Fantasy Baseball 2015: Baltimore Orioles Starting Rotation Preview
1. Chris Tillman
2014 Stats: 34 games started, 21 quality starts. 13-6, 3.34 ERA, 1.23 WHIP.
207.1 IP, 150 K, 6.51 K/9, 2.27 SO/BB ratio.
2015 Fantasy Outlook: Tillman emerged as the best pitcher on the deep Orioles staff, and he looks to be their Opening Day starter for the second straight season. Tillman won last year’s Opening Day start but had a rough first half overall with a 7-5 record and a 4.11 ERA heading into the All Star break.
He bounced back with a great second-half, though, going 6-1 with a 2.33 ERA after the break and helping Baltimore surge to their AL East Championship. He was especially dominant in August when he was among the best pitchers in baseball going 4-0 with a 1.33 ERA in his six starts that month. He can definitely get into a zone where he looks like a true “Ace” although he doesn’t have quite the strikeout rate to make him a top fantasy baseball option. He is a great depth addition as a fifth or sixth starter, but he remains outside of the top 50 fantasy options due to his inconsistency and low strikeout numbers. One thing you should be able to count on from Tillman is solid innings numbers after back-t0-back seasons with 200+ innings.
He is definitely a good option as a streaming option or in daily leagues if he is at an affordable price. Tillman’s splits last year were drastically better at home (2.54 ERA versus 4.31 ERA on the road), and he was effective in day games (2.78 ERA versus 3.56 at night). He pitched especially well against Boston going 3-1 with a 2.57 ERA in his five starts against his AL East rivals and also dominated the Yankees with a 1.98 ERA despite a 1-1 record.
In the right matchups, Tillman can definitely be a value play and is a pitcher who will float on the edge of rosters for much of the season. He can have effective stretches to be sure, so he can balance out your roster as a back-end option if you go high-strikeout but high-risk early in your fantasy rotation.
Next: Wei-Yin Chen