Tag Archives: Konnor Pilkington

23 Jul

where ya been?

Back in the big leagues for the first time in two years, Konnor Pilkington threw two perfect innings in relief for Washington and got a win, his first since 2022. The Pascagoula native and ex-Mississippi State standout, called up from Triple-A Rochester on Tuesday, worked the fifth and sixth innings of the Nationals’ 6-1 win against Cincinnati. “It’s special,” Pilkington told mlb.com. “I was very excited, to say the least.” Mixing a mid-90s fastball with a slider and changeup, the East Central High grad struck out the side in the sixth. “That’s Konnor with a K, boys and girls,” said a Nats broadcaster. “What a Nationals debut for this lefty.” He became the 28th Mississippian (native or school alum) to play in a big league game in 2025. Pilkington was a third-round draft pick back in 2018 by the Chicago White Sox, who traded him to Cleveland at the deadline in 2021. He went 1-2 with a 3.88 ERA in 15 games for the Guardians in 2022, made just one MLB appearance in ’23 and spent all of last season in the minors. He became a minor league free agent last fall and signed with Washington. He had a 2.59 ERA, four wins, two saves and eight holds in 36 games for Triple-A Rochester. Pilkington was an ace starter at State, going 14-12, 3.47, with 260 strikeouts over three seasons. P.S. Brandon native J.T. Ginn, another MSU product, made his first start since late May for the A’s and, opposing Texas and Jacob deGrom, threw five innings of one-run ball. He has a 4.50 ERA over 12 games. … Austin Riley, the former DeSoto Central High star, apparently won’t be activated by Atlanta until later in the week. The veteran third baseman was eligible to come off the injured list on Tuesday. … The Chicago Cubs assigned Spencer Turnbull, ex-Madison Central standout, to Triple-A Iowa. A recent free agent signee, he pitched in rookie ball on Saturday. … Righty Mason Morris, third-round pick out of Ole Miss, has signed with Cincinnati for $897,500, per mlb.com.

13 Sep

cheers

It wasn’t all cupcakes and balloons for Konnor Pilkington on his 25th birthday, though the night did have a happy ending. The Mississippi State product from Pascagoula got the start for Cleveland against the Los Angels on Monday — in a game featured on MLB Network’s Clubhouse Edition — and he no-hit the Angels for 3 1/3 innings. But the big lefty, working with a lead, yielded two-run home runs to Matt Duffy and Mike Trout in consecutive innings that tied the score. Pilkington departed after the fifth and watched from the dugout as the Guardians rallied to win 5-4 in a tense game in which both managers were ejected. Cleveland increased its lead in the American League Central to 3 games. Pilkington, a rookie, has been called up eight different times from Triple-A Columbus yet has managed a fairly steady performance in his big league opportunities. Over 14 games, 10 starts, he has a 4.30 ERA and a 1-2 record. At Columbus, he is 2-4, 5.66. A third-round pick out of State by the Chicago White Sox in 2018, Pilkington was traded to Cleveland last summer. He and former Southern Miss pitchers Nick Sandlin and Kirk McCarty, also a rookie, have been contributors for what appears to be a playoff-bound club. P.S. The Dodgers became the first team to clinch a postseason berth by beating Arizona 6-0 on Monday. Former Mississippi Braves standout Freddie Freeman, in his first year in L.A., has been a driving force in the star-studded lineup. Not to be overlooked is the performance of another M-Braves alum, right-hander Evan Phillips. Phillips, who passed through Pearl in 2016-17, notched his 18th hold on Monday and trimmed his ERA to 1.33 in 55 appearances. He has six wins and two saves for the National League West behemoth.

18 Apr

adding on

The lengthy list of Mississippi natives to play in the big leagues grew over the weekend when Konnor Pilkington debuted for Cleveland. The tall left-hander, a Pascagoula native who played high school ball at East Central, showed some staying power. He made his first appearance for the Guardians last Friday with a scoreless inning of work and pitched again on Sunday, tossing two perfect innings against San Francisco in an 8-1 loss. Pilkington is one of those players who seemed destined to make The Show. He was an All-American in high school, tossing an 18-strikeout no-hitter on one occasion. He signed with Mississippi State, where his stuff was better than his numbers (14-12 with a 3.47 ERA) over three years. He also pitched for the Collegiate National Team while in Starkville. The Chicago White Sox picked him in the third round in 2018, and he made steady progress in their system before being traded to Cleveland last July for big league second baseman Cesar Hernandez. Pilkington made the Guardians’ 40-man roster in the off-season and got into some big league spring games, pitching well enough to make the expanded opening day roster. He was optioned to Triple-A briefly before being recalled on Friday. He walked the first batter he faced — the Giants’ Brandon Belt — but got a strikeout, a ground out and a fly ball to end the inning. Pilkington was 12-16, 3.84 in the minors working primarily as a starter; he throws four pitches and has demonstrated durability. He can have an impact for Cleveland.