Tomaso Anthony "Tommy" Milone is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball.
Education
Born and raised in Saugus, California, Milone attended Saugus High School, where he was a standout as a pitcher and hitter. Milone then attended the University of Southern California, playing for the University of Southern California Trojans baseball team Milone finished the summer 6-1 with a 2.92 European Research Area.
Career
He has also played in MLB for the Washington Nationals and the Oakland Athletics. As a freshman, Milone was named the number two starter in the rotation and went 7-4 with a 4.94 European Research Area in 16 starts. In his sophomore season, Milone struggled, going 3-7 with a 6.17 European Research Area. His junior season would prove to be his best, Milone went 6-6 with a 3.51 European Research Area and was the number one starter in the rotation.
Washington Nationals Milone was drafted by the Washington Nationals in the 10th round of the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft.
Milone made his major league debut on September 3, 2011, against the New York Mets. He left the game after pitching four and one-third innings.
Oakland Athletics On December 23, 2011, Milone was traded with A. J. Cole, Derek Norris and Brad Peacock to the Oakland Athletics for Gio Gonzalez and Robert Gilliam. Milone started the regular season in the #3 starting rotation spot behind Brandon McCarthy and Bartolo Colon.
Milone was the only starting pitcher in the A"s rotation to last all season without getting injured and had started the most games for the A"s during the 2012 season.
He pitched his first complete game of his career on June 20 defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers. Milone had started game 2 of the ALDS, but the A"s had lost to a no decision in the bottom of the 9th inning. Milone finished the season with a 13–10 record and with 137 strikeouts and an era of 3.74 Milone was optioned to the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats on August 3, 2013.
Milone finished the season with 12 wins in 28 games, 26 of them starts.
Milone started the 2014 season in the A"s rotation as the fifth starter. Despite owning a record of 6-3 and a 3.55 European Research Area in 16 starts, Milone was sent down to American Automobile Association. After his demotion he demanded a trade.
Minnesota Twins On July 31, 2014, the Athletics traded Milone to the Minnesota Twins in exchange for outfielder Sam Fuld. Pitching style Milone"s four-seam fastball ranges from 87–89 mph, and he complements it with a cutter (84–86), curveball (75–79), and changeup (79–82), as well as a rare two-seam fastball.
Milone"s repertoire against left-handed hitters tends to be fastball-cutter-curveball, while against right-handers it is fastball-changeup-cutter.
He uses his changeup heavily in 2-strike counts against righties. His curve is his best swing-and-miss pitch with a whiff rate of about 33%. Milone has shown good control early in his career, with a walk rate under 2 per 9 innings.