Last time we took a look at a USC pitcher and we follow in suit with another pitcher from USC, only of the west coast variety. Tom Milone, the Nationals 10th round selection (301 overall) in the 2008 rule IV draft, is a 22 year-old lefty (listed at 6'1, 205 lbs) who has started his professional career with the Vermont Lake Monsters. The Nationals know what they got with Milone, a guy that can pitch and hit his spots, but has a very limited ceiling. He does not have overpowering stuff, he has no WOW factor that is going to blow your caps off, he simply is a guy that can come in and do his job day in and day out. He will never be a guy in the top part of the rotation and the best the Nationals can hope for is that he one day anchors the back part of a solid rotation. He is comparable to another current Nationals prospect, Adrian Alaniz. So without injecting too much of my own analysis into the guy, let us turn to what the pundits, scouts, and numbers tell us.
Starting with his college career, Milone pitched 45 career starts at USC, putting him 9th all-time. His combined record at the school was 16-17 and he finished with a career ERA of 4.78. What is most amazing about his career at USC, though, was that he allowed only 60 walks in 273.0 IP. This stat is completely in line what most people say about him, that he can hit almost any spot he wants to in the strike zone AND do it consistently. His weakness is that he is a very hittable pitcher, but that did not stop him from maintaining a 1.40 WHIP during his time at Southern California. His best season win wise was his freshman season, 7-3, while during his junior season he finished with a season high in strikeouts (98 in 97.1 IP). In his three seasons, he never let up more than 21 walks and what's more is that during his senior year in high school he let up only three walks (the ENTIRE season). So, you could say this guy is a bit of a control freak, only not in the same way as my last girlfriend.
During his summers in college, he played for the Cape Cod League's Chatham A's and won the Whitehouse award for being the league's top pitcher in 2007 (6-1, 2.92 ERA). After being left off the Cape's All-Star team in that same summer, he went out the night after the squads were announced and pitched a complete game shutout against Cotuit, striking out ten batters in the process. All the reports on him make him sound like quite the competitor, something you are always proud to have on the team (especially after dealing with the likes of Felipe Lopez on the MLB squad). Pat Ebert, who follows the Cape League over at PGCC, named Milone to his all-league team at the end of the CBLL season. This team also included fellow National's draftee Aaron Crow. I have provided both entries for Crow and Milone below and particular attention to Ebert's first line in describing Milone:
Starting Pitcher - Aaron Crow, Falmouth (Missouri )
Selecting only three starters from an impressive group of hurlers wasn’t an easy thing to do, but Crow was a no-brainer after leading the league with a 0.67 ERA. The starting pitcher for the West All-Stars, he struck out Cole Figueroa, Collin Cowgill and Yonder Alonso in impressive fashion to begin the game. Crow has a perfectly projectable frame, a loose arm and very good fastball command as he works the corners like a seasoned veteran.
Starting Pitcher - Tom Milone, Chatham (USC)
Lefty Tom Milone has been a favorite of mine for a few years now given his advanced feel for pitching by changing speeds and hitting his spots. Those attributes allowed him to finish tied for the league lead in wins with six while posting a 2.92 ERA and a 46 to seven strikeout to walk ratio in over 52 innings of work.
I also found Perfect Game's scouting report on Milone, mostly thanks to NFA. The report reiterates his command and feel for his pitches and it also seems that his best pitch may be his change-up.
Milone won’t overpower anyone with his fastball, typically in the 84-87 mph range, but few pitchers in the college game possess his command or feel for pitching. He topped the Cape Cod League in wins last summer while walking seven and striking out 46 in 52 innings, and assembled a solid 6-5, 3.02 senior year at USC, walking 19 and striking out 92 in 89 innings (through mid-May). Milone’s strength is that he can spot his pitches at will, particularly an above-average changeup. He is what he is, however, as he has little or no upside. But he should get a shot because he’s a lefthander who can pitch.
I look forward to seeing how Milone handles the switch from USC to the minors and would venture far enough to say that he has the makings of above average minor leaguer. The question will be can he ever make it to the majors and if so, I believe that his path will be along the footsteps of Alaniz. Milone has already pitched in three games for Vermont. His first two games were in relief. On June 23, he pitched two innings, striking out four, walking one, allowing no hits/runs. On June 27, he pitched three innings for the win, striking out one, allowing one hit/no runs. He was rewarded with the start on July 3rd where he ran into trouble, giving up 3 ER in 4 IP (7 H, 4 SO, 1 BB). PANatsFan may be able to tell us how he looked, as he was at that game that he pitched in. All of the numbers he has showed thus far seem to be aligned with his past experience (good command, hittable, minimal walks), hopefully he will pull around and become a great starter. If not, we could take the conversion road and switch him to the bullpen, but let us wait awhile for that option. Tom Milone, Nationals fans, myself included, are rooting for you and wish you the best in our organization. CHEERS until next time (hopefully we will have signed one of our marquee guys by then).
