NewsTillman earns valuable experience
Right-hander makes most of difficult season for Orioles
By Alden Gonzalez / MLB.com
11/08/09 10:16 PM EST
Scrounging for positive signs wasn't easy in the midst of a 98-loss season by the Orioles, one that saw the club lose 13 in a row during the final full month.But it was inadequacies on the roster -- mostly in the way of starting pitching -- that saw young prospects speed up their paths to the big leagues and get that much-needed exposure.
Whether that indeed will shorten the Orioles' bridge to a brighter future and competitiveness in the tough American League East is yet to be seen, but pitchers like Chris Tillman surely appreciated that fast track to their dreams.
"I gotta thank the Orioles for that," Tillman said in a phone interview from Fountain Valley, Calif. "They gave me a chance early. Because of injuries and guys getting hurt and the way things were going up there, they had to call someone up."
Baltimore is probably glad one of those guys was Tillman.
In just his fourth professional season, the 21-year-old right-hander made 12 Major League starts after getting the call from Triple-A Norfolk in late July, going 2-5 with a 5.40 ERA, 39 strikeouts and 24 walks.
In one five-start span in August, he posted a 3.34 ERA. But he also gave up at least four runs in five outings. So there is work to be done.
"I think it went OK," Tillman said of his rookie campaign. "It was kind of a season where you're getting the jitters out."
Tillman is resting up now after cranking out a career-high 161 2/3 innings between the Majors and Minor Leagues in '09. His previous high was 135 2/3 frames each of the previous two years. He'll then start lifting at around Thanksgiving time and start focusing on improving for his second season.
Tillman said he wants to work on his fastball command, his changeup, holding runners on base and not tipping his pitches.
Though the Anaheim, Calif., native showed glimpses of being a capable big league starter, his season ended rather unceremoniously when he gave up a season-high six earned runs in a season-low two innings against the Indians on Sept. 27. He was then shut down before making his last scheduled start of the year.
His club's finish wasn't very good, either. Though the Orioles won their last four contests, they lost 21 of their last 31 games and suffered the longest losing streak in the big leagues since '06.
"Losing is never fun for anybody," Tillman said. "But I think it kind of gives us a kick in the butt going into the offseason, making us want to get better. I know everybody knows they have to get better personally and as a team. Everybody has to work on their own things, and I think we'll do better next year. I know what our team can do."
The losing did, however, allow young pitchers like Tillman, Jason Berken, David Hernandez, Brian Matusz and Brad Bergesen break into the Majors.
And so Tillman -- a second-round Draft pick by the Mariners in '06 before being traded to the O's along with Adam Jones and George Sherrill, among others, for Erik Bedard before the '08 season -- had the rare opportunity to be part of a rotation filled with guys he came up with in the Minors, along with a catcher in Matt Wieters he had worked with the previous year and a half.
"It definitely makes it easier pitching with guys that I pitched with," said Tillman, who was also 8-6 with a 2.70 ERA in 18 Triple-A starts earlier this past season. "We all hang out on the field and off the field. I think as far as a group, we all have an attitude going into spring where we all want to beat each other out. It's a friendly competition kind of thing, but it's the best competition there is."
Considering the Orioles' abundance of young capable starters, and the fact that they'd like to acquire some veteran arms to complement Jeremy Guthrie in the rotation, Tillman could find himself competing for a rotation spot in Spring Training.
And that's exactly how he wants it.
"I can't get too comfortable, you know?" Tillman said. "I want to go into spring like it's not my job. I want to go in as if I have to compete with everybody else. And I think that's how it is. They pretty much told us, 'Hey, no one has a job yet; it's all up in the air.' You have to go work your butt off, come into the offseason in shape and prove it to them."
Alden Gonzalez is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
