Tillman tonight

I would have liked to have seen him pitch off his fastball a bit more, but he made a number of tough quality pitches.

I liked that Samuel let him finish the 6th.

If you saw Stasburg last-night, you saw the definition of the ‘wow factor.’ Tillman’s stuff does not approach that ridiculous bar, but it is still very good.

To me the wow factor with Tillman is seeing him muscle-up when he wants and being able to paint the black at 94 with movement. The wow factor to me is that despite his size, and his youth – he has a nice fluid and repeatable delivery.

The point that Palmer made tonight (and I alluded to above) is that Amber Theorharis apparently asked Tillman if he was using his off-speed stuff in hitter counts in the Minors, and Tillman responded that he was not, he was working on his fastball command.

I don’t like the idea that he feels the need to change his approach. He has a good fastball (not overpowering) but hitters do not square on him easily. He is going to remain a flyball pitcher, and I’m fine with that.

I want to see him extensively use the fastball, and continue to work in the change-up.

The other-point Palmer made tonight was that his curve can be very effective. It does not just have to be a show me type of pitch.

I don’t see future ace in Tillman’s cards, but I do believe he settles into a long productive career as a legit 2-3 in a playoff caliber rotation.