O's Harvey suffers fractured right fibula

Orioles right-hander Hunter Harvey was diagnosed with a fractured fibula Sunday, one day after he took a comebacker off his right ankle in a Minor League game. The injury will force the organization's second-ranked prospect to miss four to six weeks.

Harvey, MLB.com's No. 42 overall prospect, appeared in three Grapefruit League games this spring, allowing an unearned run over three scoreless innings. The 20-year-old yielded one hit and two walks while striking out four. He was reassigned to Minor League camp on March 16.

"It's non-displaced, hairline, and he was only going to throw about 'X' number of innings anyway, so now we can just let him go when he gets back," manager Buck Showalter told MLB.com. "So I don't look at it as anything. It kind of keeps us from having to break up his season.

"He's in a good place, so freshen up his arm a little bit and get him back out there in four to six weeks. It's the definition of hairline -- you have to really look for it. I don't know why they went with a CT scan. He must have had some point tenderness today or something. Most of those things, some people pitch with them, play with them. Just not a good idea right now, because then it may become displaced. So just put him in a boot and he'll be ready to go."

The 2013 first-round pick (22nd overall) spent last year at Class A Delmarva, where he went 7-5 with a 3.18 ERA in 17 starts. He recorded 106 strikeouts against 33 walks over 87 2/3 innings.

Though his first full season was cut short by a strained flexor mass in his right elbow, Harvey appeared in the South Atlantic League All-Star Game as well as the Futures Game and was named an MiLB.com Organization All-Star.

Harvey, the son of former Major League closer Bryan Harvey, split his first professional season between the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League and Class A Short Season Aberdeen. He was 0-1 with a 1.78 in eight starts, striking out 33 batters and walking six.