The San Francisco Giants' new southpaw dazzled his former club with a dominant opening performance.
Matt Wilkinson was drafted by the Cleveland Guardians back in 2023.
"Tugboat" was the No. 308 overall pick in the 10th round, but he never got a real shot to make an impact with the team.
The Canadian pitcher was traded to the San Francisco Giants on May 9 in exchange for catcher Patrick Bailey.
While many were left confused about why the Giants would move on from Bailey, as fate would have it, the stars aligned for Wilkinson to make his MLB debut against the team that drafted him.
Wilkinson's MLB debut was a huge success
Manager Tony Vitello didn't want to risk it, so he used Tugboat as an opener, but Wilkinson looked absolutely phenomenal in his two innings of work.
Bailey, who had been on the Giants roster since 2023, is slashing just .183/.240/.290 this season. He has career-low numbers in terms of his .530 OPS and 0.1 WAR, so it may have taken a few months, but it was great for San Francisco to see their return pay off in a big way, especially knowing Bailey struck out in his lone appearance in this game.
The goal for this Giants pitching staff was to get younger, and they've done just that. Wilkinson, 23, may not have been able to record a decision, but he allowed just one hit en route to recording six outs in just 25 pitches.
Wilkinson comments on his first start in the big leagues
"That was cool. It was definitely a long-awaited moment," he said, according to MLB.com's Maria Guardado. "I’m happy it could happen here, of all places. I’m happy to get that win under my belt. Hopefully, there’s more to come.”
Vitello chimed in, "When guys play like that, you look smart. There’s a few options with what we would do. Tonight was, in part, to get him out there, but also set him up for innings in Boston of some sort.”
Wilkinson's next appearance could be sooner rather than later
If Vitello is serious about having him pitch again in the Boston Red Sox series, that would be an incredible short turnaround, but it would also explain why he only threw 25 pitches.
After wrapping up a three-game slate against the Guardians, San Francisco heads straight to Fenway Park for a three-game series against the surging Red Sox.
Logan Webb, Blade Tidwell, and Carson Whisenhunt are penciled in as the Giants starters, according to ESPN, but Vitello could easily move Tidwell back into the bullpen to have Wilkinson serve as the game two opener, a move that would give him two full days of rest.
