HobbsDailyReport.com
Hunter Harvey, rebounding from Tommy John surgery about 10 months ago, is getting closer to pitching again,, a report by the Baltimore Sun indicates.
From reporting by the Baltimore Sun’s Eduardo A. Encina, the newspaper’s beat reporter covering the Baltimore Orioles (July 2 story, see www.baltimoresun.com for more):
Harvey to work way up: Pitching prospect Hunter Harvey, who could return to games late this month after Tommy John elbow reconstruction last July, will likely begin at a lower minor-league affiliate — possibly the rookie-level Gulf Coast League, Orioles manager Buck Showalter said — and progress his way up the farm system before finding a place to stay.
“I think he would kind of work his way up,” Showalter said. “I don’t know whether it would start in Aberdeen or Frederick or Delmarva. It would start probably in the Gulf Coast League, I would think. They’re not too far away.
“I think (player development director Brian Graham’s plan) would be to start low and work his way up with the idea of where he’d end up, what level, in a perfect world, which I’m not gonna say. But it’s not here, but you never know.
“Let’s let him get off the mound and face hitters and be healthy before we move too far with him. That’s encouraging.”
When Harvey worked his way back from sports hernia surgery last season, he began with two starts in the GCL, then made three starts at Short-A Aberdeen before developing forearm discomfort that eventually led to Tommy John surgery.
Note: Harvey pitched at Bandys High and was a first-round draft pick by Baltimore. He is the youngest son of Bryan Harvey, also a star pitcher at Bandys in the early 1980s who then spent nearly 10 seasons in the major leagues as one of the game’s top relief pitchers. The elder Harvey posted 177 saves and made the MLB All-Star game once in the National League and once in the American League.
Bryan Harvey now offers personal baseball instruction in Catawba County through his Harvey Baseball Adademy.