Meet Tommy Milone, the 25-year-old rookie lefty is 9-6 with a 3.34 ERA. Milone threw one of his best games of the season Friday when he went 7 IP, 0 ER, 6 H, 10 K. As noted earlier, Milone has allowed 2 ER or less in 13 of his 19 starts this season.
A key part of the trade that sent starter Gio Gonzalez to the Washington Nationals, Milone owns a 1.20 WHIP and 1.9 WAR.
Drafted in the tenth round of the 2008 MLB Draft out of University of Southern California, Milone progressed consistently through the Nationals organization. At 21 years old, Milone posted a 3.51 ERA with Washington’s low A and single A teams. The following season, Milone went 12-5 with a 1.19 WHIP in high A ball. Washington bumped Milone up to AA in 2010 where he again with 12-5, this time with a 1.17 WHIP. In 2011, Milone went 12-6 with a 1.03 WHIP in AAA before earning a late season call up to the bigs.
While Milone’s career K/9 in the bigs is 6.17, his minor league average was 8.1. Look for his K’s to take a slight tick upward as he matures. Also worth noting is that Milone was only the 27th player in MLB history to hit a home run in his first at-bat.
A’s fans should be excited about yet another solid young arm, but Milone does have one series red flag. His home ERA at Overstock.com Coliseum is 0.91, while his road ERA is 5.69. That outstanding start against the Yankees he just posted? It came at home. While Milone’s numbers indicate a stud in the making, his road ERA shows serious room for improvement.
The Big Guy
The Sports Guys 