Baltimore Orioles: Dylan Bundy Leads The Way In May

BALTIMORE, MD - MAY 28: Dylan Bundy #37 of the Baltimore Orioles pitches against the Detroit Tigers during the seventh inning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on May 28, 2019 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD - MAY 28: Dylan Bundy #37 of the Baltimore Orioles pitches against the Detroit Tigers during the seventh inning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on May 28, 2019 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images)
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BALTIMORE, MD – MAY 23: Dylan Bundy #37 of the Baltimore Orioles pitches in the first inning against the New York Yankees at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on May 23, 2019 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD – MAY 23: Dylan Bundy #37 of the Baltimore Orioles pitches in the first inning against the New York Yankees at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on May 23, 2019 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images) /

The month of May wasn’t pretty for the Baltimore Orioles, but there were a few positives worth noting.

Another month is in the books and we’re another day closer to the Baltimore Orioles adding a franchise-changing prospect to the farm system with the number one overall pick in Monday’s MLB draft. I’m riding high on positive feelings ahead of this year’s draft, so let’s look back at the month of May through a positive lens.

The Orioles went 8-19 in May, the same record they posted in the month of April, giving them an overall record of 18-39. While the record didn’t change from month to month, the number of runs scored against Orioles’ pitching did. After allowing 6.4 runs per game in April, Baltimore allowed 5.7 runs per game in May. Unfortunately, the offense proved unable to help.

But we aren’t focusing on the negatives here, only the positives. Who were the most pleasant surprises in May for the Orioles? Let’s start with a starting pitcher.

Dylan Bundy turned things around last month for the Baltimore Orioles.

The month of April was a disaster for the former first-round pick of the Orioles. In five starts, Bundy went 0-4 with a 6.57 ERA in 24.2 innings. Hitters blasted nine home runs of the righty, reached base at an astronomical clip, and questions surrounding his health popped up after a significant decrease in his fastball velocity.

No one on this roster had a better turnaround in the month of May than Dylan Bundy. Making another five starts, Bundy went 30.2 innings, averaging six innings per start. He averaged less than five innings per start in April.

He went 2-2 with a 2.64 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP. Most impressively, Bundy allowed just four home runs. Hitters actually struggled to make solid contact against the veteran. His hard-hit allowed rate dropped from 32% to 21.6%, his groundball rate jumped from 29% to 44%, and hitters managed just a .195 average and .254 OBP. Dylan Bundy was good.

In a month where major league hitters set the record for most home runs hit in a single month (1,135), Bundy didn’t significantly add to that total. What changed?

Well, he didn’t use his fastball as much, dropping his usage from 50.4% to 42.5%. Hitters still made good contact against the 90 mph pitch, but it became more effective thanks to increased use in offspeed pitches, which were very good. He used the slider more, producing a 51% whiff rate, a .067 batting average, and .059 wOBA.

According to Brooks Baseball, Bundy lowered his release point in May and started producing more horizontal movement with his pitches, especially his fastball. Hopefully, these adjustments continue to produce positive results for Bundy. The Orioles need him to produce, whether it’s to improve his trade stock or to become a more reliable backend option for the future is up in the air.

His next start is scheduled to come next week against the Texas Rangers, on the road.

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – MAY 31: Renato Nunez #39 of the Baltimore Orioles celebrates his home run against the San Francisco Giants during the seventh inning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on May 31, 2019 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – MAY 31: Renato Nunez #39 of the Baltimore Orioles celebrates his home run against the San Francisco Giants during the seventh inning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on May 31, 2019 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /

Baltimore Orioles’ power-hitter Renato Nunez has been one of the top hitters in baseball over the past few weeks.

Over the last two weeks, the Baltimore Orioles have seen a resurgence of power from the bat of Renato Nunez. In fact, the Orioles designated hitter leads all of baseball with seven home runs in the last 14 days. Only Joc Pederson (253) and Juan Soto (255) have a higher wRC+ during this span (242 for Nunez).

It really was a tale of two-halves for Nunez in May. Those numbers listed above are from May 18th-May 31st. From May 1st-May 17th, Nunez ranked dead last in wRC+ with a -38 mark. He hit just .102, failed to record a single walk, and struck out more than 30% of the time.

His overall May slash line of .217/.265/.522 isn’t very impressive, so let’s focus on the last two weeks. That may be against the rules here, but we’re talking about the 2019 Baltimore Orioles so does it really matter in the grand scheme of things?

Since May 18th, Nunez is slashing .349/.429/.907 with seven home runs, 15 RBIs, and three doubles. His strikeout rate of 16% is nearly half of what it was during the first half of the month.

Nunez is drawing much-deserved attention, but will he stick around once Chris Davis and Mark Trumbo return to the active roster? That’s a tough question. While I believe most fans would agree that they don’t want to see Trumbo on the field again, Mike Elias is going to try and showcase Trumbo’s health to potential suitors and Chris Davis has drawn the praises of Brandon Hyde all season.

Nunez has as well, but he doesn’t have a massive contract attached to his name and doesn’t have the versatility that Stevie Wilkerson does. I don’t know what will happen, but I do know that a lot of people won’t be happy, regardless. Not that anyone is ever happy about any decision made by their favorite team.

Let’s talk about one more big May performance- everyone’s favorite pitcher and inspiration for overused puns.

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – MAY 29: Starting pitcher John Means #67 of the Baltimore Orioles walks off the field after retiring the side against the Detroit Tigers in the second inning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on May 29, 2019 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – MAY 29: Starting pitcher John Means #67 of the Baltimore Orioles walks off the field after retiring the side against the Detroit Tigers in the second inning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on May 29, 2019 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /

Are you a true believer in Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher John Means?

It took me a long time to come around on John Means. I’m still not 100% sold on his ability to be an effective piece five years down the road. I look at his numbers on a routine basis, dive into his Baseball Savant and Brooks Baseball data, and read the deep analytical pieces on Means that all sing his praises, but I think I’ve built a protective wall that prevents me from really falling in love with any pitcher in the Baltimore Orioles system. Can you blame me?

Means is doing everything he can to make me a believer and doing a fantastic job. In his five May starts, Means finished 2-1 with a 2.79 ERA and 1.03 WHIP, both marks bettering his April numbers of 2.82 and 1.07.

As with Bundy, Means’ strikeout rate dropped, but so did his home run rate and batting average against. Both pitchers finished among the top 22 major league pitchers in May ERA.

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Means set the tone early in the month of May, working arguably the best outing of his very young career against the defending World Series champion Boston Red Sox. He went a career-high seven innings, allowing just one run on three hits. He fanned four hitters and walked none, earning his second win as a starting pitcher (picked up a win against the Rays earlier in the year as a reliever).

Means finished up just as strong, putting in a six-inning performance against the Tigers last week. He allowed one run on three hits and struck out a career-high seven hitters. It was also the second time in a month in which Means went at-least six innings and issued no walks.

What will the month of June bring, other than a large list of new names to the organization through the draft? Tune in and find out. Also, come join the conversation on Twitter and give us a follow @BirdsWatcherFS.

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