A look back at how it all started on the mound for Dylan Bundy

Most Orioles fans know all about Dylan Bundy's story since he got to pro ball. High draft pick. Lived up to the hype in 2012. Top-ranked prospect. But Tommy John surgery in 2013 and shoulder issues last season have limited the 23-year-old right-hander to 63 innings over the last three seasons.

Now out of options, Bundy will be counted on in the major leagues this year. If he can stay healthy, his time has come to help the Orioles.

But do fans know Bundy's story before he became an Oriole? I sure didn't, but in a lengthy interview early last season, I got up to speed. I interviewed Bundy for an article in Orioles Magazine.

The kid who became a great high school pitcher told of a modest beginning on a pitcher's mound. And it was an unscheduled appearance.

"I was playing for my dad's team," Bundy said. "They were 10 and I was 8. I was playing the infield and wasn't one of the better players. Our pitcher kept walking guys. We had a team meeting on the mound and dad said, 'Can anyone throw strikes?' I said I could. I got hit around, but I threw strikes. After that, dad built a mound in the pasture and me and my brother (Bobby, also an Oriole) started throwing."

From that modest start, an amazing amateur pitching career was built. One that would make Bundy one of the best prep pitchers scouts had seen in years. He showed high-end velocity with a very strong work ethic. The Orioles selected him fourth overall in the First-Year Player Draft in June 2011.

In his first pro season that started the following April, the kid who received so much hype lived up to all of it. He dominated at times, pitched at four levels, made the majors that September and ended that 2012 season ranked by Baseball America as the No. 2 prospect in baseball.

He learned from his dad, Denver, and older brother Bobby, who the O's drafted in round eight in 2008. The role models were two flame-throwing major league right-handers.

"Dad never pitched in college, but he always loved to watch the game and he liked Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens. He started reading up on them and what they did with their offseason workouts and how they threw," said Dylan. His father based Dylan's workout regimen off what he learned about Ryan and Clemens.

At Owassa (Okla.) High School, Bundy showed a fastball that kept gaining velocity and secondary pitches that got better. It was as a sophomore when he first realized he might have a chance to be a high draft pick.

"Freshman year, I was throwing like 87 to 90 (mph)," he said. "Sophomore year, I was 91 to 94, striking guys out and I started going to some showcases and played summer ball in Texas. I hit 94 a couple times that sophomore year and my dad said, 'You're not the tallest guy so you're going to have to throw at least 95.' As a junior, it was 94 to 97 and senior year 95 to 100."

After the draft, the Orioles signed him to a major league contract for $6.225 million that included a $4 million signing bonus. If scouts wondered how a then 19-year-old Bundy could possibly live up to all the hype when his pro career began with Single-A Delmarva in 2012, Bundy had the answer.

His season started with 13 no-hit innings. Over eight games before a move to Single-A Frederick, he pitched 30 innings for the Shorebirds, giving up just five hits, no earned runs, two walks and 40 strikeouts.

It was beyond domination, and such stats may not be seen there again in a long time, if ever. He ended the minor league year going 9-3 with a 2.08 ERA at three levels, ending at Double-A Bowie and was the easy choice for the Jim Palmer Award as Orioles minor league Pitcher of the Year.

"It was awesome. One of the things I wanted to do since I was a kid was play pro ball," he said. "That first year, I was trying to make the (major league) team out of camp. I was only 19, but I didn't care, I wanted to make the team. Came into spring training throwing 95 to 98 and was ready to go."

But Bundy's velocity was down during a 2013 spring training start and that eventually led to ligament-reconstructive surgery performed by Dr. James Andrews on June 27. You know the story from there. The kid with all that talent has been battling to come back and stay healthy - and show what we saw in 2012 can be duplicated.

Having thrown so few innings since 2013, he will probably be held to around 75 this season and figures to pitch in a bullpen role for the Orioles. The O's hoped Bundy could turn into a special pitcher when they drafted him in 2011. A year later, he looked like he could be just that. Now several seasons and two injuries later, Bundy is looking for a healthy year and to prove to the Orioles that the promise he once showed can be there again.

Surprising note: To this point of the offseason, the Orioles and Kansas City Royals have outspent the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees in free agent dollars.

$214.8 million - Orioles
$178.5 million - Royals
$72.3 million - Dodgers
$0 million - Yankees

The Chicago Cubs top the majors, having signed six free agents to contracts totaling $276.25 million. Boston tops the American League East at $230 million, with the Orioles second.