Dylan Bundy on his spring, his cutter, facing Toronto and more

For right-handers Kevin Gausman and Dylan Bundy, their time has arrived. Ready or not, they are heading up the Orioles rotation at a time when the club will play 24 of its first 27 games against American League East competition.

The two No. 4 overall draft picks (Bundy in 2011 and Gausman in 2012) provide the Orioles two homegrown young guns to top their starting five as they await Chris Tillman's return, which they hope comes next month, from the disabled list.

Bundy said the two pitchers talked about this day as early as five years ago.

"We've talked about that ever since we were in Double-A together in 2012," Bundy said. "Just pitching together in the big leagues and for now we are one-two. We're both fortunate and humbled to be able to do this as a job. To be able to start the first two games, this is a blessing for both of us."

Are they ready for the pressure?

"Yeah, absolutely," Bundy said. "Especially for Gaus, he's been up here for two or three years now, and me getting my first taste last year. I learned a lot and will continue to learn this year, hopefully as a starter all season."

From 2013-15, as he went through elbow surgery and shoulder issues, Bundy pitched a total of 63 1/3 innings. Last season with the Orioles, he went 10-6 with a 4.02 ERA over 109 2/3 innings. It seems unlikely they could bump him up to the high 100s or 200 innings this year. Bundy said he doesn't really know or have any concern about his innings load for 2017.

"I'm not sure (how many innings I'll pitch) and I don't really care, honestly. As long as I make 32, 33, 34 starts this season as a big league starter, I'll be happy," he said.

Bundy did not have good results during spring training, pitching to an ERA of 7.41 and allowing six homers in 17 Grapefruit League innings. Yes, he was working on some things in spring and there was the balancing act between doing that while trying to get outs consistently.

"Yeah it kind of was," Bundy said. "I'm bringing in that new pitch (the cutter/slider) and it's not very consistent where it is going to go every single time. That is going to be a work in progress, but I feel like the last two outings - minor league camp and my last one at big league camp - went really well with the slider and changeup as well."

How much will he use the cutter/slider?

"We're going to play it by ear. Those hitters will let me know how well it works. I'll throw it and see what happens and go from there," he said.

Bundy throws a pretty solid changeup. Opponent batters hit just .220 off that pitch last season. Most of the time he would throw it to a left-handed hitter, but during spring training, he spent some time experimenting with throwing right-on-right changeups.

"I don't think necessarily you need to do it to have success, but it could help me absolutely," Bundy said of the off-speed pitch against right-handed hitters. "Learning how to throw a right-on-right changeup inside to a righty, not just on the outer half, it could help me."

Now Bundy gets set for something he always dreamed about. Pitching for a full year in a major league rotation. He's never started against the Toronto Blue Jays, but he will tonight. He faced them three times out of the 'pen last year, throwing 3 2/3 scoreless innings with one hit and four strikeouts.

"Power lineup. They've got a powerful lineup that I saw last year. I got a little feel for them last season pitching in relief. Hopefully I can carry that over and have success," Bundy said.