One has to wonder, will pitcher Chris Tillman ever figure things out as a pitcher at the major league level? After a decent start last week, Tillman once again found a way to struggle as the White Sox beat the Orioles, 6-3.
Tillman gave up six earned runs in only 2 2/3 innings; in the opening frame, he gave up four runs and seemingly was throwing batting practice. He was throwing strikes … um, to the middle of the plate and was not locating his pitches at all.
His reward for yet another inconsistent outing: a trip back to Norfolk. Again.
Tillman is still relatively young and I certainly don’t think he should be jettisoned out of the organization.
Although Tillman has the look of the ideal, prototypical pitcher – tall, lean and athletic looking – he doesn’t throw all that hard and maybe tops out at 91-92 at best now.
However, if a pitcher can’t throw hard, they have to locate their pitches and ‘pitch’ to contact. Tillman has the second part down, not so much with the first.
It’s just frustrating to watch him. Tillman looks like he should be half-decent, but why can’t he put it all together?
Once again, he’ll have to figure out in Triple-A. Again.
That being said, I would imagine Brian Matusz would come back up this week as a spot is now open in the rotation.
From what I have read, he threw a shutout for Norfolk and while that’s encouraging, who knows if he can regain his form from last year.
Based on the comments that Matusz made last week when asked about his struggles, plus the struggles of Bergesen, Tillman, Berken and a handful others, the question has to be this…
Are the young pitchers ready to pitch at the major league level? Or is it just bad luck they are running into?
