Baltimore Orioles: Hunter Harvey Is Back, Ryan McKenna Goes Oppo

SARASOTA, FL - MARCH 07: Ed Smith Stadium just prior to the start of the Grapefruit League Spring Training Game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Boston Red Sox at Ed Smith Stadium on March 7, 2010 in Sarasota, Florida. (Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images)
SARASOTA, FL - MARCH 07: Ed Smith Stadium just prior to the start of the Grapefruit League Spring Training Game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Boston Red Sox at Ed Smith Stadium on March 7, 2010 in Sarasota, Florida. (Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images)

Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Hunter Harvey is healthy and has his first 2019 start under his belt.

Seasons change, players come and go, but one question seems to always be on the minds of fans of the Baltimore Orioles – will this be the year for starting pitcher Hunter Harvey?

His injury history has been well documented and discussed. It’s been bad luck piled on top of more bad luck for the 2013 first round pick of the Baltimore Orioles, yet every year fans hope it’s the year that Harvey finally stays healthy and makes his major league debut.

In a piece by Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun that brought hope and optimism for Harvey’s 2019 season, “the gloves are off.”

“I think Harvey’s good to go,” Britton said. “Obviously, all these guys, we’re gonna have pitch counts and stuff early in the year. We can’t just throw them out there, complete-game shutout every night. We’ve got to ease them into it, but I think Harvey’s a guy that the gloves are off. We’re hoping that he can develop into that top-of-the-rotation guy that everyone’s hoping for.”

He made his first start of the 2019 season on Saturday afternoon in game one of a doubleheader for the Bowie Baysox. Battling the Harrisburg Senators, Harvey needed 79 pitches to get through 4.2 innings, allowing five earned runs on 10 hits (two home runs), walking one, and striking out six.

Harvey cruised through his first three innings, striking out five and keeping the Senators off the board. Three of those five strikeouts came with his curveball which looked strong, early on.

Then things got a little hairy. After getting a groundball out to lead off the inning, Harvey served up a home run to Michael Taylor, but quickly recorded the second out of the inning on flyball sent out to Ryan McKenna. The third out never came as Harvey gave up a single, home run, and double before being replaced by Zach Pop.

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I know the gloves are off and the Orioles are letting Harvey go without restrictions, but I was surprised to see him come back out for the fifth inning in this first start. After producing a fair number of swings and misses with his curveball, Senator hitters were able to produce hard contact against the pitch, which appeared to have lost a bit of its shape as the afternoon went along.

However, what he showed through the first three innings was solid. Harvey may have made his organizational debut back in 2013, but remember, he has just 176 innings of work since. Give him a few starts. At least he made it out healthy.

Elsewhere on the diamond, prospect outfielder Ryan McKenna launched his first home run of the year. It came on the heels of an interesting sequence of events.

With two outs in the inning and a 3-2 count against Preston Palmeiro (who returned to first base for this game), Harrisburg Senators’ pitcher Erick Fedde (2014 first round pick of the Washington Nationals) was charged with a pitch clock violation, giving Palmeiro the free pass to first base. Sean Miller and T.J. Nichting followed up with singles, before McKenna sent a three-run shot the opposite way. He had two hits on the afternoon (includes only game one).

The speedy outfielder is one of the more intriguing prospects to watch down on the farm this year. His extremely quick bat, ability to fly down the basepaths, and play solid defense should translate well to the major league game.

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