BALTIMORE -- As the Orioles move closer and closer towards a top pick in the 2019 Draft, all that's left to do this season is evaluate the young assets and take stock of the few whose contracts extend past 2018.
Dylan Bundy is a combination of the two. A former first-round Draft pick, Bundy's longed-for ace status -- and three additional years of team control -- proved too valuable to ship away at the July 31 non-waiver Trade Deadline despite rumors. But starts like Wednesday's 16-5 loss to the Mets continue a streak of perplexing outings for the right-hander, doubly disheartening combined with the rough showings by the young relievers that followed at Camden Yards.
"We know what Dylan is capable of, he just hasn't been able to get there really, it's been off and on, since the leg injury," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said of a midseason disabled list stint for Bundy. "… It's almost like at times he would rather have some issues physically. But when you don't, which at this point we don't think [he does], you have to look at a lot of different reasons."

Fourteen of the 16 runs allowed to the fourth-worst offense in the Majors came with pitchers 25 years old or younger on the mound. Bundy, 25, allowed seven earned runs in 5 1/3 innings, 24-year-old Tanner Scott pitched only one-third of an inning while allowing three runs and 23-year-old Evan Phillips didn't record an out before Kevin Plawecki hit his first career grand slam. All of this came in what was a nine-run sixth inning for New York.
As the Orioles aim for competitiveness by the 2021 season, each opportunity a young player comes across this season hopefully serves as a learning experience in preparation for the return of meaningful baseball to Baltimore. Scott and recently-acquired Phillips learned the hard way Wednesday. Balancing Major League exposure with the struggles has been a difficult task thus far for the young hurlers.
"It's a challenge, but for a lot of guys, if it doesn't break you, you learned from it and get hardened to it," Showalter said. " … Everybody talks about them being young and bulletproof, but at some point you get beat down."
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Bundy -- the face of the Orioles' Major League-level youth -- had his season begin full of promise and high expectations, but he continues to slide, seeing his ERA balloon to 4.99 on the year.
"This game, I couldn't really see too much [of what went wrong]," Bundy said. "I looked at the pitches on video and most of them were right where I wanted them to go. I've just got to keep looking at video and find out where I'm going wrong."
Some of the youth did, however, impress. Recent call-up Cedric Mullins showed off his speed on several occasions, once scoring from first on what could have been a close play at the plate without his deftness. Mullins, 23, Trey Mancini, 26, and rookie Austin Wynns combined for a 6-for-13 evening.

SOUND SMART
The Orioles allowed three triples to the Mets. The last team to record three triples against Baltimore was the Yankees on May 19, 2011.
YOU GOTTA SEE THIS
Villar hits Eutaw Street: The fourth homer hit out to Eutaw Street in 2018 came off the bat of Jonathan Villar in the eighth inning Wednesday. Villar unloaded on a 2-2 changeup from Tim Peterson and sent it 418 feet to right, according to Statcast™, to temporarily cut the deficit to 14-5 and record the 42nd ball ever hit to Eutaw by an Oriole.

HE SAID IT
"I never witnessed that. And that was definitely tough. Let's try to never do that again. We were all around the zone. Just couldn't locate, bottom line. Just couldn't locate." -- Wynns, on the sixth-inning struggles
UP NEXT
After an off-day Thursday, David Hess will take the mound Friday to open up a three-game series in Cleveland. The young righty, who will be opposed by Carlos Carrasco, returned to form his last time out with 5 2/3 innings of three-run ball. First pitch is set for 7:10 p.m. ET.