Tillman

[Il BuonO]

I was actually using your post to illustrate mine. NP there. Maybe that wasn't clear.

[Hank Scorpio]

For Tillman, just like for all of them, it's all about fastball command and keeping the ball down.

He can't be much worse than we've gotten, that's for sure.

[Moose Milligan]

I am constantly amazed at the startling analysis I see here from the experts on Tillman re: his FB. Or his curve for that matter.....

So Tillman doesn't have a flat fastball? And yep, I am still holding onto what I last saw from Tillman because, quite frankly, I don't care what he's done in AAA this year. He's shown that he can get minor league hitters out before, this isn't new and this isn't special.

I don't have to have a background in scouting or biomechanical analysis to know that ML hitters slugged .600 against Tillman when he threw a fastball last year. I also don't need to have a background in scouting or biomechanical analysis to know that he threw 49% of his curveballs for strikes last year when the league average was 63%. http://www.baseballanalytics.org/baseball-analytics-blog/tag/chris-tillman

I sure hope that he can come back up here and astonish me and everyone else here who's tired of wondering when he'll come around. However, I remain skeptical and I think I have a pretty good reason for doing so.

[Moose Milligan]

For Tillman, just like for all of them, it's all about fastball command and keeping the ball down.

He can't be much worse than we've gotten, that's for sure.

And this is the most frustrating thing, without a doubt. People just constantly post here "Oh, he just need to command his fastball...oh, with better fastball command, he'll be fine....oh, he just needs to be able to locate his fastball with more consistency."

Like it's no big deal. But it's a huge deal. It's a monumental deal. Velocity and movement don't matter if they can't command it. You can be Brad Pennington or Brian Matusz, doesn't matter.

It's incredibly alarming and disappointing that our homegrown talent can not do the most basic thing that a pitcher should be able to do.

[Malike]

How awesome would it be for Tillman to just flat out dominate for the rest of the season? It would be a dream come true if this kid finally fires on all cylinders and becomes a very good ML pitcher. Ahhh, I can dream, can't I?

[LookitsPuck]

Come on, Tilly. Keep it going. Need a great outing by you, and a W for the birds.

[baltimorebirds]

Good luck to Tillman. I really hope he does well and as DD has suggested he is a different pitcher and has turned the corner. Stabilizing the 4 spot in the rotation would be huge. With a shaky M's pitcher starting tomorrow we have a chance to win the series and get back on track.

Also, in the back of my kind I see Tillman as a trade chip. Apparently a lot have been calling about Tillman. He may be a center piece of a trade for a Garza or something like that if he proves he can be a winning ML pitcher.

[Flash- bd]

So Tillman doesn't have a flat fastball? And yep, I am still holding onto what I last saw from Tillman because, quite frankly, I don't care what he's done in AAA this year. He's shown that he can get minor league hitters out before, this isn't new and this isn't special.

I don't have to have a background in scouting or biomechanical analysis to know that ML hitters slugged .600 against Tillman when he threw a fastball last year. I also don't need to have a background in scouting or biomechanical analysis to know that he threw 49% of his curveballs for strikes last year when the league average was 63%. http://www.baseballanalytics.org/baseball-analytics-blog/tag/chris-tillman

I sure hope that he can come back up here and astonish me and everyone else here who's tired of wondering when he'll come around. However, I remain skeptical and I think I have a pretty good reason for doing so.

Your fastball tends to look straight when it's 89.5 MPH and you're not even throwing 2-seemers, especially coming from a righty (avg. velocity for his FB last year). It just isn't a recipe for success.

His FB averaged 92.0 in his rookie year. From the reports it sounds like he's at least back to those levels. That, plus increased maturity and evolution as a pitcher (he was 21 in his rookie year) gives him a fighting chance to be a decent starter at the ML level. He certainly gets a pretty ideal start against a really bad hitting team in an extreme pitcher's park. I expect him to do well.

[CA-ORIOLE]

I'm not a believer, but I'll keep an open mind. He looked better in ST and it sounds like he has made more improvements. Be interesting to see where he's at. Like Bd0493 said, SEA should be a good opportunity for him to have some success out of the box.

[The Rick]

I know he's been a Peterson project, and he struggled at first with the mechanical adjustments, but posted a really nice June (4-1, 2.51 ERA, 34 K's and 5 BB's in 28.2 IP). His velo has been good. I really hope his FB is more lively than it was (stuff/movement wise) last year. I'm cautiously optimistic.

How's that for some ridiculously un-startling analysis CA-ORIOLE?

[CA-ORIOLE]

I know he's been a Peterson project, and he struggled at first with the mechanical adjustments, but posted a really nice June (4-1, 2.51 ERA, 34 K's and 5 BB's in 28.2 IP). His velo has been good. I really hope his FB is more lively than it was (stuff/movement wise) last year. I'm cautiously optimistic.

How's that for some ridiculously un-startling analysis CA-ORIOLE?

Sounds good to me. If he can get ML hitters out consistently, the analysis doesn't really matter. Lets see what you got Tillman.

[zero1]

He has struggled to get deep in games at AAA and we have all seen him put up good numbers at AAA before so it's not like anyone is expecting him to be an ace. I like that his walks are down and he is getting more ground balls. He can't be worse than Matusz or Hunter have been. Hopefully he makes the most of this opportunity because he might not get another one with the Orioles.

[Scrat1]

Tillman turning into an MLB average pitcher would be huge for this team.

[wildcard]

I am very hopeful that Tillman is ready to stay in the O's rotation. All he has to do is put up a 5.40 ERA or better and he will be the O's third best starter. I am hoping he does much better than that. Good luck Chris.

[Frobby]

I'm excited to get a look at Tillman today, but I won't draw any big conclusions no matter how he looks. Consistency has always been the problem for Tillman. I'd rather see three solid starts in a row than one brilliant one. Hopefully his work with Peterson will allow Tillman to be more consistent than he has been in the past.