Chris Tillman for the AAA-Tides 6/1

[DrungoHazewood]

How does Tillman surrender a dinger, but show no earned runs? Would not he have at least 1?

If the concept of earned and unearned runs never came into being 100 years ago, and you invented it today, people'd call you crazy. "You're going to guess at how the inning might have turned out if not for the error? And you're going to let the guy off the hook for everything that happens after a two-out error, even if he gives up 25 runs? This is dumber than a GWRBI in the 1st inning."

[LookitsPuck]

He'll be out of professional baseball in two years...

Hayden Penn II.

Remember Tillman when you talk about never trading pitching too early...

I'll take that bet.

[NewMarketSean]

Tillman is going to have to go against a lot of trends and data that says he will never amount to anything. I am not holding my breath.

[21xxxv]

rocky coppinger

[ccbird]

I'll take that bet.

Dude is good for hyperbole. Of course he'll still be in pro baseball in two years. That said, if he had said he'll still be toiling in the minors in two years I probably wouldn't take that bet.

[DrungoHazewood]

Tillman is going to have to go against a lot of trends and data that says he will never amount to anything. I am not holding my breath.

Tillman has a 81 ERA+ through 166 major league innings and is 23. Other pitchers who had an ERA+ between 71 and 91 in their first 100-250 innings around that age include: HOFer Rube Marquard, Arthur Rhodes, Carl Pavano, Jeff Suppan, Bill Wegman, Odalis Perez, Homer Bailey, Jim Lonborg, Joaquin Andujar, Esteban Loiaza, Charlie Liebrandt, Steve Stone, Pete Richert, Bob Walk, Bill Swift, Al Leiter, Wade Miller, Jason Schmidt, JR Richard, Clay Buchholz, Dick Bosman, Jamie Moyer, Carlos Marmol, Bronson Arroyo, and Nick Altrock. There's a Cooperstown plaque, multiple 20-win seasons, an ERA title or two, a few 300K seasons, a few 20-year careers, and at least one $100M contract in there. I wouldn't count him out just yet.

[Birds of B'more]

Tillman has a 81 ERA+ through 166 major league innings and is 23. Other pitchers who had an ERA+ between 71 and 91 in their first 100-250 innings around that age include: HOFer Rube Marquard, Arthur Rhodes, Carl Pavano, Jeff Suppan, Bill Wegman, Odalis Perez, Homer Bailey, Jim Lonborg, Joaquin Andujar, Esteban Loiaza, Charlie Liebrandt, Steve Stone, Pete Richert, Bob Walk, Bill Swift, Al Leiter, Wade Miller, Jason Schmidt, JR Richard, Clay Buchholz, Dick Bosman, Jamie Moyer, Carlos Marmol, Bronson Arroyo, and Nick Altrock. There's a Cooperstown plaque, multiple 20-win seasons, an ERA title or two, a few 300K seasons, a few 20-year careers, and at least one $100M contract in there. I wouldn't count him out just yet.

And 1 Cy Young winner.

[OFFNY]

And 1 Cy Young winner.

2 Cy Young winners. Jim Lonborg won it in 1967.

[Babypowder]

I'll take that bet.

I'll take it too. As bad as Hayden Penn was in the majors, he is still playing professional baseball. Hyperbole is fun.

[LarryHarlow]

It's not a base 10 system, it's base three. You know, like binary is base one and programing languages use hexadecimal, which is base 16.

If that's the case, shouldn't 5 2/3 innings, for example, be written as 12.2? There's no such thing as a "5" in base three. Also, binary is base 2.

[sangar]

If that's the case, shouldn't 5 2/3 innings, for example, be written as 12.2? There's no such thing as a "5" in base three. Also, binary is base 2.

Yeah I know, I was just trying to make sense of it myself from a mathematical perspective. Perhaps describing it as a notation, rather than a system, would've been more accurate.

[Singleton]

Tillman has a 81 ERA+ through 166 major league innings and is 23. Other pitchers who had an ERA+ between 71 and 91 in their first 100-250 innings around that age include: HOFer Rube Marquard, Arthur Rhodes, Carl Pavano, Jeff Suppan, Bill Wegman, Odalis Perez, Homer Bailey, Jim Lonborg, Joaquin Andujar, Esteban Loiaza, Charlie Liebrandt, Steve Stone, Pete Richert, Bob Walk, Bill Swift, Al Leiter, Wade Miller, Jason Schmidt, JR Richard, Clay Buchholz, Dick Bosman, Jamie Moyer, Carlos Marmol, Bronson Arroyo, and Nick Altrock. There's a Cooperstown plaque, multiple 20-win seasons, an ERA title or two, a few 300K seasons, a few 20-year careers, and at least one $100M contract in there. I wouldn't count him out just yet.

Ding! post of the day.

[ShaneDawg85]

I love the worn out Hayden Penn comparison. Hayden Penn wishes he had Chris Tillman's career, even if Tillman never amounts to anything.

[jamalshw]

I love the worn out Hayden Penn comparison. Hayden Penn wishes he had Chris Tillman's career, even if Tillman never amounts to anything.

This. If you actually look at their careers:

Penn - 9.51 ERA and 2.174 WHIP in 82 1/3 big league innings over 4 years

Tillman - 5.35 ERA and 1.560 WHIP in 166.2 IP over 3 years

Tillman is already way above Penn in terms of big league success...as you have indicated.

The only similarity is the amount of hype by the Orioles fan base, but there really isn't that comparision if you look at it at the national level. Afterall, Penn's best Baseball America ranking was 81, Tillman's was 22 and he beat Penn's best of 81 twice, ranking 67th the year before.

[LookitsPuck]

The Hayden Penn comp is beyond idiotic.

Hayden Penn in 4 years in the majors:

9.51 ERA

47 ERA+

82 1/3 IP

2.174 WHIP

6.2 BB/9

5.8 SO/9

Chris Tillman in 3 years in the majors:

5.35 ERA

81 ERA+

166 2/3 IP

1.56 WHIP

4.1 BB/9

5.5 SO/9

What Chris Tillman needs to work on is pitch efficiency. He can't always go for the strike out. His stuff just isn't that good aside from his curveball (and changeup, when thrown).

I liked what I saw out of Tillman this year:

1. Less home runs given up

2. Less walks

3. More strikeouts

4. Better ERA

I don't like that he puts himself into situations where he has to throw a fastball, and his fastball just isn't good so hitters are just slapping at it. He is allowing too many hits, and I think this is a direct result of him nibbling.

That said, I still have faith in the kid. He clearly has shown an ability to improve (and is working on things), and the kid *just* turned 23 in April.