O's shut down top picks Bundy, Hobgood

Orioles top prospect Dylan Bundy could be out for the remainder of the season after Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said the right-hander was shut down with a right shoulder injury on Monday afternoon.

MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli said Bundy, who has not pitched since May 21, has been told to stop throwing due to inflammation in his right shoulder. The Orioles' No. 1 pick in the 2011 Draft had appeared in eight games this season as he continues to work his way back from Tommy John surgery in 2013.

Showalter said Bundy went for an MRI, which showed no structural damage. He was advised to rest, and Showalter hinted that the Orioles could ease him back to the mound in the Arizona Fall League.

"He's just kind of shut down for the near future. For a while. Kind of let everything calm down, see where we are," Showalter told MLB.com. "But, depending on how you look at it, probably as good of news [on the MRI] as you can expect. I obviously know a lot more than I'm going to talk about… he won't be throwing for a little while. See how that is."

So, while surgery does not appear to be an option at the moment, Showalter said that Bundy could be done for the Minor League season.

"I don't want to get into doctors evaluations, but I know Dylan throwing again is not imminent," Showalter said. 

Baltimore also said it has shut down another first-round pick, Matt Hobgood, who will undergo right shoulder surgery around July 6. The 24-year-old right-hander was the Orioles' first-round pick in 2009 but has appeared in just six games above the Class A Advanced level since debuting six years ago. He previously missed the entire 2012 season.

Both Bundy and Hobgood were at Double-A Bowie this season. Bundy is 0-3 with a 3.68 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 22 innings over eight starts, while Hobgood is 1-1 with a 6.52 ERA and seven strikeouts over 9 2/3 frames in six relief outings.

Bundy, 22, made his Major League debut in September 2012, appearing in two games, but was diagnosed by Dr. James Andrews with a partial tear in his right elbow ligament on June 26, 2013. He had surgery to repair the elbow and returned last June 15, making nine starts for Class A Short Season Aberdeen and Class A Advanced Frederick. He went 1-3 with a 3.27 ERA in 15 innings before joining Bowie this year.

Baltimore has taken things slow with the prized righty this season, holding him to three innings or fewer in seven of his eight starts. He last pitched on May 21 at Trenton, when he struck out five and held the Yankees affiliate to a pair of hits over four innings.

Hobgood was the No. 5 overall pick in the 2009 Draft -- selected ahead of fellow first-rounders Mike Trout, Zach Wheeler, Mike Leake and Drew Storen, among others -- but underwent rotator cuff surgery in April 2012. The 6-foot-4 righty is 17-24 with a 4.98 ERA in 110 career games with the O's.

Bundy shut down from throwing for now. No plans for him to pitch anytime soon. No surgery being discussed for now.

- Brittany Ghiroli (@Britt_Ghiroli) June 29, 2015