This coming Saturday, the Nationals will replace Jordan Zimmermann in their rotation with Tom Milone. I will be in Chicago during his debut, as I’m going to check out Wrigley Field for the first time. I’m excited about seeing this baseball shrine, but I’m a little disappointed in missing out on his first start. I have been excited about seeing him pitch for over two years, but at least I have DVR. So what’s so impressive about Milone?
Here’s what I wrote a few months ago:
He’s a 24 year old lefty starter who’s been very impressive the last few years. In 2009, he had a 2.91 ERA in high-A ball, at age 22. Last year, in AA at age 23, he had a 2.85 ERA; but in about 7 more IP than 2009, he had 49 more Ks and 13 fewer BBs. So his K/9 jumped from 6.3 to 8.8, and his K/BB went from 2.94 to 6.74.
This year in AAA, he has pitched about the same as least year. His ERA has gone up a bit to 3.22, while his K/9 went up to 9.4. He has walked so few batters that his K/BB sits at an incredible 9.69. All of this indicates an incredible strikeout pitcher with very good control, but it doesn’t hint at one very interesting part of Milone’s repertoire – his fastball doesn’t reach 90 mph.
Posted by Charlie 
