Chris Tillman

[CaptainRedbeard]

Looked at pitchFX - Tillman actually had his worst average velocity of the season last night. Not at all out of the norm compared to his last few seasons. But his offspeed pitches and the additional slider usage have allowed him to miss a lot more bats.

http://www.fangraphs.com/pitchfxo.aspx?playerid=5279&position=P&pitch=FA

[CaptainRedbeard]

If he finishes with 200 IP and 200 K's he's an ace in my book.

I'd hope so. Last year, only 14 pitchers managed that, and of those 14, only 5 were in the AL the whole season facing the DH (Sale, Archer, Kluber, Price, Keuchel; Hamels did it but was traded midseason).

Some very good pitchers that many would consider aces fell short of reaching both of these benchmarks. Harvey, Felix, Degrom, Carrasco, Gray, Zimmermann, and Cueto, to name a few.

[SpinJr]

I am of the camp that thinks he may not have been in the best of shape last season.

This and injuries is all I can think??

[Aristotelian]

If he finishes with 200 IP and 200 K's he's an ace in my book.

Do you really think he will do that? He has only been over 7 K/9 once in his career and his stuff hasn't changed dramatically. I just can't think of any aces that throw 92-93 without great command or great offspeed pitch and <7 K/9.

I think it is realistic to predict that he might put up his 2013-14 numbers but I am not ready to go much beyond that.

[Frobby]

Do you really think he will do that? He has only been over 7 K/9 once in his career and his stuff hasn't changed dramatically. I just can't think of any aces that throw 92-93 without great command or great offspeed pitch and <7 K/9.

I think it is realistic to predict that he might put up his 2013-14 numbers but I am not ready to go much beyond that.

I do not think Tillman will average 9 K/9, but I do feel that the uptick in his K/9 this year is due to an improvement in the quality of his stuff and he has a good chance to exceed his historical levels.

[TouchemAll]

I do not think Tillman will average 9 K/9, but I do feel that the uptick in his K/9 this year is due to an improvement in the quality of his stuff and he has a good chance to exceed his historical levels.

Agreed, the effectiveness of his secondary pitches, the curve and the slider, take him to a different level.

I think lots of hitters sat on his fastball last year when they knew he couldn't thirow his other stuff for strikes.

[Reboulet'sStache]

His stuff looked really good in 2012 when the velocity was mid-90's and it seemed like his curve was always a 12-6 hammer.

But this year it has looked closer to 2012 than any point I can remember. I'd like to see him avoid hanging the slider to Beltran, because you aren't going to get away with that pitch often. But, the good is outweighing those pitches, and the good has been really good.

[Just Regular]

Paul Sporer put out a deep dive today and his read is that something real is happening:

http://www.fangraphs.com/fantasy/tipping-pitches-chris-tillman-surging/

[Il BuonO]

He needs better command of his curve today. The great thing about his last start was he found it later on and still managed to be good. The CH is really becoming a plus pitch and he throws it in almost any count.

[Frobby]

7 strikeouts in 6.1 IP today. In the 6th inning he struck out the side on 10 pitches, about 8 of which were nasty breaking balls. Tillman really didn't have good command in the first 5 innings, but his defense helped him and he persevered.

[Bahama O's Fan]

That's what your ace needs to do. Help you win, even when he has a bad day

[OFFNY]

o

Tillman has ceded 4 runs over his last 25 innings pitched.

In that span, he has thrown up goose eggs in 22 out of those 25 innings.

19 OUTS: 7 Strikeouts, 5 Flyouts, 2 Groundouts, 2 Lineouts, 1 Foulout, 1 Thrown Out at Home Plate, 1 Caught Stealing

CHRISTOPHER STEVEN TILLMAN O (vs. ATHLETICS, 5/08)

IP:l 6.33

H:;; 6 ll(1 Double, 5 Singles)

R:l) 3

BB: 4 *

SO: 7

Pitches: 109 (68 Strikes, 41 Balls)

2016 ERA: 3.05

* Tillman also had 1 Hit Batsman

PITCHES BY INNING

****************

19 (13 Strikes, 61 Balls)

20 (13 Strikes, 71 Balls)

19 (10 Strikes, 91 Balls)

19 (81 Strikes, 11 Balls)

12 (10 Strikes, 21 Balls)

10 (91 Strikes, 11 Balls)

10 (51 Strikes, 51 Balls) **

** Tillman recorded 1 out before departing in the 7th inning.

[Rene88]

We need to delete the disturbing photo on this thread. LOL

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Il BuonO]

Well, he threw very few off speed and had good command of the slider throughout and the CU late. His FB command was spotty. What's encouraging is again he didn't have his best stuff and still had a good start.

[Il BuonO]

7 strikeouts in 6.1 IP today. In the 6th inning he struck out the side on 10 pitches, about 8 of which were nasty breaking balls. Tillman really didn't have good command in the first 5 innings, but his defense helped him and he persevered.

A very professional start. I've always liked Tillman because of his perseverance. I don't think he's as good as Gausman, who I said would be their best, but I'm glad they have him.