Garceau: Chris Tillman Is The MVP Right Now
Ace, stopper he qualifies as both and from this view Chris Tillman is the Orioles most valuable player. I'm not saying he's the Orioles best player, that would be Manny Machado, but what Tillman is doing for a team bordering on bankrupt in the starting pitching department is huge.
The Orioles haven't had a 20-game winner since the final day of the 1984 season when Mike Boddicker got to the magic number beating the Red Sox at Fenway Park. Thirty-three years is a long time but Chris Tillman is on pace to get to 20 and exceed it. He's not the type to complain about not being invited to the All-Star game but he probably should have been in San Diego with his 12 wins at the break.
We can argue all day about the importance of wins and what it means on a pitchers resume in this geeked out stats era but you don't have to be an analytics major to know what Tillman's right arm means to the Orioles. Thursday afternoon was typical of his 2016 season. The Orioles were in trouble, assorted injuries and the flu bug significantly reduced the lineup and the O's were trying to avoid a 5-game losing streak on the final day of a 7-game road trip.
Enter Tillman and exit the losing streak. On this day he was the stopper, Tillman went 7 strong innings allowing only four hits and one run while striking out 7. He's won his last 4 starts allowing only 1-run in all 4 games. Tillman stepped up and stopped the skid, Orioles win 4-1.
He may not have the wow factor or the resume of a Chris Sale, Clayton Kershaw or Jake Arrieta but what Tillman has done this season rivals all of the game's best. His 14 wins tie him with Sale for the Major League lead. In the 21 games he's started the Orioles have gone 18-3. So with Tillman Baltimore is 18-3, without Tillman the Orioles are 36-37 and against the A.L. East he's 7-0 that's a difference maker.
Tillman is on pace to go 24-3 with a 3.18 ERA and 1.19 WHIP, that's the kind of season that gets a pitcher Cy Young consideration. While this season is the best of his career he's been paying dividends for years, since 2012 his record is 62-29 that's an impressive .681 win percentage. You can call him whatever you'd like, I'll call him an ace and the Orioles MVP.
