Shorebird of the Week – April 17, 2014

Hunter Harvey pitches in the Shorebirds home opener, April 10, 2014.

The excitement level isn’t quite the same as it was two years ago, but last night’s start for Hunter Harvey proved he could draw a lot of the same interest Dylan Bundy did in his meteoric 2012 rise. The duel against Hagerstown’s Lucas Giolito drew regional attention as a battle of hot prospects and it didn’t fail to live up to its billing.

No, there’s very little chance Harvey will follow the Delmarva-to-Baltimore in one season trail blazed by Bundy, but so far this season last year’s first-rounder (22nd overall) has given people a reason to compare this 19-year-old with the 2012 phenom. In three starts, Harvey garnered his first professional win in Asheville and pitched 17 innings, allowing but 8 hits and 2 runs. He’s 1-0 with a 1.06 ERA and based on his 18/4 K/BB ratio has a microscopic 0.71 WHIP. No, that’s not quite the same as Dylan but still really, really good.

And Hunter seems to shine when the spotlight is on, matching Giolito goose egg for goose egg last night as the Shorebirds eventually won the scheduled opener to the doubleheader 1-0 in 15 innings. (Game 2 was scrubbed for a later date.) Hunter allowed just one hit in six innings, striking out seven and walking one, although he also hit two batters. This continues a pattern of success Harvey established last season in splitting time between the Gulf Coast League and Aberdeen. In 25 1/3 combined innings among eight starts, Hunter allowed 21 hits while striking out 33 and walking just 6, for an ERA of 1.78 between the two stops.

So the ceiling on this kid is pretty high, and I’d say the odds are very good that an appearance in the SAL All-Star Game could be the end of Hunter’s Delmarva career. Barring a setback, it seems like Harvey will need more of a challenge than South Atlantic League hitters – many of whom are three to four years older and more experienced – are putting up at the moment.

2 thoughts on “Shorebird of the Week – April 17, 2014”

  1. national attention, too, as Giolito v. Harvey was covered by BaseballAmerica and ESPN insider.

  2. Sounds like the press may have outnumbered the hardy denizens of Perdue Stadium on a cold 46 degree night. Shame the matchup didn’t occur in June.

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