The Baltimore Orioles added some players to their 40-man roster this offseason in order to protect them from the Rule-5 Draft this winter. One of those guys is right-handed pitcher Joe Gunkel and I expect to see him make his MLB debut in 2017.
Gunkel, 25, was acquired by the Orioles in June of 2015 in part of the trade with the Boston Red Sox that sent Alejandro De Aza to Boston. Since joining the Orioles’ organization, Gunkel has performed very well as a starting pitcher.
In 2016, Gunkel began the year with AA Bowie where he quickly showed he was ready to make the jump to AAA for the first time in his career.