. "There was a time in August when my start was scratched at one point. That was kind of cool to know they were thinking about me and I was in contention for that start."

Now Gunkel hopes to be in contention again for a roster spot in 2017 when he hopes to make his major league debut.