Chris Tillman - O's Ace

[Hooded Viper]

Handfull right now that are not ballot eligible.

Also Clemens.

lol true dat!

[Frobby]

Tillman has given us a "quality start" in 9 of his last 11 outings. My only reservation about him, as others have noted, is his tendency to run high pitch counts and not get really deep into games. Kind of like the guy we traded to get Tillman, though I don't think Tillman is as good -- yet -- as 2006-07 Bedard was once he got on a roll.

[Mayor McCheese]

Mayor McCheese liked this post.

[wildcard]

Tillman has given us a "quality start" in 9 of his last 11 outings. My only reservation about him, as others have noted, is his tendency to run high pitch counts and not get really deep into games. Kind of like the guy we traded to get Tillman, though I don't think Tillman is as good -- yet -- as 2006-07 Bedard was once he got on a roll.

However Tillman may prove to be more durable. It will not take much.

[Lester Freamon]

Orioles ace? Maybe. An ace? Not even close. IMHO

Tillman is very good though, with room perhaps for even more growth, and I am very glad we have him.

[Frobby]

However Tillman may prove to be more durable. It will not take much.

I fully expect Tillman to be more durable. And he's the same age (25) as Bedard was when he first became a starter for the Orioles, so he's way ahead of the curve. Bedard got better every year form age 25 through 28 and if Tillman follows that pattern he'll truly be an ace in his later 20's. I also think his delivery is relatively stress-free compared to a lot of other pitchers.

[Aristotelian]

He only pitched 6 shutout innings last night. To qualify as our ace he must go 8 shutout innings each game.

I do think he is our best overall pitcher and the one guy I would want to send out for a must-win game. And I would have a lot of confidence that he would win or at least keep it close. But this is exactly right. Too often he throws 40 pitches in the first two innings and is gone by the sixth. To be an "ace" he should be able to go 7+ consistently and have at least a couple of complete games. Otherwise he is just the best guy on a mediocre staff.

[Frobby]

In the last year Chris has gone 16-5 with a 3.26 ERA over 29 starts.

This really does bear repeating. The O's haven't had a guy win 16 games since Mussina, and I believe the only time any Orioles starting pitcher has had an ERA of 3.26 or lower since Mussina was Bedard in 2007. If an Oriole pitcher actually went 16-5 with a 3.26 ERA in a single season we'd be praising him to the heavens. Hopefully, Tillman keeps it up and maybe by the end of the year he'll be garnering that much praise.

[calmunderfire]

Tillman has been real solid, but I don't think he's an ace. He's definitely an above average MLB starter.

Think of it this way. Is Tillman a cy young contender quality pitcher? Absolutely not.

Solid? Yes. Ace? No.

[tntoriole]

Probably because of all the years the Os spent in the baseball desert, some in the fan base have become understandably pessimistic, so they wouldn't believe an Os pitcher to be an ace even if it bit them in the you know where. When Mussina was here, there was a vocal minority who complained constantly about how he wasn't really a "true ace". Oh brother. Ace, schmace. What is important is what you do each year to help your team win the most games possible. This year and last year, Chris Tillman has been a huge asset in that endeavor.

[Can_of_corn]

Probably because of all the years the Os spent in the baseball desert, some in the fan base have become understandably pessimistic, so they wouldn't believe an Os pitcher to be an ace even if it bit them in the you know where. When Mussina was here, there was a vocal minority who complained constantly about how he wasn't really a "true ace". Oh brother. Ace, schmace. What is important is what you do each year to help your team win the most games possible. This year and last year, Chris Tillman has been a huge asset in that endeavor.

I can't help but remember how many postseason starts Tillman had last year.

[El Gordo]

Tillman is not an ace. There are only 5-10 of those in MLB. He is a solid#3 and maybe a #2 someday. He is the O's #1 by default.

[tntoriole]

Tillman is not an ace. There are only 5-10 of those in MLB. He is a solid#3 and maybe a #2 someday. He is the O's #1 by default.

Although you don't need one to win these days. See Oakland Athletics and Baltimore Orioles 2012 and 2013.

[isestrex]

The Orioles have four #3 pitchers. Tillman, Chen, Gonzalez and Hammel would all be fantastic #3 pitchers in playoff rotations. Right now, Tillman is pitching like a #2 and Hammel more like a #4 but nothing more than that. Last year Hammel was more like a #2.

It will ebb and flow from season to season but neither of these four have the talent to truly be #1 aces.

[tntoriole]

The Orioles have four #3 pitchers. Tillman, Chen, Gonzalez and Hammel would all be fantastic #3 pitchers in playoff rotations. Right now, Tillman is pitching like a #2 and Hammel more like a #4 but nothing more than that. Last year Hammel was more like a #2.

It will ebb and flow from season to season but neither of these four have the talent to truly be #1 aces.

I still think Tillman can be a number one guy and if he throws 16 or 17-5 for another two seasons, he will be. And certainly Gausman and Bundy could be..but shoulda, woulda, coulda don't make aces.