Nolin's Trip to the Majors
Sean Nolin was 10-0 between Dunedin and New Hampshire in 2012. But that's in the past. Sean Nolin is 0-1 in his major league career. That's in the past, too.
"Everyone's gotten hit around" was the advice Nolin received after his less-than-memorable major league debut with Toronto on May 24. That advice came from four-time All-Star and current Blue Jays pitcher Mark Buehrle after Nolin allowed 6 runs on 7 hits in one and a third innings against the Baltimore Orioles, without a strikeout.
It was interesting that the first bit of advice he received after thegame came from Buehrle, who took the time to sit with him at hislocker and pass on his many years of wisdom to the future of the Blue Jays rotation. Some people have compared Nolin to Buehrle. Neither pitcher will blow you away with his stuff, but Nolin is considered to have an advanced feel for pitching, and that attribute is a major part of what has allowed Buehrle to be a double-digit game winner in each of his 12 full big league seasons.
"It's no big deal" was the advice he received from Chad Jenkins, who pitched for the Fisher Cats as recently as early May before Jenkins returned to Toronto. At only 23 years old and having been drafted just four years ago, everyone knows Nolin will be back with the big club.
"Stay humble" was the advice he gave himself on May 23 after getting the notice that he would in fact be heading to Toronto to make the start the following night. From the time he got called into the clubhouse from the dugout during the game in Portland through his first pitch at Rogers Centre, Nolin made sure not to let his emotions get the better of him.
After that game, he was returned to Double-A to resume his Fisher Cats career. Nothing has changed for the Long Island native, and that's a good thing. "I've been trying to do the same thing since 2011 with Lansing," he said. "I try to stay on the same exact routine."
The departures of some of last year's top Blue Jays prospects via blockbuster trades in the offseason allowed Nolin to move up the rankings list rapidly, though after an undefeated season last year, he was undoubtedly going to fly up those lists anyway. Nolin is currently listed as the 8th best Blue Jays prospect according to MLB.com, but is behind five other starting pitchers, including teammate Marcus Stroman. He's older than each of them, but has a leg up on them as well. He's had plenty of success at each level he's attained, knows how to replicate that success, and has now seen what it's like at the big league level. He possesses the attitude, poise, and certainly the talent to get back there again. Pretty soon, the minor leagues as a whole will be in the past for Sean Nolin, too.
"Everyone's gotten hit around" was the advice Nolin received after his less-than-memorable major league debut with Toronto on May 24. That advice came from four-time All-Star and current Blue Jays pitcher Mark Buehrle after Nolin allowed 6 runs on 7 hits in one and a third innings against the Baltimore Orioles, without a strikeout.
It was interesting that the first bit of advice he received after thegame came from Buehrle, who took the time to sit with him at hislocker and pass on his many years of wisdom to the future of the Blue Jays rotation. Some people have compared Nolin to Buehrle. Neither pitcher will blow you away with his stuff, but Nolin is considered to have an advanced feel for pitching, and that attribute is a major part of what has allowed Buehrle to be a double-digit game winner in each of his 12 full big league seasons.
"It's no big deal" was the advice he received from Chad Jenkins, who pitched for the Fisher Cats as recently as early May before Jenkins returned to Toronto. At only 23 years old and having been drafted just four years ago, everyone knows Nolin will be back with the big club.
"Stay humble" was the advice he gave himself on May 23 after getting the notice that he would in fact be heading to Toronto to make the start the following night. From the time he got called into the clubhouse from the dugout during the game in Portland through his first pitch at Rogers Centre, Nolin made sure not to let his emotions get the better of him.
After that game, he was returned to Double-A to resume his Fisher Cats career. Nothing has changed for the Long Island native, and that's a good thing. "I've been trying to do the same thing since 2011 with Lansing," he said. "I try to stay on the same exact routine."
The departures of some of last year's top Blue Jays prospects via blockbuster trades in the offseason allowed Nolin to move up the rankings list rapidly, though after an undefeated season last year, he was undoubtedly going to fly up those lists anyway. Nolin is currently listed as the 8th best Blue Jays prospect according to MLB.com, but is behind five other starting pitchers, including teammate Marcus Stroman. He's older than each of them, but has a leg up on them as well. He's had plenty of success at each level he's attained, knows how to replicate that success, and has now seen what it's like at the big league level. He possesses the attitude, poise, and certainly the talent to get back there again. Pretty soon, the minor leagues as a whole will be in the past for Sean Nolin, too.