Kevin Gausman and Dylan Bundy Could Turn Baltimore Orioles Into Dynasty
By Pete Schwichtenberg
@schwick26_pete
Getty Images
The Baltimore Orioles have bats that can take them a long way. This season, even with the losses of players like Manny Machado, Matt Wieters and Chris Davis for the ALDS, the O’s bats were able to defeat three Cy Young-winning pitchers en route to a sweep. Even if more bats are lost this offseason, they should still have a strong enough lineup to compete.
That said, if Kevin Gausman can continue to develop and Dylan Bundy can return from health and be as good as he is believed to be, the Orioles are set up to return to dynasty status of the late 60s.
When the Orioles ruled baseball in the late 60s and early 70s, they had the best pitching in all of baseball. With pitchers like Jim Palmer and Dave McNally, they became the first and only team to have four 20-game winners in a single season. While this year’s Baltimore starting staff has been solid, the pitchers are nowhere near as good as that former great rotation was. The 2014 Orioles have done it with little-known pitchers who have had strong seasons, complementing them with a lights-out bullpen.
Instead of going out and getting a free agent starter to keep them on top, the Orioles’ two young stars could be the answer to keep the O’s status as kings of the AL East for a long time.
The 23-year-old Gausman has bounced around from the minors to the majors over the last two seasons, but he certainly has the stuff to be a future ace. He has a blazing fastball and a changeup that is faster than the fastballs of many pitchers around MLB. This season in 20 big league starts, he went 7-7 with an ERA of just 3.57.
Bundy, who missed all of 2013 and most of 2014 due to Tommy John surgery, has the stuff to be even better than Gausman. Although he debuted with the team in 2012, he is still only 21-years-old. He has an outside shot at making the roster out of camp in 2015, and if he does, he should remain there permanently. He cruised through the minor leagues before his injury, and has the stuff to simply overpower batters.
The current makeup of the Orioles make them one of the best teams in all of baseball and a team that no one wants to face. They can hit and get it done with average pitching, but Gausman and Bundy’s electric stuff could make the team a dynasty again.
Pete Schwichtenberg is an MLB writer for Rantsports. Follow @schwick26_pete, Like on Facebook or add to your Google Network.
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