This undrafted arm is making the most of his opportunity with the Orioles originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Anthony Nunez's path to the big leagues has been a crazy one. He first caught the attention of the San Diego Padres as a high school athletes, singing with them after being picked in the 29th round of the 2019 MLB Draft.
He would go on to be released in 2021, and he was ruled eligible to play college baseball. He then enrolled at the University of Tampa, a D-II school.
Here, he would transition from an infielder to a two-way player, which would turn out to be a great decision a few years later. Unfortunately, he would go undrafted but would go on to sign as an undrafted free agent with the New York Mets.
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Nunez would work in the Mets minor league system until July of last year. He and a few others were sent to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for Cedric Mullins.
He would go on to make the Opening Day roster and made his MLB debut on March 28 against the Minnesota Twins.
Nunez has been more than impressive so far this year, and Bleacher Report's Tim Kelly ranks him No. 12 in his latest rookie power rankings.
"The latest chapter is pretty special, as Nunez not only reached the majors at age 24, but he's also thriving out of the bullpen for the O's. So far, he has been lights-out in his rookie season, pitching to a 1.35 ERA over his last 12 appearances, with 10.8 K/9."
He's being used in a high-leverage role and is one of the bigger surprise stories this season. From someone most fans knew little about to being used in some of the biggest roles for a team with postseason aspirations; Nunez is living the dream.
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