@CamdenDepot (Jon Shepard) and @masnSteve (Steve Melewski) have had quite a little twitter war today about how to handle Dylan Bundy's development and his non-existent promotion from Delmarva to Frederick.
I'm not entirely sure that the viewpoint Steve is broadcasting is truly his own. I think it's more a reflection of what Orioles management is feeding him. This is understandable considering his job is to be a newspaper/beat/fact reporter for MASN that follows the Orioles. The best way for him to get access to the Orioles players and management is to keep them happy by writing exactly what they tell him (and leaving out his opinions as much as possible). Regardless, he has to be accountable for his words, whether they are his or those of Orioles management.
Jon, on the other hand, has been voicing an educated opinion on the Bundy situation that is based on his past and current prospect development research and general knowledge of baseball. If you have ever read his minor league prospects posts on CamdenDepot, then you probably know his knowledge on this topic is supported by research and is well-respected in the baseball community.
My best attempt at transcribing the twitter war/conversation (order may be a little off):
Steve: "Lost in fan hysteria about possible Bundy promotion, they like him working on his changeup at a level where he can do that & have success."
Jon: "and somehow Frederick is way too hard for using his changeup? Not based on the reports I have been given."
Steve: "He can it develop better in a 6-man with two side sessions with a pitching coach he is clicking with."
Jon: "no rush, but absurd to think he cannot develop a change above Delmarva. Bad argument."
Steve: "Sure Bundy can get Carolina Lg hitters out now. Not the point. They are teaching him a changeup to get AL hitters out someday."
Jon: "you do not have to be in Frederick, but it is NOT keeping him from Frederick. That is the point."
Steve: "I know we are hearing from the same "critics" now on Bundy that are now saying Matusz was rushed. But hey, let's make that mistake again."
Steve: "The extra side session and less advanced hitters to do it against. Improve that pitch, then move up."
Jon: "pitch already plays and your other arguments (learning to be a pro) sounds more glad handy and a bit contradictory."
My two cents:
There were other tweets mixed in at the end that deal with name calling and such, but they are not important to the discussion at hand. I think there are positives on both sides of the argument. There really is no need to rush Bundy right now (Steve's point), but Bundy's opponents in Sally League can't even touch his pitches (Jon's point). So what's the solution? It's not my call but I think the Orioles should...
Move Dylan Bundy to Frederick (Carolina League) now.
- When you really think about it, Frederick and Delmarva are not that different from a travel and life-style standpoint, so the "learning to be a pro" argument can be thrown out. He'll still ride buses, and pitch every 5th or 6th day in lackluster A-ball environments/stadiums.
- Based on what I have read in the past, Bundy's opponents in Frederick will not be so much better than in Delmarva that he can't work on his changeup. My hope would be that maybe the Carolina League players could at least get a few hits and allow Bundy to work on all aspects of his game. Aspects of his game that he hasn't and probably won't ever be able to use in Delmarva include holding runners, pick-off moves, higher pitch counts (per inning or entire game), fielding bunts, situational pitching (RISP), etc.
