A day after sending Jonathan Villar to the Miami Marlins, the Orioles made another move this afternoon. This one is a splash, as Orioles GM Mike Elias sends Dylan Bundy to the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for four minor league pitchers, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN
The team acquired 24-year-old RHP Isacc Mattson, 23-year-old RHP Kyle Bradish, 22-year-old RHP Kyle Brnovich, and 21-year-old RHP Zach Peek from Los Angeles. Let’s take a look at each of the young arms the Birds received today.
Drafted in the eigth round by the Angels in 2019 is Kyle Brnovich. The 22-year-old right-hander weighs in at 6’2″ and 190 lbs.
Drafted out of college at Elon University, this kid shows a lot of promise. Being a strikeout pitcher, Brnovich struck out 110 batters in just 86 innings last season. He also reached 100 strikeouts in all three college seasons and holds the second most strikeouts in CAA history with 360. The record holder is none other than Justin Verlander. In 2018, Brnovich struck out a whopping 147 batters, while walking just 36 and had an ERA of 1.17.
Next is 24-year-old relief pitcher Isaac Mattson. Mattson is a right-hander and is another tall kid, measuring in at 6″2′.
In three years of minor league experience, his highest ERA was 3.95. Between three teams in 2019, Mattson struck out 110 batters to 27 walks. He doesn’t give up many home runs and has averaged around nine strikeouts per nine innings in his minor league career. Just recently in the Arizona Fall League, Mattson held a 1.69 ERA in seven games, with 12 strikeouts and zero walks in those appearances.
The third pitcher is Zach Peek. Peek is 21 years old and was drafted in the sixth round of the 2019 draft by the Angels. Coming in at 6″3′, Peek is a big kid with lots of potential.
Being drafted out of Winthrop University, he is another college draft pick, who went 7-3 with a 4.02 ERA and posted 91 strikeouts to 35 walks in 2019. Over his college career at Winthrop, Peek always finished with a winning record and never peaked past that 4.02 ERA from 2019. 2018 saw Peek’s best strikeout to walk ratio at 99 K’s to 24 walks.
Finally, we have Kyle Bradish. The biggest of them all, Bradish comes in at 6″4′. The 23-year-old right-hander was drafted in the fourth round of the 2018 draft out of New Mexico State.
Bradish stood as the No. 21 overall prospect in the Angels farm system. In one minor league season, Bradish pitched 101 innings with a 4.28 ERA. He averaged 10.7 strikeouts per nine innings and struck out a total of 120.
Bradish was dominant in college, ending his 2018 season with 140 strikeouts. He also never lost more than three games in college, and won at least eight every year.
Sending Dylan Bundy to the Angels already looks to be a great move by Mike Elias. There is no denying that Bundy was not what we thought he would be, and his time in Baltimore was up.
To be able to acquire four young pitchers, with the oldest at age 24, for someone who was not a part of the rebuild is amazing. It is a move that is about moving forward, and I cannot wait to see how this trade turns out in the coming years. This was a very well-played move by Mike Elias.
Let us know what you think about the trade in the comments, and be sure to follow The Baltimore Battery on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for more Orioles updates!
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