Hunter Harvey

Harvey finally had a (mostly) injury-free season, throwing 82 innings, beating the 63.2 frames he threw from 2015 to 2018 combined. Of those 82 innings, 6.1 came in the big-league bullpen, where he allowed just one run while striking out an impressive 11 batters. The bullpen is likely Harvey's long-term home, given both his injury history and his pitching profile, as he has a strong fastball and curveball but a mediocre changeup and shaky command. While that does cap Harvey's upside, the Orioles will be happy to have him healthy and pitching in whatever capacity he can. He could become a fantasy-relevant option if he works his way into the closer conversation. Baltimore lacks a proven bullpen ace, and Harvey seems to have taken to the bullpen well, seeing his strikeout rate jump from 23.7% as a Double-A starter to 31.4% in the Triple-A bullpen and 42.3% in the majors.

Harvey's brief professional career has been marred by injury, causing the 21-year-old to lose his prospect luster. Harvey burst onto the scene in 2014, posting a 106:33 K:BB in 87.2 innings at Low-A Delmarva as a teenager. He missed the entire 2015 campaign due to a right elbow strain, though. Harvey then suffered a groin injury during his return to the mound in the spring of 2016, forcing him to undergo hernia surgery. Harvey subsequently pitched in just five games before exiting with soreness in his right flexor mass. He ultimately needed Tommy John surgery in July, and could miss the entire 2017 campaign as a result. When healthy, Harvey has demonstrated a superb fastball/curveball combo, but he has pitched just 12.2 innings in the minors since the end of 2014. If he can return to health, he will be nearly 23 years of age while having never pitched above Low-A, even if all goes swimmingly in his rehab.

Working his way back from elbow issues in 2014, there was hope in Baltimore's camp that Harvey could help at the MLB level in 2015. That was not the case, as Harvey was hit in the shin by a come-backer in a minor league spring training game. He was targeting a May return, but elbow issues cropped up again. Harvey was diagnosed with a strain of his flexor mass muscle and was shut down. He tried a throwing program in July and August, but was shut down again. When healthy, Harvey has a plus fastball and he mixes it with a curveball. The Orioles say Harvey will be ready for spring training, but there is a major injury red flag after he has tallied just over 100 innings in three professional seasons. If he can stay healthy, it would make sense for Harvey to begin the season at High-A. The optimism for his moving quickly through the system has to be tempered. Thanks to his injury history, there will likely be a strict innings limit for him in 2016.

There are two major bullet points attached to Harvey’s 2014 season. The first is that he was awesome, and pitched himself into the discussion of best young arms in the minor leagues. The second is that he was shut down in late July with a strained flexor mass in his throwing elbow. Baltimore is confident Harvey will avoid surgery, but in addition to preventing the 6-foot-3 righty from possibly getting a taste of High-A before the end of the season, it also leaves a slight cloud hanging over his 2015 outlook. In 87.2 innings at Low-A Delmarva, Harvey posted a 106:33 K:BB ratio and a 3.18 ERA. Assuming he enters camp rested and healthy, Harvey could rise like a rocket through the Orioles’ system. If his changeup can develop into a useful complement to his already plus fastball/curveball combo, Harvey is someone with the ability to finish the year as the No. 1 pitching prospect in baseball.

The son of former MLB closer Bryan Harvey signed quickly after the draft and logged a good chunk of innings in the rookie leagues. Harvey more than held his own at both stops, using a fastball that sits in the low-90s (he could reach the mid-90s as he continues to advance), while a curveball and a changeup serve as his secondary pitches, both of which need work. Despite his youth, Harvey seems likely to get a full season at Low-A as a 19-year-old but could become a frontline starter, if everything goes as planned with his development.