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In 2011, Dylan Bundy was the fourth overall draft pick of the Baltimore Orioles from Owasso High School in Oklahoma. Because of his draft status, he immediately became one of the top prospects in baseball. He signed a five-year MLB contract starting in 2012, and received a $4 million signing bonus.
He made two late-inning appearances for the Orioles in 2012 and worked 1 2/3 scoreless innings over two games. Unfortunately, at that point injuries derailed his career. He did not return to the big leagues until 2016 when he posted a 4.02 ERA over 109 2/3 innings in 36 games. That season, he split time between the bullpen and rotation. Since 2017, he has been used exclusively as a starter.
Now 29, Bundy went 2-9 with a 6.06 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP in 19 starts. In 90 2/3 innings for the Angels, he walked 34 and struck out 84 batters. He ended the season on the 60-Day Injured List with a shoulder injury.
It was a tough season following a 2020 season in which he finished ninth in AL Cy Young voting. He went 6-3 with a 3.29 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP over 11 starts and 65 2/3 innings. He also struck out 72 batters and walked just 17. He was in a lot of rumors at that season's trade deadline. The Twins certainly are hoping that he returns to that form.
Bundy will make $4 million in 2022. The Twins will also have the option of bringing him back in 2023 for $11 million or buying out that option for $1 million.
When he was drafted, he was known for his 100 mph fastball. In 2021, his average fastball velocity was 90.8 mph. Of course, in his successful 2020 season, his fastball velocity was 90.2. Bundy also throws a slider about 21% of the time, and it comes in the low 80s. He also throws a slower curve in the mid-70s and a changeup in the low-80s. As a four-pitch pitcher, he remains intriguing. In 2021, he threw each of his pitches at least 13.8% of the time. It will be interesting to see what Wes Johnson and Pete Maki saw in Bundy that they might be able to tinker with to try to bring out his best performance.
Bundy slots into the Twins starting rotation with Bailey Ober and Joe Ryan. Others currently in line for a possible rotation spot include Randy Dobnak, Griffin Jax, Lewis Thorpe and prospects such Jordan Balazovic, Jhoan Duran and Josh Winder.
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