'Tugboat' joins lofty company on 15-K night
Matt Wilkinson joined some lofty Hall of Fame company with a 15-strikeout performance for Single-A Lynchburg on Thursday night. And the Guardians' left-handed prospect has a moniker attracting almost as much attention as that dominant start. Known as "Tugboat," Wilkinson posted six hitless frames en route to the Hillcats' 3-0
Matt Wilkinson joined some lofty Hall of Fame company with a 15-strikeout performance for Single-A Lynchburg on Thursday night.
And the Guardians' left-handed prospect has a moniker attracting almost as much attention as that dominant start.
Known as "Tugboat," Wilkinson posted six hitless frames en route to the Hillcats' 3-0 win over the Myrtle Beach Pelicans at Bank of James Stadium.
The 21-year-old struck out 15 of the 19 batters he faced, including the first seven batters of the game. He capped his night by punching out the side in the sixth inning.
“It’s what I try to do every time,” Wilkinson said. “You just have to try not to make that moment too big for yourself and just do whatever you can to help the team win. That's what I did tonight.”
The Central Arizona Junior College product became the fifth MiLB pitcher to strike out at least 15 batters without allowing a hit since 2005, along with Wilmington's Cade Cavalli (June 12, 2021), Lexington's Chris Devenski (Sept. 1, 2012), Danville's David Francis (July 22, 2008) and the Dominican Summer League Cardinals' Isaac Silva (Aug. 17, 2012). When you incorporate MLB into the mix, Wilkinson joined the likes of Warren Spahn (Brewers, Sept. 16, 1960), Clayton Kershaw (Dodgers, June 18, 2014), Max Scherzer (Nationals, Oct. 3, 2015) and Don Wilson (Astros, June 18, 1967). Nolan Ryan incredibly hit that mark three times -- for the Angels on July 15, 1973 and Sept. 28, 1974, and with the Rangers on May 1, 1991.
“Being in the same names as those guys makes me want to keep working even harder to get to where I want to be," Wilkinson said.
Put the world on notice, Tugboat is here to save the day 🚢 🚨
— Lynchburg Hillcats (@LynHillcats) April 26, 2024
Matt Wilkinson’s final line 6 IP, NO HITS, 15 Strikeouts 💪💪💪@CleGuardPro #minorleague #milb #minorleaguebaseball #lynchburghillcats #pitching #prospects #shove #heat pic.twitter.com/4EHTe5sXth
Wilkinson credited his success Thursday with getting ahead early as he threw first-pitch strikes in nine of his punchouts and utilized his arsenal -- fastball, changeup and slider -- wisely to get through the night. He has worked on crafting it with the Guardians organization since being selected in the 10th round of last year’s Draft.
“I thought I knew a bunch about pitching when I got here,” Wilkinson said. “It turns out I didn't. I've learned a bunch, working with the pitching coaches we have it's been a real blessing. I'm just happy that I'm here and couldn't be more excited.”
The near-perfect outing wasn’t just a one-and-done performance by the man they call “Tugboat,” a nickname given to him by family friend Phil McNeil after seeing him run around the bases at a pace he thought was similar to that of the boat designed to tow larger vessels.
The 6-foot-1, 260-pounder allowed just one run in 14 2/3 innings spanning his last three starts. Wilkinson struck out nine in two of those appearances, eight in the other. His ERA has dropped to 0.44 with 41 punchouts on the season.
But "Tugboat" knows his professional journey is just getting underway, and he considers his nickname to be something of an homage to the way he wants to play the game. He plans to keep anchoring his way to stardom while putting his team in position to win ballgames.
“This is what I wanted to do my whole life,” Wilkinson said. “Being able to play at a professional level is awesome. But this is just a start. I got a long way to go and I can't wait for what's next.”
Jesús Cano is a contributor for MiLB.com.