Discussion Question Part Two: Price/Davis vs. Tillman/Matusz

by John Sickels on Mar 2, 2026 6:09 PM EST Comment 20 comments

A couple of readers suggested this, and I thought it was a great idea. We can have a runoff between this and whoever wins the other poll.

Would you rather have the David Price/Wade Davis duo from Tampa Bay, or the Chris Tillman/Brian Matusz duo from Baltimore? Can't mix and match. While Price is the clear Number One pitching prospect, remember you're trying to evaluate the packages as a whole.

Poll

Which duo do you prefer?

Daviid Price and Wade Davis, Tampa Bay

938 votes

Chris Tillman and Brian Matusz, Baltimore

318 votes

1256 votes | Poll has closed

0 recs | Comment 20 comments

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Comments

no contest

Price and Davis EASY

by joltinjoe on Mar 2, 2026 6:33 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Never got past Price....

by laxtonto on Mar 2, 2026 6:56 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

exactly

Price and X wins.

Bonds stands alone.

Proud adopted parent of future big league slugger Thomas Neal

by nostocksjustbonds on Mar 2, 2026 9:24 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Ditto

Price has the potential to be an all time great. I just can’t get by him.

by jwaltz on Mar 3, 2026 12:35 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I just dont see it

He’s the best pitching prospect in baseball, yes, but Id easily take Felix Hernandez over him… and of recent pitching prospects when they were on the cusp of MLB I would take Felix, Liriano and Lincecum over him easily. Note: Not saying I would take them from this point! I am saying when those guys were at the same point in their career as Price is now I liked them all better than I did Price right now.

Price’s stuff just doesnt wow me enough. He’s going to be a great pitcher, but all time great talk is crazy to me. If I had to bet on guys becoming all time greats he would not top my list. So… “Great” but not “All Time Great”

by alskor on Mar 3, 2026 1:43 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Wade Davis

Besides Price, who is terrific, it was an easy vote because I think Davis has become a seriously underated guy lately- mayby because he has been talked about longer than Matusz or Tillman. Most people would consider Tillman to be a better prospect than Davis but im not so sure. Davis has been healthier and successful longer and he throws more strikes- and throws hard. I admit I havent had a chance to see Tillman but, I have seen the others quite a bit. It is fiarly close though- Tillman/ matusz are good prospects.

by casejud on Mar 2, 2026 7:08 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I think Price is the best of the four and Davis is the worst. But that’s because I see Davis as a power reliever rather than a starter. Still, Price is a ready guy with the talent to be a perennial Cy-Young winner. I’m sure Matusz and Tillman are great, but the odds of them overvaluing Price is slim and there’s a better chance that one of them doesn’t really fulfill his projection.

by jullberg on Mar 2, 2026 7:25 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

This Shoudn't Be A Contest

I may take Price alone over the other two. Price seems to be a once in a generation talent.

by sheetskout on Mar 2, 2026 9:20 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Tillman and Matusz for the same reasons as for Cahill and Anderson in the last poll

Price
Tillman
Matusz
-
-
-Davis

…just like:

Feliz
Cahill
Anderson
-
-
Holland

by alskor on Mar 3, 2026 12:15 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

+1

Exactly why I voted the way I did each time

by Birdfan01 on Mar 3, 2026 12:31 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Okay

I think you guys are off your rockers though. Holland and Davis are terrific prospects. We’ll see I guess.

by casejud on Mar 3, 2026 1:16 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Holland and Davis are terrific prospects. No one is saying they are bad prospects or busts. I just think Cahill/Anderson and Tillman/Matusz are a decent bit better prospects.

The difference between Matusz and Davis/Anderson and Holland is signficiant to me and sways my vote. All these guys can pitch for my team any day of the week, though. My comments shouldnt be read as some sort of condemnation of Davis or Holland. I like them both a lot…

by alskor on Mar 3, 2026 1:39 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

To me, I agree with you, but I think Price is a superior talent and I rate Davis a little more closely to Tillman/Matusz than you do. Price’s superiority and Davis being closer to the other 2 pitchers, IMO, earns that duo my vote.

by Cormican on Mar 3, 2026 10:34 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Thats cool

By your little chart there it made it seem like you considered Davis and Holland 2 tiers below thier competition but, you really liike Matusz, thats cool.

I have to say that I actually like Wade Davis better than Tillman OR Matusz, though it is close with Matusz. Davis’ stuff is just as good as Tillmans, his control is better and I think his stuff is a tad better than Matusz as well.

by casejud on Mar 3, 2026 10:37 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

If you were to do this, it would have to look like:

Price
-
-
Matusz
Tillman (control worries me)
-
Davis

You are selling Davis short and if you don’t think there is much gap between Price and the O’s lefthanders then I to think you are off your rockers. :D

by jfish26101 on Mar 3, 2026 1:43 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

As i said

I definitely like Price best of all of them. I still think the gap between Price and Matusz/Tillman isnt anywhere near as large as the gap between Matusz/Tillman and Davis.

So to revise to your proportions, then:

Price
-
-
Matusz
Tillman
-
-
-
-
-
Davis

Still, Price is so good it makes it close. Same deal with Feliz. I do not feel the gap between Price and the O’s pitchers is all that big though, but it is definitely there.

by alskor on Mar 3, 2026 1:46 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I’m just not sold on Tillman so I dunno. Control just isn’t there and I don’t think his numbers look all that impressive. Stuff may be impressive, I haven’t seen the results to put him ahead of Davis to be honest. He probably has a higher ceiling but a lower floor as well and until he gets that control down (isn’t like Davis has a ton of control either but I’m a bit more confident in him and have long thought he was the 2nd best pitcher in that system ahead of McGee who most raved about) I just don’t think I could agree.

All of that said, the AL East has some amazing young talent and should be a lot of fun to watch for years to come. Pretty much every team in that division has a good bit to look forward to.

by jfish26101 on Mar 3, 2026 1:52 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

WTF?

How can you guys say Tillman is safer than Davis? Davis has pitched very well at AAA and is looking good so far in camp. Tillman is 20, hasn’t pitched above AA and from what I’ve heard from the people who see these guys regularly, he needs some serious refinement before he reaches his peak. Meanwhile, Matusz has yet to pitch any professional innings. To say either are “safer” picks than Davis makes no sense to me at all.

by joltinjoe on Mar 3, 2026 1:49 AM EST reply actions 0 recs