A look at Zach Davies' strong performance in the Arizona Fall League

He had a very solid 2014 season pitching for Double-A Bowie at just 21, and right-hander Zach Davies has carried that over to the Arizona Fall League.

After going 10-7 with a 3.35 ERA for the Baysox, Davies is 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA in six starts for the Glendale Desert Dogs of the AFL. In his last four starts, he has given up just one run over 17 innings.

Davies has made steady progress since the Orioles selected him in Round 26 of the 2011 draft and he'll likely be as close to the majors as ever when he pitches in the Triple-A Norfolk rotation in 2015.

Davies was No. 11 last year on Baseball America's list of O's prospects and moved up to No. 6 on the latest list released last month. That makes him the organization's third-rated pitcher after Dylan Bundy at No. 1 and Hunter Harvey at No. 2.

A slender right-hander with a smooth delivery, solid fastball and excellent changeup, Davies is adding some innings in the AFL after he pitched just 110 innings at Bowie.

Davies had two stints on the disabled list this season. He took a liner off his right arm in April and dealt with some shoulder tendinitis in May.

Mike Griffin, the pitching coach at Triple-A Norfolk the last six seasons, is co-pitching coach for Glendale. That provides an opportunity for one of the O's top pitching instructors to work with a kid that will likely be in the Norfolk rotation next season.

"We are working on a four-pitch mix with him with an emphasis on his curveball," Griffin said last week from Arizona. "When he does his side work, we also work on his slider, but we are concentrating on the curveball a lot, especially in the games.

"We are also working on fastball command. We really emphasize that with all four pitchers out here. Davies has done really well. Very pleased, especially with his secondary pitches."

Knowing Davies is a strike-thrower with a changeup rated as best in the organization by Baseball America, the Orioles are using his time in Arizona to try and improve his breaking ball.

"We work on a get-me-over curveball for first-pitch strikes and then a putaway curveball. We've also worked on a slider a bit to see if that can be a pitch down the road for him," Griffin said.

In his first two AFL outings, Davies gave up four runs in 4 2/3 innings. In his last four games, he has worked 17 innings, allowing 13 hits and one run with five walks and 18 strikeouts. AFL batters have gone 0-for-15 against him with runners in scoring position.

Davies is a sharp young pitcher that is said to be very coachable.

"I'm finding that to be very true," Griffin said. "He's quiet, but he soaks in the information and is a real good worker in between starts and is very quick to make adjustments."

Davies pitched mostly from 89-91 mph with his fastball during the Eastern League season, but Griffin said he's seen some 92s and 93s from Davies in the AFL.

Known as a poised hurler with good command, Davies was tabbed by O's manager Buck Showalter to pitch against the Orioles for Norfolk when they played an exhibition game in late March at Harbor Park.

J.J. Hardy and Chris Davis saw first-hand how good Davies' changeup can be as he struck out that pair with the pitch in the first inning.

"It is a swing-and-miss pitch for me right now based on what I've seen out here," Griffin said of Davies' changeup. "That is what he is getting a lot of his strikeouts on, but also some on his curveball. And when hitters wait on his changeup or curveball, the fastball command has improved and he's locked some hitters up out here with called third strikes on his fastball."

Before the draft rules changed with the new collective bargaining agreement, Davies got a sizeable overslot bonus. The O's signed Davies away from his Arizona State commitment for $575,000.

After pitching for Single-A Delmarva in 2012 and Single-A Frederick in 2013, Davies was solid at Bowie last summer and now his steady climb through the system will likely take him to Triple-A in 2015.

Stat of the day: A look at the Orioles 2014 minor league home run leaders:

26 - Christian Walker
15 - Dariel Alvarez, Buck Britton, Michael Burgess
14 - Mike Yastrzemski

Talking dollars and cents: If you missed this from Saturday, we took a look at projecting the Orioles' 2015 payroll with plenty of reader comments.