Once prior to a 9:30 a.m. doubleheader earlier this season, Bundy was already running on the treadmill at Owasso. He'd been there since 5:30 in the morning. This came after throwing the night before in an away game when the Owasso team bus didn't pull up to the school until around midnight.
Dylan Bundy works hard on his conditioning, and thatenables him to throw hard deep into the game.
Photo courtesy of Owasso High
He worked out on Mother's Day. He does some things he doesn't really like to do, though he knows he has to, like running on the treadmill for 20 to 25 minutes after a start. He won't argue or complain about it, and he's never told to do it. He just does.
Owasso won its 30th-straight in a 7-0 whitewash of Enid on May 6, behind Bundy's 17-strikeout performance. The victory sent the Rams to the Oklahoma 6A state tournament, where they've appeared in the state finals 13 of the past 14 years.
After beating Enid, it sent Bundy back to the treadmill.
"Dylan does character things, because he's a character kid and that's part of his makeup," Owasso pitching coach Jason Stump said. "It's the reason why his last four fastballs against Enid were 96 mph. What a lot of people don't realize is that Dylan's a starter who's never been taken out of a game. He's thrown as many as 100 pitches. He pitches 95-percent all of the time. It looks high effort, because he throws so hard. It really isn't. Dylan's mechanics are just about flawless. He's at the level of I'd say guys around 23, 24 years old that are throwing pro ball."
Owasso head coach Larry Turner is a high school coaching legend. He's in his 29th season as coach of the Rams and is nearing his 900th career coaching victory. He's made Owasso a statewide baseball powerhouse, winning three of the last four Oklahoma 6A titles before the Rams' string of three-straight (2007-09) was interrupted last year by Tulsa Union.
Turner has seen his fair share of great high school players.
"I've never seen anyone like Dylan in person; not on the mound like him, ever," Turner said. "A number of scouts I've spoken to told me he could be a fifth starter in the big leagues right now. No, he's not 6-foot-4, but he throws like it. His command and his velocity are tremendous. The great part of it is that Dylan gets it. You have kids that have a rare ability like his and they get caught up in all the hype.
"Not Dylan. He doesn't think he's better than anyone else. He's the kind of star player that helps his team, because his work ethic is so contagious. He pushes our other guys. They all want to get better because they see how hard he works. Dylan is just another guy pulling on the rope and that is refreshing now a days. It's why he's pretty special."
Bundy knows June 8 is nearing, though what presently motivates him is getting a third state title in four years, and the Rams' fourth in the last five years. He's adjusted well from the no-stoplight town of Sperry to the large Owasso, where Bundy has gone from being a part of a graduating class of roughly 80 to close to 600 at Owasso.
"I've been here two years and I'm still meeting kids for the first time," Bundy said. "What's funny is that Sperry and Owasso are only 15 minutes apart. You cross two highways and you're into the next town. Sperry was shrinking and my family decided to move while we could. And here at Owasso, they've really welcomed me like one of their own. I feel real comfortable here. It was a good move."
Though he's a switch-hitter who's hit 10 homers and is batting .494 (46-for-93), Bundy is projected to be a pitcher. The family is represented by the Jay Franklin Agency, which brokered Bobby's deal with Baltimore.
According to Turner, Dylan has received heavy interest from the Seattle Mariners, who have the second overall pick. He's also had interest from the Arizona Diamondbacks, who have the third and seventh picks in the top 10, as well as the Orioles, who already have one Bundy and select fourth, and Kansas City, which chooses fifth.
As for Dylan, who's worked his whole life to reach this point, "I really don't get too caught up in it. Sometimes, when I'm alone, I may think about it. But I don't want to get my emotions too high and filled with expectations.
"It's why I try not to think too much where I'm going to go. I believe I've worked hard for 16 years to be a major league player. But for now, it probably won't grip me until the day before the draft. Right now, my goals are simple. I want to enjoy my senior year and I want to go out a winner. I want to win another state championship."
If that happens, Bundy is sure to be met with a pile of grinning faces – and he'll know the reason why.
