Rob Long: Orioles Try Out Some Of The 'Young Guns'
The Orioles sent some of their young guns out to the mound on Wednesday against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Kevin Gausman started the game for the Birds and while he ran into trouble in the fourth, he had some seemingly uneventful inning in the first through the third. Andrew McCutchen touched him up for a two run and they added another run, but that was it for the Bucks.
Next up was Dylan Bundy who went two innings, giving up one hit while striking out one. Bundy's velocity got up to 94-95 mph during his outing, changing speeds at times keeping hitters off balance.
Tanner Scott was quite impressive. The 21-year-old lefty had an upper 90s fastball that had Pirates hitters shaking their heads. While he, at times, struggled with control, he was good enough to go two thirds of an inning while striking a batter out. Look out for this young man's development during the 2016 season.
Pedro Beato was another pitcher I was interested in seeing while in Sarasota. Beato isn't truly a "young guy." He's 29 years old, so the clock is ticking for him. He's looking for a chance to prove himself on the Major League level again.
After being selected in the first round by the Orioles in 2006, Beato has bounced around with the Mets, Red Sox and recently the Braves. He signed a minor league deal with the O's in the offseason so he's looking to impress. On Wednesday he went an inning and a third allowing one hit and striking out a batter en route to closing out the Birds' 9-3 win over the Pirates. While, yes, it's spring training, I think we all agree on how good it is to see the Orioles get wins, but more importantly, get much needed help from the arms.