Tommy Milone: Is the Oakland Athletics Pitcher Good or Just Lucky?

Those not buying into Oakland Athletics pitcher Tommy Milone's dominance on the mound may claim he's lucky—but his consistency proves it's all talent.

You've heard the old saying, "It's better to be lucky than good."

In baseball, this saying might hold true on one particular pitch in any given moment.

The average Joe might get lucky enough to knock one out of the park once in 100 attempts.

The same guy might even get lucky enough to dupe a major league batter into swinging and missing at a pitch.

Tommy Milone is no average Joe.

Likewise, he's not luckily duping anyone.

No, Milone instead has accumulated a 3-1 record with a 2.00 ERA purely on skills.

Not a believer?

Just check out his time line.

High School and College

Before being drafted to the University of California, the Foothill League Player of the Year owned a 9-2 record with a 1.04 ERA—including one perfect game in 2005. He walked just three batters in 67 innings pitched.

Few walks will be a theme.

Milone played three seasons at USC. He had one down year in which he pitched to a 3-7 record with a 6.17 ERA. The good news, however—he walked just 19 batters in 77 innings, compared to 59 strikeouts.

He finished his college career with a 16-17 record and a 4.78 ERA.

In the same span, he struck out 212 and walked 60 batters. That's nearly a pace of 4-1.

It's also about two walks per nine innings.

Minor Leagues

At 21 years old, Milone entered his first year in the minor leagues. He got off to a rocky start.

In 10 starts in Low-A, Milone won only one game. Though, there were plenty of bright spots.

In 59 innings, he struck out 49 batters.

He only walked nine.

Even his ERA was a respectable 3.51—considering it was 4.57 at one point and 2.89 at the next level.

In High-A ball, he made the transition to the starting rotation.

Milone went 12-5 in 2009 with an ERA of 2.91. The control over his command continued: 106 strikeouts to 36 walks.

In Double-A the following year, he had nearly identical stats but with 52 more strikeouts and 13 less walks.

Milone was the Washington Nationals' Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2010.

Pitching for Triple-A Syracuse in 2011, it was more of the same: 12 wins, 3.22 ERA and 155 strikeouts.

He walked 16 batters.

His efforts earned him recognition as a Triple-A All-Star in 2011.

Major Leagues

After being called up late in 2011, Milone pitched in five games for the Nationals.

In 26 innings, he accumulated a 3.81 ERA and 1.231 WHIP.

He struck out 15 and walked four.

In spring training this year, his record and ERA indicate he was roughed up.

However, he held hitters to a .236 average and continued the impressive trend of many strikeouts (12) to few walks (1).

As spring training came to a close, there were questions regarding where in the rotation Milone fit best, if at all.

He answered any leftover concerns by pitching six perfect innings against Oakland's Triple-A affiliate, the Sacramento River Cats.

The effort locked up the third spot in the rotation.

Since winning a role in the middle of the starting rotation, Milone has pitched in four games.

He's 3-1 with a 2.00 ERA and .852 WHIP.

Two of these games have featured eight shutout innings of pitching by Milone—one against the Kansas City Royals and the other against the Chicago White Sox.

Neither team is awful.

He picked up a win against the daunting Los Angeles Angels as well.

More indication that he's not just "getting lucky" against terrible teams.