How Aiden Stillman Showed He Could be a Regular Starter – Sports Illustrated

NASHVILLE – When Vanderbilt took an early April trip to College Station, Texas for a series against Texas A&M, the Commodores had a choice to make as to who should start on the mound for the series finale. Vanderbilt settled on its freshman Aiden Stillman in what would be his first appearance and start of his collegiate career.
The outing did not go as Stillman planned, lasting just 0.2 innings while surrendering two earned runs off a home run. Entering Vanderbilt’s game against No. 4 Texas Saturday, Stillman had made three other appearances in relief since that initial start. 
Saturday, Stillman was given the opportunity to start again. He did not disappoint. Stillman shut down one of the most dangerous teams in college baseball, working 3.2 innings as he allowed two hits and two walks on no runs while striking out six batters.
But what is more telling than the outing itself is what Vanderbilt head coach Tim Corbin said of Stillman’s development thus far and going forward.
“He’s pretty true to the core of who he is and what he needs to work on. He communicates with Brown well when it comes to adjustments,” Corbin said. “And I just feel like he’s going to be a future starter inside this program.”
Corbin’s praise and forward-looking vision he has for Stillman is very telling given Vanderbilt’s pitching situation and the development of his young guy going forward. Vanderbilt has been plagued with pitching injuries throughout this season to the point where Corbin has been trying various guys for the third starting pitcher in the weekend rotation. Saturday, Corbin gave Stillman an opportunity in that spot and he delivered in a big way.
Stillman may just be a freshman and may have appeared in just five games this season, but he showed plenty of promise in that he could be a guy that Vanderbilt relies on going forward as the season hits the final stretch and as the program itself focuses on the next season.
“He just handles his business well. And you know what you’re going to get when you’re on the mound in terms of at least from a mindset. It might not always be pretty, but he’s still learning and he’s still getting work inside the college game at a high level,” Corbin said.
Stillman’s first season did not start out the way any player wanted. Stillman was included in the seemingly never-ending list of pitchers that have dealt with or are dealing with injuries this season before he eventually made that first appearance against Texas A&M.
As Stillman admitted postgame Saturday, it was tough to deal with. Though he started the season watching from the dugout each night, he worked his way back to the field through his rehab and found the positive in an undesirable situation.
“Not exactly where I wanted to start the season, but I learned a lot about myself. A lot about what I needed to learn, how I got to take care of myself. And I think while it wasn’t ideal, I definitely have a lot of positives to take from it,” Stillman said.
Since getting more exposure to college baseball, Stillman has gradually grown more confident and comfortable in his process and in his pitching. But what makes that encouraging is remembering the fact that this is just the beginning of Stillman’s collegiate career.
As a result of Vanderbilt’s pitching injuries, it has forced guys like Stillman and its No. 2 starter in Wyatt Nadeau to go out and pitch against SEC competition that pitchers normally do not do in their first seasons. Usually, freshman pitchers do not see many chances to pitch in big spots against big time teams. But Stillman has and likely will continue to do so. The experience he is getting currently is certain to enhance his development and will produce results the more time wears on.
“I just think Nadeau and Stillman are going to get better. If we have enough time during the course of the year, I think those guys are going to get a whole lot better. They just haven’t been in these spots before. We started out the season not thinking Nadeau was even going to start a game. Stillman, we were just hoping we could get him on the mound,” Corbin said. “We’re using two guys we didn’t even forecast using at the beginning of the year. So, they’re getting better in motion. It just takes time. And their ramp up is against really good hitting teams.”
Stillman’s season arc thus far has been intriguing and promising. A highly-touted left-handed pitcher coming out of high school that began his college career dealing with an injury before battling back to eventually become a guy that has found crucial playing time at a dire time of Vanderbilt’s season.
The most interesting thing to monitor is whether Stillman can cement himself as the third option at the starting pitching role and if he can be a guy the program can look to in the future. Saturday's performance points in that direction.
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Graham Baakko is a writer for Vanderbilt Commodores On SI, primarily covering football, basketball and baseball. Graham is a recent graduate from the University of Alabama, where he wrote for The Crimson White, WVUA-FM, WVUA 23 as he covered a variety of Crimson Tide sports. He also covered South Carolina athletics as a sportswriting intern for GamecockCentral.
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