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Mississippi State

Former Diamond Dawg Konnor Pilkington back in the MLB

3rupauk8_400x400by: Robbie Faulk07/23/25RobbieFaulkOn3
Konnor Pilkington
Photo by Brad Mills, USA Today Sports

Konnor Pilkington is back in The Show.

For the first time during his Washington Nationals tenure, Pilkington pitched for the MLB squad on Tuesday night. In 2.0 innings of relief, Pilkington allowed no hits, runs or walks and struck out three batters and left with a 6-1 lead against the Cincinnatti Reds.

 The former Mississippi State LHP standout is in the middle of one of his best minor league seasons with a 4-3 record and a career-low 2.59 ERA. The team announced earlier in the day that his hard work will now result in a run with the main roster.

Pilkington made his MLB debut back in 2022 with the Cleveland Guardians and pitched in 15 games with 11 starts. Pilkington was 1-2 with a 3.88 ERA in 58.0 innings while surrendering 32 walks and striking out 50 batters. He threw 2.0 innings in a game the next season but has not been in the MLB for the last two seasons.

After being traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks and pitching in their minor league system for a season, the Nationals picked him up in free agency. This year, Pilkington has played the role of a reliever more than any other time in his career and he’s excelled in it. Pilkington has thrown 41.2 innings this year and surrendered just 12 earned runs with 50 strikeouts and 27 walks.

Pilkington has held teams scoreless in 13-conesecutive games covering 15.1 innings. He now gets a chance to continue that streak in the MLB.

The Hurley native came to Starkville after a great career with East Central High School and immediately made an impact for former head coach John Cohen. Pilkington worked his way into a starting role on the weekends in 2016 and was 2-1 with a 2.08 ERA in 11 starts. Pilkington helped State to its first SEC Championship since 1989 that season and struck out 42 batters in 43.1 innings.

That season set the tone for Pilkington to become a headline starter for a pitching staff in 2017 that was injury riddled. He was one of the Diamond Dawgs only reliable pitchers that year with his 3.08 ERA and he struck out 111 batters helping State to the Super Regionals for a second-straight season.

That turned into three-straight years as Pilkington was part of a two-headed lefty pitching attack in 2018 with sophomore Ethan Small. He finished 3-6 in 18 starts but struck out 107 batters and had a 4.47 ERA leading the Diamond Dawgs to a trip to the College World Series and just one win away from the National Championship series.

After striking out 260 career batters in Starkville, Pilkington was taken in the third round of the 2018 MLB Draft by the Chicago White Sox.

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