This Friday, the Rochester Red Wings’ season will be a month old. Currently, they have played 22 games, and their record is a dismal 5-22. Out of 20 teams in the International League, they are in 20th place. The weather has been cold and wet, and the play of the Red Wings have struggled in every phase of the game.

Hopefully, the play of the Wings will improve with the weather, as it’s forecasted to be 80 degrees soon. One bright spot in the first month of this season has been a reliever and starter the last two weeks. Konnor Pilkington has been pitching exceptionally well lately.

On the first game of the season in Buffalo, Pilkington relieved Andrew Alvarez in the sixth inning and pitched 1/3 of an inning. It did not go well. He got the first batter out, hit the next two batters, and then gave up two consecutive hits. All four Bisons that he put on base scored.

Pilkington, on this freezing day, gave up four earned runs before he was taken out of the game. At the end of the day, his ERA was 108.00. Pilkington has made six appearances since that first game. He has not given up another earned run, and Pilkington has not hit a batter since that day! When evaluating relievers as to whether they are having a good season and if they are effective, I prefer not to put as much weight on ERA as I would for starters. Relievers usually pitch an inning or two per appearance.

Pilkington has appeared in seven games this season and has pitched 12.0 innings, five games as a reliever and two as a starter. What I prefer to evaluate on relievers is WHIP, opponents’ batting average and strikeout-to-walk ratio. One bad outing for a reliever can blow up their ERA, which is why it is important to choose a variety of statistics. Currently, Pilkington’s ERA is 3.00, and his strikeouts (21) to walks (7) ratio is 3:1, which is excellent and shows excellent command. When he was asked about the velocity of his four-seam fastball, Pilkington said, “My velocity comes and goes. I try to do everything where I can compete. I know I am not going to blow anyone away. I have to be more precise. It is more important to me to locate my fastball instead of throwing hard.” This seems to be working because he’s only walked three batters in his last six appearances.

Currently, Pilkington has a WHIP score of 1.00, which is graded as excellent. Pilkington has started the last two Wednesdays, the second game of the doubleheader. He has pitched a total of six innings. He has not given up any runs and has only given up one hit while walking two and striking out 13 batters. Last week, he shut down a hot-hitting Worcester team by striking out six batters in a row. When asked, have you struck that many batters out in a row? Pilkington replied, “Last week, that was the first time in a long time doing something like that. I am just trying to compete and give the team a chance to win. I have been throwing the ball well. When I enter a game, I try to get strike one and then go from there.”

Konnor Pilkington uses four pitches in his pitching toolbelt. He throws a four-seam fastball that reaches 95 mph. He throws three off-speed pitches: a slider, change up and sometimes a curveball. The 27-year-old hurler offered, “When I establish my fast ball it opens up my offspeed pitches more. I have been trying to establish my slider and change up. I want those to be sharp.”

Pilkington has been a bright spot at the start of this season in Rochester. Would he rather start or relieve? “I have done both. At this point in my career, I am available wherever they need me.”

Pilkington got a taste of the major leagues in 2022 and 2023 with Cleveland, where he started 11 games and relieved in five games. He signed a minor league contract with the Nationals last December. Will he possibly be signing a major league contract?