Tugboat is making waves in the Cleveland Guardians minor league ranks.
The Okotoks Dawgs alumni, a fan-favourite pitcher for the reigning WCBL champions after developing through the academy, is off to an absolutely dominant start in the minor league ranks with Lynchburg Hillcats, the Cleveland Guardians’ Single-A affiliate.
The hard-throwing southpaw posted a remarkable 15-strikeout, no-hit, with one walk over six innings performance on Thursday night for the Virginia-based Hillcats.
“It’s what I try to do every time,” said Wilkinson, as quoted in a MLB Pipeline article. “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.”
According to MLB.com, it’s just the fifth time a MiLB pitcher has posted a 15-strikeout, no hit performance since 2005. In the MLB ranks, that elite group includes a who’s-who of hurlers from Nolan Ryan to Max Scherzer and Clayton Kershaw.
Through four starts, Wilkinson has a 2-0 record with a microscopic 0.44 ERA and 41 strikeouts over just 20.2 innings pitched.
https://twitter.com/MiLB/status/1783646948891004977
The 21-year-old started his professional career last summer after being selected in the 10th round of the 2023 draft by Cleveland.
Wilkinson was a key cog in the Dawgs’ 2022 championship run, pitching the final outs in the team’s title clinching victory over the Moose Jaw Miller Express.
He pitched the home opener for Okotoks during the 2023 campaign before plying his trade with CCBL’s Chatham Anglers.
https://twitter.com/DawgsAcademy/status/1783876436354294229
