What do you get for throwing a no-hitter in Triple-A?
A promotion… Possibly in the near future.
A standing ovation… I would hope so.
A Prospect Spotlight from yours truly… Yes.
Baltimore Orioles prospect, Chris Tillman, did just that. Tillman threw a no hitter on Wednesday against the Atlanta Braves Triple-A squad. Meanwhile, the Orioles have been busy going 4-17 during their first 21 games. This should mean an auto-promotion for Tillman, right? Not necessarily. Tillman was sporting a not so hot 6.11 ERA coming into the game, but this no-no managed to lower that to a respectable 4.05 ERA. I would say Tillman’s chances of being called up in the next week are 60-40 at this point.
The real question is how valuable will Tillman be when he does get called up. Part of me wants to say he will dominate, but then the other part of me realizes there was a reason David Hernandez was chosen for the 5th spot in the rotation coming out of Spring Training. Tillman only has three pitches, and only one of them (changeup) was effective against Major League hitters in 2009. His fastball and curveball were not above average pitches. The worst part is that Tillman threw his worst pitch, his fastball, more than any of his other pitches. 62% of his pitches thrown in 2009 were fastballs. The idea of starting Tillman in Triple-A this year was to work on his fastball command. This idea wasn’t working until last night when Tillman appeared to figure out this thing called pitching.
Chris Tillman threw 65 Major League innings in 2009, so he no longer qualifies as a Rookie. However, his rookie teammate Brian Matusz and Tillman should form a great 1-2 punch for at least three to five years, at which time one of them will get bought by the highest bidder. In 2010 we should see improvement across the board from Tillman, but don’t expect miracles. Mariners fans that were angry about trading Tillman in the Erik Bedard trade should start feeling a little better. Tillman no longer projects to be a potential ace. Instead it looks like Tillman will be a #2 or #3 starter at best.
Tillman will be worth a flyer in most fantasy leagues this year. The upside is worth the risk, but it will be wise to keep your expectation low. He is not someone I would feel safe starting against the Yankees, or any good hitting team for that matter.
Comparable Pitchers: Gil Meche, Ervin Santana, Homer Bailey
2010 Prediction: 102 IP – 6 W – 76 K – 41 BB – 4.76 ERA – 1.40 WHIP
