Baltimore Orioles' Chris Tillman promising in shortened start

Rain limited Baltimore Orioles starter Chris Tillman to only two innings on Opening Day, but the pitcher made the most of the afternoon.

Chris Tillman‘s Opening Day start for the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards probably wasn’t quite what he envisioned. After the threat of rain pushed the game back by over an hour and a half, the right-hander tossed only two innings before another rain delay ended his outing for good.

However, Tillman and the O’s have to be very encouraged by what they saw during that brief appearance on the mound. Tillman retired the Minnesota Twins in order both innings, striking out five of the six batters he faced. He needed only 22 pitches to do so, 17 of which were strikes.

The strikeouts were a particularly welcome development, as Tillman posted a modest 6.2 K/9 rate a year ago.

But, as ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick noted, the most promising sign during the afternoon may have been Tillman’s rejuvenated velocity: “After averaging 92.4 mph in 2012, he dipped to 90.7 mph in 2014 before rebounding slightly last season. Now, suddenly, the giddyup appears to be back on his fastball.” Tillman dialed it up to 94-95 mph yesterday to blow his fastball by hitters.

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As impressive as the short outing was, it’s obviously much too small of a sample size to make any declarative statements about how Tillman will fare in the 2016 season. Nevertheless, if he can maintain that effectiveness and the increased zip on his pitches, it could make a huge difference in the Orioles’ chances this year.

Baltimore has a lineup that can keep pace with the best of them, armed with slugger Chris Davis, all-around threat Adam Jones and emerging MVP contender Manny Machado. The starting rotation has been a significant weakness of this club for a while, though. Orioles starters posted a 4.53 ERA last year, good for just 25th in the league. And with the offseason loss of the quietly reliable Wei-Yin Chen, the staff looked like it could be even more of a liability heading into the new season, although it received a late boost with the February signing of Yovani Gallardo.

Tillman has the opportunity to change that narrative if he can live up to the potential he showed earlier in his career. In 2013, Tillman’s first full major league season, he went 16-7 with a 3.71 ERA (110 ERA+) in 206.1 innings on his way to an All-Star appearance. The following season was even better, as he nabbed another 13 victories to the tune of a 3.34 ERA (118 ERA+) over 207.1 frames.

Last year was a definite setback, however. Tillman’s ERA climbed to 4.99 (83 ERA+) in 173 innings of work. An ankle injury also threw a wrench into his efforts to get back on track. Before the ankle issue, he managed a 1.19 ERA over his previous six starts.

Tillman will be turning 28 later this month, making this a crucial moment in his development as a pitcher. He can either take the next step and become a legitimate number-one starter, or he can continue struggling to meet expectations. The O’s will certainly hope the former scenario is the one that comes to fruition.

Next: Reds call up Robert Stephenson

If Baltimore wants to compete in the always-tough AL East, it will need something it has lacked in recent memory: a real go-to starting pitcher. Chris Tillman’s first two innings of 2016 suggested he can be that pitcher, but the team will want to see more of the same the next time he takes the hill.

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