Dylan Bundy Called Up to the Show

Dylan Bundy has officially completed his stratospheric rise through the Orioles' system during the 2012 season, as he was recalled from AA Bowie in the middle of the night last night. The move was necessitated after the Orioles' marathon 18 inning win over the Mariners in Seattle, and the team found itself possibly short on arms for tonight's final game in Seattle. Bundy was already on the 40-man roster and he is still about 16 innings shy of the organization's 125 innings pitched goal for him this season, so it's hard to argue against the move.

The team is really going all-in on their 2012 playoff push, and I'm all about it since you never know when they might have another opportunity to make it to the postseason. I will always remember when my dad took me out of middle school to attend an Orioles playoff game in 1997 because, as he said, "You never know when you will get another chance to see them in the playoffs." At the time, it seemed humorous to think that the O's wouldn't be good in the coming years, but the past fourteen years have taught me a lot.

So it's officially all hands on-deck from the O's. Bundy's rise from 2011 first-round draft pick to becoming a member of the Orioles active roster is especially amazing since he was drafted out of high school. It's not so rare for a battle-tested college pitcher to rapidly go from the draft to the Majors, but it's much more uncommon for a guy who is still 19 and selected out of high school to make it to the Majors this fast.

Since Dylan signed too late in 2011 to pitch for any of the Orioles' minor league affiliates, 2012 has been his first professional season, and he has pitched for the low A Delmarva Shorebirds, hi-A Frederick Keys, and AA Bowie Baysox. I only had the opportunity to see him pitch one time during the season, but it was during his most recent appearance in early September when he started Game 1 of the Eastern League playoffs for the Baysox. Here's a video I took of Dylan warming up in the bullpen prior to the start of the game.

He gave up just one run over six innings, and allowed six hits while striking out six. Is he ready for the Majors? Only time will tell, but I think that he has the potential to be a great MLB pitcher.