Dylan Bundy has been ranked as baseball's No. 2 prospect and Kevin Gausman was rated No. 37 by MLB.com. The top 100 was unveiled last night during a live telecast on MLB Network and Texas infielder Jurickson Profar was rated as baseball's top prospect.
Bundy went 9-3 with a 2.08 ERA in 23 starts this past season at three minor league levels and then pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings in two major league relief appearances in September with the Orioles.
Jon Hart, an MLB Network analyst and a former Orioles minor league manager, had some major praise for Bundy.
"Dylan Bundy is an advanced young pitcher and when you look at Bundy, he has exactly what you want for a front-of-the-rotation guy," Hart said. "He's got that power fastball. He's got the 12-to-6 curveball. Didn't have to throw a slider much, but he's got it and he's got an outstanding change-up.
"This is a young kid that is very advanced for a 19-year-old (he turned 20 Nov. 15). He was called up to the big leagues and has a chance to be a future No. 1-type starter."
Bundy was interviewed by phone during the MLB Network telecast and was asked to grade his stats from this season in the minors.
"I really wouldn't give it a grade, but I felt good the whole year," Bundy said. "I still had the zip on the fastball that I needed and was throwing strikes and competing out there.
"They said they will let me throw quite a bit more (innings wise) than last year and last year I was getting my feet wet. I'm excited to move forward this year."
Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com was asked if he expects that Bundy will be the future No. 1 pitcher for the Orioles.
"I think so and it's not going to take that much time. Yes, he's not the tallest guy in the world, but don't mistake that for a lack of physicality. He is strong, he's an athlete, he repeats his delivery. He's going to be a lot more durable than people think a guy of that size is going to be. He is going to be at the top of that rotation very soon," Mayo said.
Gausman went 0-1 with a 3.60 ERA in five late-season starts between short-season Single-A Aberdeen and Single-A Frederick. He pitched three shutout innings with five strikeouts for Double-A Bowie in a playoff start in September.
After the rankings were revealed last night, Gausman posted this on his Twitter account:
"Well I've got a lot of people to prove wrong!"
Orioles infielder prospect Jonathan Schoop, who hit .245 with 14 homers and 56 RBIs as a 20-year-old for Bowie last summer, did not make the top 100. At the end of the 2011 season, he was ranked as the No. 82 prospect by Baseball America.
Read more here: In this November interview, Matt Forman, who produced this year's Orioles top 10 list for Baseball America, had rave reviews of both Bundy and Gausman.
Meanwhile, in this other November interview, the O's Dan Duquette said Bundy and Gausman have "serious talent" and admitted that both could make the O's rotation at some point this season.
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