Tommy Milone

Milone added the primary pitcher role to his resume in 2019, making most of his appearances in bulk relief behind an opener. The change had little impact on his profile as a soft-throwing southpaw, as his feeble strikeout rate (20.8%) was only slightly better than his career norm. Milone's most obvious flaw is his inability to throw hard. In 2019, he hurled four-seam fastballs 43.7% of the time with an average velocity of 87.1 mph, among the slowest marks in the majors. While that kept the exit velocity of batted balls relatively low, Milone's extreme flyball rate (44.8%) resulted in an elevated home-run rate (1.9 HR/9) that ranked in the bottom 5% among all pitchers. Milone did do a good job of limiting walks (5.1 BB%), but that is partially attributable to the eagerness of opposing hitters to mash the soft stuff thrown at them. Milone has little to offer to fantasy squads and should be avoided altogether.

Milone's season ended a couple of weeks early as he needed to have a bone spur removed from his pitching elbow, and he had to settle for a minor-league deal with the Nationals this offseason. Milone is coming off a terrible year in which he gave up 15 homers in 48 innings of work that was split between the rotation and the bullpen. He was not effective in either capacity. The left-hander has pitched fewer than 30 innings of relief in his career and has seen a bump in strikeout rate, but was also hit harder around those strikeouts than he was as a starter. That was in a very small sample and Milone's best path forward is to attempt to make the Nationals' bullpen out of spring training as a long man out of the bullpen.

Milone dominated at Triple-A Rochester for a second consecutive season with a 1.66 ERA and 7.6 K/9, but he struggled again at the major league level. He bounced from the bullpen to the rotation but had just a 6.4 K/9 and 5.71 ERA. Milone has good but not elite control and groundball rates, which aren't enough to overcome an 87.6 mph average fastball in the majors. At 30 years old, he may spend most of his time at Triple-A again in 2017, but he'll compete for his roster spot with the Brewers during spring training after inking a minor league deal with Milwaukee in December.

Milone had a solid season in Minnesota's rotation but it's not clear if he'll win a rotation spot this spring. Milone began the season as the fifth starter and was sent to the minors after posting a 4.76 ERA in four starts. He then dominated the competition at Triple-A with a 0.70 ERA and 47:3 K:BB ratio in 38.2 innings. When called back to the majors he went 7-4 with a 3.74 ERA, missing two weeks with a mild left flexor strain. Despite his success, Milone's upside appears limited given his mediocre 6.3 K/9 and a meager 87.8 mph average fastball. While he has good control (2.5 BB/9) he's not a groundball specialist to offset his lack of strikeouts. He'll compete for the fifth starter role this spring, but it wouldn't be surprising to see him shuffle between Triple-A and the majors.

Milone was traded to Minnesota in late July after he couldn't hold a spot in the Oakland rotation despite a 3.55 ERA. While his Oakland numbers looked good at first glance, he struck out just 61 batters over 96.1 innings, while pitching more than half of his innings at pitcher-friendly O.co Coliseum. After he was traded to Minnesota and called up to the majors, he was hit hard, giving up 17 earned runs in 21.2 innings. His main problem was a career-low 5.7 K/9. He has good enough control (2.8 BB/9) that a bounceback to his previous strikeout rate could return him to the form he saw in Oakland, where his home-road splits were not overly uneven. He'll compete for the fifth starter role with the Twins this spring.

After a strong 2012, Milone struggled in 2013 and lost his spot in the A's rotation and even spent some time in Triple-A. Milone's strikeout rate rose from 6.5 to 7.3 K/9, but his walk rate and home-run rate also rose, which led to his ERA climbing above 4.00 on the season. Milone started the season well and had a 3.13 ERA on May 7, but he could not maintain that form and found himself on the outside of the A's rotation by August. If Milone can go back to limiting walks at his previous rates, while maintaining his increased strikeout rate, he stands a chance to earn the fifth starter role in a competition coming out of spring training.

Milone came over from the Nationals in the Gio Gonzalez trade and slotted right into the A's rotation. While he won't overpower anyone, his impeccable command kept him in the rotation all year and allowed him to rack up 15 wins. Milone is unlikely to become an asset in strikeouts and his margin for error is slim with his stuff, but he will provide a large volume of innings with decent ratios. He is a flyball pitcher so he is greatly aided by playing in Oakland, and Milone can at least be targeted late in drafts and in daily formats for home games. Keep in mind, however, that he carried a 4.83 ERA and 1.52 WHIP in 16 road starts thanks in large part to 18 homers allowed in 91.1 innings in those outings.

Milone spent most of 2011 with Syracuse, but did make five starts for the Nationals down the stretch. He features a fastball that averaged 87.9 mph last season along with a change-up (79.4 mph), cutter (84.5 mph) and a slow curveball (74.2 mph). His control is impeccable, as he's walked only 20 batters in 174.1 innings. However, he is an extreme flyball pitcher, which will be a problem when he logs more innings in the majors. He should start the season in Triple-A, but might vie for a spot in the A's rotation after being sent to Oakland as part of the Gio Gonzalez deal.