Always a highlight of the offseason, Baseball America released its top 100 prospect list on Tuesday with two Orioles being featured prominently.
Right-handed pitchers Dylan Bundy and Kevin Gausman each appeared on the list as the 20-year-old Bundy is ranked as the second-best prospect in baseball while Gausuman, the club’s first-round selection a year ago, made his debut in the No. 26 spot.
Ranked 10th on last year’s prospects list and first in last season’s midseason rankings from the publication, Bundy is the prized possession of the Baltimore farm system after third baseman Manny Machado was promoted to the majors last August. The fourth overall pick of the 2011 draft received a cup of coffee with the Orioles in September, appearing in two games, and stayed with the club during its first postseason push in 15 years.
The 20-year-old Bundy split time between Delmarva, Frederick, and Bowie last season, going 9-3 with a 2.08 earned run average that included 119 strikeouts in 103 2/3 innings.
Gausman was the fourth overall pick in last year’s draft after a successful career at LSU and was a last-minute signing at last July’s deadline. The 22-year-old made five combined starts at Aberdeen and Frederick, allowing six earned runs and striking out 13 in 15 innings of work. Gausman was even elevated a step higher to make a playoff start for Double-A Bowie, tossing three scoreless innings for the Baysox.
Manager Buck Showalter has said this spring that the organization will manage each pitcher’s innings in an effort to have both available to pitch in September. The general consensus is that each pitcher will begin the season at Double-A Bowie.
No other Orioles prospects cracked the Baseball America top 100.
