It wasn't supposed to be like this for Dylan Bundy. On one hand, a few years ago there was the question of whether Bundy would ever be able to avoid injuries enough to keep pitching, period. But on the other hand, Bundy has been able to stay healthy and has shown some promise -- and yet, he's 26 years old and things are moving in the wrong direction.
In his start against the Minnesota Twins April 28, Bundy's first pitch of the afternoon was deposited into the stands in right-center field by Max Kepler. It was a "here we go again" moment for Bundy, who has struggled mightily to begin the season. During the loss, in which he allowed four earned runs in just five innings, there was a mix of good and bad. The good was that Bundy struck out eight batters and at least made it through five innings. The bad included two homers allowed and three walks, though he was also not helped by some shaky defense behind him.
After the game, Bundy's ERA and FIP increased to 6.67 and 6.56, respectively, and he has now managed to toss just 28.1 innings combined in six starts. He's not pitching well, not lasting long in games and is somehow allowing even more home runs per nine innings (2.86) than his MLB-worst 2.15 last season. In 2018, the next closest qualified pitcher was right-hander Mike Fiers at 1.67.
