Baltimore Orioles: Bad luck, or poor pitcher development?
The year was 1980. It’s the last time a Cy Young award was won by a member of the Baltimore Orioles. That season, Steve Stone won 25 games and beat out Mike Norris of the Athletics to take home pitching’s top prize in the American League. The year before that in 1979, O’s pitcher Mike Flanagan won. And of course there was Jim Palmer before those two, who claimed the award three times in the 70s.
Palmer is a Hall of Famer and the best pitching arm the Orioles franchise has ever seen. It has been some time since Baltimore dominated games with their pitching like they did in Palmer’s day. The last time the club had a pitcher appear on the Cy ballot was in 2012. Reliever Jim Johnson saved 51 games for them that year and had a pretty good season, but finished a distant seventh on the ballot.
In 2007 Erik Bedard finished fifth in voting for the AL Cy Young. That was the last time any O’s starting pitcher caught a whiff of the pinnacle of individual distinction in pitching.
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Baltimore won their first AL East pennant since 1997 last season on the strength of their bats and arms. It was the first and only time their pitching staff produced a team ERA of lower than 3.50 (3.43) in the 21st century. Of the six regular contributors on that 2014 rotation, only Kevin Gausman and Wei-Yin Chen were signed and brought through the Orioles’ system.
The relatively inexperienced Gausman took a step backward in 2015 with his performance. He went 7-7 with a 3.57 ERA and 3.41 FIP in 20 starts last year. This time around, the former fourth overall pick from the 2012 draft is 3-7 with a 4.49 ERA and 4.25 FIP through 24 games (16 starts).
In recent memory, there are multiple examples of failed attempts by Baltimore to draft and develop starting pitchers within their minor league system. 2006 third round pick, Zach Britton, saw regular work as a starter in the minors. After being promoted for the first time, he failed to produce in his initial 39 MLB starts from 2011-12. As a starter in his career, Britton went 18-17 with a 4.86 ERA and a measly K:BB ratio of 1.49. Thankfully for Baltimore, they were able to salvage Britton’s career and turn him into a very competent closer.
Brian Matusz, like Gausman, falls into the fold of seven pitchers who have been selected by the Orioles in the first round of the June amateur draft dating back to 2005. Of those seven, five have reached or played at the Major League level and they hold a collective WAR of 1.0 for their MLB service. RHP Matt Hobgood was taken fifth overall in 2009. He just completed his first season above Single-A ball, posting a 6.52 ERA in six appearances with Double-A Bowie.
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The other draftee who has not reached the pros is 2012’s Hunter Harvey, who was taken 22nd overall in 2013, one a year after Gausman. Harvey battled through injuries in 2015, one of which saw him meet with renowned surgeon Dr. James Andrews to discuss the elbow on his throwing arm. Dylan Bundy follows suit with Harvey — a pitcher with great potential, but one who is oft-injured. The right-hander had Tommy John surgery in 2013 and only made eight starts at Double-A this season because of a nagging shoulder injury.
The injuries to players like Harvey and Bundy could be viewed as misfortune. But a lot of a players’ health in their developmental minor league careers is dependent on coaching and tutelage from men running the farm systems. It’s about recognizing strengths and weaknesses, determining arm-slots and release points. If something ominous lingers, it’s the manager or pitching coaches job to address it because every player is viewed as an asset, especially first round picks.
The fact of the matter is, the modern Baltimore Orioles struggle to develop their starting pitchers in the minors. Setbacks with Harvey and Bundy in there and Gausman in the majors are evidence of this. When is the last time an O’s fan could say with confidence that their rotation featured a legitimate ace? Mike Mussina from 1991-2000 is probably as close as it gets.
If position players like Manny Machado, Matt Wieters and Nick Markakis drafted in previous first rounds by the Orioles can turn into impact players on the club, why can’t their pitchers? It’s something Baltimore is going to have to remedy and it should be a top priority headed into the offseason.