Bundy hurls three hitless in 2015 bow

Pitchers are used to having some down time. Even the healthiest of hurlers have four days to rest during the season. But going months on end without playing meaningful games when everyone else is on the field? That's a whole other matter.

That's exactly what Baltimore's top prospect Dylan Bundy has experienced the past couple years. While he doesn't necessarily like it, he's learning to live with it, because he knows the organization's intentions are good.

Making his 2015 debut Monday evening, Bundy needed just 34 pitches to breeze through three hitless innings as the Double-A Bowie Baysox bested the host Harrisburg Senators, 2-1. The right-hander threw 24 pitches for strikes and collected one strikeout before exiting the game.

The only batter to get to first base against the 6-foot-1 hurler was Kevin Keyes, who reached on third baseman Sharlon Schoop's fielding error to open the second.

"It felt great," said Bundy, who was pleased with his fastball command and used his off-speed pitches sparingly. "First inning, I had a little bit of excitement, so I was not commanding the baseball like I wanted to. But in the second and third innings, I commanded the ball a lot better. It's been two years since I broke camp on a roster, so making my [season] debut healthy out of Spring Training was pretty exciting for me.

"You never throw with maximum effort as a starter. I try to be as efficient as possible. I don't try to overthrow the ball."

Selected by the Orioles in the first round of the 2011 Draft, MLB's No. 21 prospect has had more than his fair share of ups and downs.

Bundy went 9-3 with a 2.08 ERA in 23 starts in his rookie year in 2012, but he experienced soreness in his throwing arm in Spring Training the following March and was held back in camp. A further setback ensured he wouldn't appear in a Minor League game until the summer at the earliest, but his 2013 return was shelved permanently when Dr. James Andrews revealed he would need Tommy John surgery in June.

The 22-year-old returned to the mound last June 15 for short-season Aberdeen, where he made three appearances. He made an additional six starts for Class A Advanced Frederick before getting shut down with a strained lat muscle following his Aug. 5 outing against Carolina.

He made his Spring Training debut for Baltimore on March 4, his first live action in almost two-thirds of a year, and he went appeared in relief three times over the course of the next 12 days. In total, Bundy allowed four Grapefruit League runs over six innings. He struck out three batters while issuing six walks.

The Oklahoma native is just happy to be back. "Just sitting on the coach, arm in a sling, watching everybody else playing was hard," Bundy said. "I wanted to be in the dugout, competing, congratulating guys, enjoying the season. Really, my first year when they started me on three innings in [Class A] Delmarva was the hardest because I didn't know why they were holding me back. Now I know where they were coming from."

Bundy, who made his Major League debut as a September callup in 2012, knows he will be limited in a similar manner this year. He said he'll be on a three-innings limit initially until the organization is happy enough with his progress to let him bump that workload to four innings. Bundy said that "could be a while," but that he's happy to take his time.

One thing that will be different from previous years is a part of Bundy's workout regimen which drew headlines in the past. The right-hander would lift 900-pound tires and toss sledgehammers in the offseason, but that's a thing of the past now.

"Really, the workout routine changed a little bit after the [Tommy John surgery], said Bundy, the fourth overall pick in the 2011 Draft. "I don't try some of the crazy stuff I did when I was younger. I mean, I can still flip a tire anytime I want, but I'm not going to do that during the season now. That doesn't get the ball on the outer half of the plate when I need to."

Bowie's Matt Hobgood scattered a pair of hits and a walk while striking out two batters over three scoreless innings of relief to earn the victory. Catcher Chris O'Brien smacked a two-run homer, his first of the year, and second baseman Derrik Gibson collected two hits and scored a run.

Harrisburg starter Matt Swynenberg surrendered two runs over six innings. He gave up two hits and two walks while recording three punchouts.