Cleveland Guardians Prospect Matt 'Tugboat' Wilkinson Tosses Historic No-Hit Gem
Matt 'Tugboat' Wilkinson, the Cleveland Guardians' 10th round pick from 2023, made minor league history when he struck out 15 and allowed zero hits on Thursday.
The Cleveland Guardians have been red-hot as of late, going 9-2 over their last 11, but it was actually one of their young arms on the farm who had the biggest day Thursday.
Left-handed pitcher Matt "Tugboat" Wilkinson took the mound for the Single-A Lynchburg Hillcats, making his fourth start of the 2024 season. Even though he entered the day with a 0.61 ERA, 0.750 WHIP and 15.9 strikeouts per nine innings, Wilkinson managed to one-up himself against the Myrtle Beach Pelicans.
Wilkinson tossed 6.0 scoreless, hitless innings Thursday, only allowing one walk. He also struck out 15 of the 19 batters he faced, including all three he sat down in the sixth.
According to MLB.com, Wilkinson became only the fifth MiLB player since 2005 to strike out at least 15 and not give up a single hit. Cade Cavalli did it most recently did it with the High-A Wilmington Blue Rocks in 2021, but before that, the feat hadn't been achieved since 2012.
Only two MLB pitchers have put up that final line since 1975 – future Hall of Famers Clayton Kershaw and Max Scherzer – while Nolan Ryan accounts for three of the seven times it's ever been done in the big leagues.
The Guardians selected Wilkinson in the 10th round of the 2023 MLB Draft. The Central Arizona College product made just one professional appearance last year in the Arizona Complex League, striking out all three batters he faced in 1.0 inning pitched.
Wilkinson is a 6-foot-1, 270-pound southpaw from Vancouver, Canada. The 21-year-old is now 2-0 with a 0.42 ERA, 0.554 WHIP and 18.3 strikeouts per nine innings in his burgeoning minor league career, although he did not register on MLB Pipeline's Top 30 Guardians prospects list entering 2024.
At this rate, Tugboat Wilkinson is sure to get his flowers sooner rather than later.
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