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Tony Vitello shares realistic expectations for Matt Wilkinson's future potential
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- Tony Vitello shares realistic expectations for Matt Wilkinson's future potential
Tony Vitello shares realistic expectations for Matt Wilkinson's future potential originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
In the midst of a fifth straight MLB season at or under .500, few bright spots exist for the 65-94 Giants , but the emergence of rookie left-handed pitcher Matt Wilkinson certainly is one.
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Wilkinson was acquired in May from the Cleveland Guardians as part of the Patrick Bailey trade and made his major league debut against his former team on Aug. 19, tossing two scoreless innings.
The Giants have exercised precaution with Wilkinson as he ramped up his arm. In five starts so far, Wilkinson has exceeded four innings just twice and has thrown under 80 pitches in six of his seven appearances.
Despite the pitch limit, Wilkinson appeared increasingly comfortable as the season progressed. He has gone 10 consecutive shutout innings over his last three appearances, including his first win in relief against the St. Louis Cardinals on Sep. 9 and a five-inning, six-strikeout performance against the Los Angeles Dodgers last Sunday.
"I think with Tugboat [Wilkinson], it's silly to limit what he can do, but I do think he's always going to kind of fit in that category if things are going to work out for him as a starter – he's just a get-it-done guy," Giants manager Tony Vitello said Thursday on KNBR's "The Executive Show". "He competes. He attacks the zone. He's not afraid. He doesn't get rattled when guys are on base. And if things don't go well, he's just going to get more determined to come back and be better the next time."
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Vitello has utilized Wilkinson as both a starting and relief pitcher over the past month, but did not want to put a ceiling on the 23-year-old's future potential when asked about it.
"I think you know what you got if you're looking for a guy to just get you three outs or to get you out of a jam and come in and get a lefty out," Vitello said. "He's equally good on lefties and righties, so I think he can be that one-inning guy. He's already shown that he could be a long relief guy. So why not find out if he can start and push it to the brink?"
Vitello also confirmed that Wilkinson will start Saturday afternoon's home matchup against the Dodgers in the Giants' penultimate game of the season.
