There isn’t a hint of stress in the guy. No bitterness, no weariness.
He stands up from his locker, looks you in the eye, and answers questions – the same prickly ones about his health that he has politely fielded for several years now – without hesitation.
He has an easy smile — maybe it’s more of a smirk — and the makings of a splendid, 1980s-circa mullet poking out from underneath his ballcap.
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He talks in a slow, North Carolina drawl that makes you wanna kick off your shoes, grab a fishin’ pole and hang out by the river.
Yeah, you can’t bother this kid.
And that’s a good thing, because baseball has tried unmercifully to knock down Hunter Harvey from the pedestal on which he was placed in 2013, when the Orioles took the high school right-hander with the 22nd overall pick and paid him a $1.95 million signing bonus.
In the past four seasons, Harvey has managed to pitch only 63 2/3 innings while dealing with a career’s worth of injuries, including a small crack near his ankle and a shoulder that popped out of its socket as well as sports hernia and elbow-ligament surgeries.
Some were typical baseball landmines, others freak accidents. Regardless, Harvey, now 24, is trying to shed the injury-prone label and re-establish himself as a legitimate pitching prospect.
And, at some point in 2019, he hopes to become a serious consideration for the Orioles’ rotation – and not just another guy whose once brilliant star dulled while on the shelf.
“He was like a black cat there for a while,” Harvey’s father, Bryan, said. “So, hopefully, that’s all gone.”
The Hunter Harvey Era so far can best be summarized by a game in late May 2018 in Binghamton, N.Y.
It’s when injury and absurdity met, leaving the Harvey family and the Orioles’ organization shaking their collective head.
Harvey had already pitched in that series for the Bowie Baysox – and it was a good outing, five hits, one walk and one run while striking out seven in five innings. He was starting to adjust to Double-A baseball, beginning to get stretched out at what is often considered the toughest minor league step to master.
He was leaning over the dugout railing that day, watching the action, when a line drive off the bat of a Binghamton hitter screamed his way. He turned quickly to avoid being struck – and then the strangest thing happened.
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Because the railing was at armpit level, and his arms were hanging over the barrier when he attempted to scram, the movement wrenched his right arm. He avoided the liner, but his right shoulder popped out of its socket and then back in.
“My arm just went numb, And I was like, ‘I don’t think that was right,’” Harvey said.
It was the freakiest of freak accidents.
“It’s like, ‘Can I catch a break?’ That’s kind of what was going through my head,” Harvey said. “Same with Dad. When I told Dad, he kind of lost his mind. He’s like, ‘You’ve got to be kidding.’”
Bryan Harvey, who spent nine seasons as a major-league reliever and was a two-time All Star closer, was flabbergasted when he received the phone call from his son.
“There are 10,000 ways that that doesn’t happen and one way that it does,” the elder Harvey said. “If he doesn’t have his arms over the rail, that doesn’t happen.”
Harvey threw a side session two days later and still felt out of sorts. He made his next start, June 1 against Trenton at Prince George’s Stadium, and it was a disaster, by far his worst appearance since 2014. He couldn’t get any finish on his pitches, served up two homers and allowed six runs in two innings.
The Baysox traveled to Portland, Maine for their next series, and Harvey was scheduled for a bullpen session there. He couldn’t play catch without pain. Harvey would have to shut things down – again – for a few weeks.
There was a more serious concern, however. Orioles doctors looked at the MRI of his shoulder and saw some damage to his right labrum. If it were new, it could mean more surgery – and the prognosis for a pitcher after shoulder surgery isn’t nearly as positive as it is following an elbow operation.
For the first time in a four-season, injury odyssey, Harvey’s positive mental outlook was cratering. He leaned on his father – who had overcome Tommy John elbow surgery in his career – and his brother, Kris, whose promising baseball dreams ended with shoulder surgery.
Finally, a couple weeks later, Harvey finally received good news. Renowned orthopedist James Andrews reviewed Harvey’s MRI and declared that the labrum damage was old — wear and tear probably dating back to high school that wouldn’t be an issue. There was no new damage. No reason for surgery. Everyone exhaled.
“We were both a little nervous,” Bryan Harvey said. “But when Dr. Andrews said, ‘No, your shoulder has looked like this since high school,’ for me, that eased my mind and I think that eased his as well.”
There is a certain irony in Harvey’s story and a near certainty about pitching uncertainty.
The Orioles were thrilled that Harvey, a hard-throwing righty with above-average command, was still on the board when they selected 22nd overall in 2013.
The kid was a dynamo at Bandys High School in Catawba, N.C. In his senior year, he allowed three earned runs in 54 2/3 innings (0.49 ERA), permitted just two extra base hits (both doubles) and struck out 116 of the 214 batters he faced (54 percent).
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He had great makeup, strong mechanics and an impressive pedigree.
Yes, his father was an accomplished big leaguer, and sometimes that can be a detriment, especially as a young kid advances in pro ball and has coaches who might have different philosophies. Plus, sons of ex-big leaguers are often pushed hard and early.
But there’s a converse, too. Baseball prodigies usually get advanced training early. And no one is more aware of potential injury pratfalls than a former pro pitcher. Bryan Harvey had Tommy John surgery in 1995. He was determined to keep his youngest son healthy.
In high school, Harvey never threw more than 55 innings in a season. He played second base when he wasn’t pitching to protect his right arm. As a freshman, he began a long-toss program, monitored by his father.
“We did everything we could to protect him,” Bryan Harvey said. “I thought we were doing everything right, but I guess we’re just doing something that we’re not supposed to do by throwing a baseball overhand.”
There was another factor, too, something Harvey didn’t know until he had elbow surgery in 2016. The surgeon, Douglas D’Alessandro, said Harvey’s abnormally small UCL didn’t tear. Instead, it was “mush” when he operated.
“I was born with a bad UCL; it just lasted long enough,” Harvey said. “So, that was something that we didn’t know. But, eventually, it was gonna happen, no matter what.”
Harvey is another example of why picking a prep pitcher – any pitcher, really — high in the draft can be risky. You don’t know what’s going to happen as they age and physically mature.
He was the 10th pitcher selected in the 2013 draft and, of that group, only Colorado’s Jon Gray, selected third overall out of the University of Oklahoma, has a career WAR above 2.5 so far. Only four of the 10 have reached the majors. Furthermore, there were four high school pitchers taken with the first 22 picks that year and only Minnesota’s Kohl Stewart (fourth overall) has made it above Double A. Pitching is a crapshoot; injuries make it even harder to predict.
“I never even had stitches or anything growing up,” Harvey said. “So, to get to pro ball and it be three or four years straight of something going on, it’s kind of crazy.”
It’s not the most pleasant request, but the easygoing Harvey dutifully rattles off the list.
It all started in July 2014, when he was shut down at Low-A Delmarva with a flexor mass strain in his right arm.
Then there was March 2015, when he was struck by a comebacker above the right ankle in a minor-league exhibition game, causing a hairline fracture in his fibula. He rehabbed from that, but then had a reoccurrence of the previous forearm/elbow discomfort, causing him to miss the rest of that season and an Arizona Fall League assignment.
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In spring training 2016, he “popped” his groin several times, ultimately leading to double sports hernia surgery in May of that year. He was back pitching in late June for the Gulf Coast League Orioles and made three July starts for the Short-A Aberdeen IronBirds before the elbow pain worsened, leading to Tommy John surgery.
He rehabbed most of 2017 but ultimately pitched in eight games at three affiliates – GCL, Aberdeen and Delmarva – and posted a 0.96 ERA with 30 strikeouts in 18 2/3 innings. He was ready to go in 2018, beginning the year at Double-A Bowie and posting a 4.15 ERA in his first eight starts before that final outing with the injured shoulder that pushed his season ERA to 5.57 and ended his year.
He was hoping to get back to game action before 2018 ended, but he developed forearm soreness in his zeal to return – he was told he “over-rehabbed” it — so the Orioles shut him down again as a precaution.
Now, he is back in Orioles spring training camp. His fastball velocity remains in the mid-to-high 90s, his curveball is still a hammer and his changeup is developing.
“Mentally, I’m great. My arm feels good,” Harvey said. “I’m confident in everything, and I’m ready to get back in games.”
A dominant high school pitcher drafted in the first round by the Orioles who ended up having elbow surgery and other health issues and missed several years of development.
That storyline sound familiar?
Dylan Bundy thinks so. In several ways, Harvey’s early career has mirrored Bundy’s, the Orioles’ No. 1 pick (fourth overall) out of an Oklahoma high school in 2011.
Bundy, now 26, was the Orioles’ Opening Day starter last year, an accomplishment after spending the better part of three years stuck in Sarasota, Fla., rehabbing injuries.
“Yeah, we’ve talked about it before, how many years he’s been down here now with all the somewhat crazy injuries. Some of them are. Some of them are just from throwing. But being down here isn’t fun all summer,” Bundy said. “I’ve told him once you get out of here, stay out of here and never come back — only for spring training. We can relate on how tough it is being down here and rehabbing and the whole process.”
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Bundy isn’t the only one who has drawn the parallel. Orioles pitching rehab coordinator Scott McGregor, one of the most accomplished pitchers in club history, watched Harvey work and thought of Bundy, who had his Tommy John surgery in 2013.
“They were both professional, working in here all the time, never late,” McGregor said. “Going about their business trying to get healthy. They’ve handled it better than probably most do.”
McGregor said Harvey was almost never down, never feeling sorry for himself. And if he ever did, McGregor had the perfect antidote.
“I’d just tease him a lot. ‘You ever gonna be healthy? What the hell?’ But you just try to keep it loose and keep him going,” McGregor said. “If he’s down at all, I’ll mess with him. Just try to keep the momentum going.”
That’s one positive that Harvey can take out of all of this. There’s no shortage of people to lean on and talk to about injury rehab. He’s become close friends with Branden Kline, an Orioles second-round pick in 2012 whose career has been beset by injuries but is now in his first big-league camp this spring.
“Ultimately, I want to pitch in the big leagues, be in the big leagues this year. But like I’ve been saying the last couple years, my main goal is to stay healthy for a full season.” Hunter Harvey
And then there’s Harvey’s family.
“They have been a huge help,” Harvey said. “It’s just good to bounce things off them.”
When Harvey was first attempting to throw after Tommy John surgery and was afraid to let loose, it was his dad who was there to reassure him that the elbow could handle it. He knew from experience.
And when Harvey just needs a break from baseball and its obstacles, his brother is always there. A former second-round pick of the Florida Marlins out of Clemson University in 2005, Kris Harvey was an outfielder and then pitcher for a total of eight minor-league seasons – reaching as high as Double A — before a shoulder/biceps tendon injury forced him to retire at 28.
He’s now associate head coach at Catawba Valley (N.C.) Community College, and he’s always willing to take his little brother hunting when they need a respite.
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“He’s probably the unluckiest person I’ve ever seen baseball-wise, but he’s the luckiest person I’ve ever seen when it comes to hunting,” Kris Harvey said. “He shoots deer all the time. I always give him a hard time about that because he definitely has the horseshoe when it comes to the outdoor stuff.”
Kline remembers his first impression of Harvey in 2013.
“He’s walking in here and he looked the exact same as he does now, just a little bit more of a baby face,” Kline said. “And the first time I talked to him, he’s like super country with that accent. But he was super down to earth. And then, being able to watch him on a baseball field at the age of 18 years old, blew me away. … I’m just like, ‘Holy cow. That’s what a first-rounder looks like.’”
Kline’s lasting impression of Harvey, though, isn’t about the pitcher’s stuff. It’s his attitude.
“He’s a bulldog. A lot of people don’t know that about him on the mound. You see Harvey around here or hang out with him, and he’s a big jokester, likes to have fun,” Kline said. “But when he is on that mound, it’s all business.”
The competitiveness can be traced back to when he was a kid. Harvey’s brother was 11 years older, yet he always tried to hang with him and his friends. Even when it came to sports.
“It wasn’t like, ‘Let Hunter shoot, and let Hunter score’ when we were playing basketball or whatever. We were going full-go all the time on him, So I know he could get aggravated quick because we would pick on him or whatever, but it was probably good for him in the long run,” Kris Harvey said. “That’s probably where some of that competitiveness comes from. Because if he wanted to play with us, he had to get it into gear.”
It’s how he has attacked his rehab, time and again. And it’s why, with such little in-game experience in the last few years, Harvey still has a lofty goal for 2019.
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“Ultimately, I want to pitch in the big leagues, be in the big leagues this year,” Harvey said. “But like I’ve been saying the last couple years, my main goal is to stay healthy for a full season. Hopefully, it’s at the big-league level. But if it is not, let’s just shoot for a full year of pitching.”
There are plenty of reason to be skeptical. When a guy barely pitches at all in the last four seasons, odds are he’s not going to suddenly turn it around and be healthy.
But there are also reasons to think that Harvey would have been on his way to the majors in 2018 had the black cat not moved so abruptly away from a railing in Binghamton.
As McGregor jokes, “We’ve just got to keep him away from (walking under) ladders now.”
Meanwhile, Harvey has done what he can to keep the injuries away. He hired a personal trainer this offseason and has continued to build muscle on his 6-foot-3 frame, going from 170 pounds in high school to 210 or so now.
“(Back then) he was throwing 94-97. That’s a lot of stress on the arm (at that size),” Kris Harvey said. “So, I think with the work he has put in over the last couple years … he’s got a little bit better base to be able to handle some of the pressure that all that arm speed and velocity is going to put on his body. And the drive is definitely still there.”
The Orioles know what they have in Harvey. And they aren’t rushing the process. He’s thrown a couple bullpens and one live batting practice. There are no expectations. No proclamations that he’s fighting for a rotation spot in camp.
“We know what he has dealt with the last handful of years and, yeah, we’re gonna be careful with him. Our goal is for him to break camp healthy and we’re gonna work together on that, devising the right plan and helping him out as much as possible,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. “He looks great, looks great physically. Ball is coming out (well). I think that we’re on the right track with that.”
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That track should lead to Baltimore. Although it hasn’t been a fast one. And it’s been littered with obstacles.
It still could be. But it’s spring. And there is eternal optimism again surrounding Harvey.
“If he stays healthy and he throws the baseball like he can, he’s gonna pitch in the big leagues this year,” his dad said. “When he gets there, obviously, that’s on him. It’s on him now. But if he does what he is supposed to do, he’ll be in Baltimore.”
(Top photo of Hunter Harvey: Mike McGinnis / Getty Images)