Dylan Bundy talks about his rehab outing at Aberdeen
ABERDEEN, Md. - Dylan Bundy's outing tonight started and ended with two strikeouts and he got a few more in between as well.
Making his second start for short-season Single-A Aberdeen, Bundy struck out nine batters and pitched five scoreless innings against the Brooklyn Cyclones. He gave up just two hits and issued just one walk in a game that Brooklyn won 3-1 in 11 innings.
It was a strong outing for the 21-year-old right-hander that is ranked the Orioles' No. 1 prospect by Baseball America and No. 15 overall on their top 100 list. These were Bundy's first two minor league games since he underwent Tommy John surgery last June 27.
"Overall, I'm pretty happy with it," Bundy said outside the Aberdeen clubhouse. "Especially the first three innings. Velo was a little bit better tonight and I was commanding the ball pretty well. First time being here in Aberdeen. Good crowd. Was definitely a fun experience."
Bundy pitched in front of a crowd of 5,001 that included Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette, director of player development Brian Graham and director of minor league operations Kent Qualls.
Bundy retired the first nine Brooklyn batters he faced and struck out five of the first six. His fastball sat mostly in the same range as it did during his first start, at 91-93 mph with at least one 94 I saw on the Ripken Stadium scoreboard gun. As the game went on, he mixed in some sharp breaking curveballs in the mid-70s and a few changeups.
Bundy said he felt some of his former dominance in the early innings when he recorded the five strikeouts.
"First two innings, I felt like I was able to throw the fastball anywhere I wanted to at any time," he said. "Then I just have to be able to do that in the fourth, fifth, sixth. Still have work to do.
"There is still the velo to get back obviously, but I feel like I'm competing the way I used to. I'm going at batters with the fastball. Competing-wise, I feel like I'm my old self."
Bundy was happy with his changeup tonight and said those he threw had good movement with sink and run.
He gave up a leadoff single and a stolen base in the fourth. The runner eventually advanced to third, but was out at the plate when a pitch got behind catcher Jonah Heim. Heim threw to Bundy for the out at home. A double followed, but Bundy stranded that runner.
Bundy didn't need more than 16 pitches in any one inning and threw 64 for the game, 48 for strikes. Bundy went to the bullpen after the outing to throw 11 more pitches to get to his pitch count of 75 for the night.
Club officials feel Bundy's velocity is fine right now with where he is at in this process. Bundy agrees with that assessment.
"I'm not worried about it right now," he said. "People tell me all the time it takes a little bit longer than a year to get it all the way back. I've crept up a little bit every two or three starts. If I can throw 91, 93, hit 94 every now and then and locate it, I'm fine with it."
In two Aberdeen outings, he has thrown 10 innings, allowing seven hits and one run with one walk and 15 strikeouts.
His next outing is scheduled for Ripken Stadium on June 27, which is the anniversary of his surgery. After that, the Orioles are expected to evaluate where he is at and he could then be promoted to a higher level of the minors, possibly Double-A.
It was a strong outing for the 21-year-old right-hander that is ranked the Orioles' No. 1 prospect by Baseball America and No. 15 overall on their top 100 list. These were Bundy's first two minor league games since he underwent Tommy John surgery last June 27.
"Overall, I'm pretty happy with it," Bundy said outside the Aberdeen clubhouse. "Especially the first three innings. Velo was a little bit better tonight and I was commanding the ball pretty well. First time being here in Aberdeen. Good crowd. Was definitely a fun experience."
Bundy pitched in front of a crowd of 5,001 that included Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette, director of player development Brian Graham and director of minor league operations Kent Qualls.
Bundy retired the first nine Brooklyn batters he faced and struck out five of the first six. His fastball sat mostly in the same range as it did during his first start, at 91-93 mph with at least one 94 I saw on the Ripken Stadium scoreboard gun. As the game went on, he mixed in some sharp breaking curveballs in the mid-70s and a few changeups.
Bundy said he felt some of his former dominance in the early innings when he recorded the five strikeouts.
"First two innings, I felt like I was able to throw the fastball anywhere I wanted to at any time," he said. "Then I just have to be able to do that in the fourth, fifth, sixth. Still have work to do.
"There is still the velo to get back obviously, but I feel like I'm competing the way I used to. I'm going at batters with the fastball. Competing-wise, I feel like I'm my old self."
Bundy was happy with his changeup tonight and said those he threw had good movement with sink and run.
He gave up a leadoff single and a stolen base in the fourth. The runner eventually advanced to third, but was out at the plate when a pitch got behind catcher Jonah Heim. Heim threw to Bundy for the out at home. A double followed, but Bundy stranded that runner.
Bundy didn't need more than 16 pitches in any one inning and threw 64 for the game, 48 for strikes. Bundy went to the bullpen after the outing to throw 11 more pitches to get to his pitch count of 75 for the night.
Club officials feel Bundy's velocity is fine right now with where he is at in this process. Bundy agrees with that assessment.
"I'm not worried about it right now," he said. "People tell me all the time it takes a little bit longer than a year to get it all the way back. I've crept up a little bit every two or three starts. If I can throw 91, 93, hit 94 every now and then and locate it, I'm fine with it."
In two Aberdeen outings, he has thrown 10 innings, allowing seven hits and one run with one walk and 15 strikeouts.
His next outing is scheduled for Ripken Stadium on June 27, which is the anniversary of his surgery. After that, the Orioles are expected to evaluate where he is at and he could then be promoted to a higher level of the minors, possibly Double-A.
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