Luis

Atilano

Atilano missed most of 2011 while recovering from surgery to remove bone chips from his elbow. He’ll just be a warm body for them at Triple-A.

Atilano has two appearances this season between Double-A Pensacola and Triple-A Louisville. The 27-year-old right-hander hasn’t pitched in the majors since he made 15 starts with the Nationals back in 2010.

Atilano’s stuff simply isn’t good enough to be effective at this level. He’s struck out just six batters in 17 1/3 innings so far and has walked 10 over that span. Atilano grinds against jams well, but he’s facing an uphill battle.

It looked like Atilano was in for a long night, but he settled down quite nicely after a rough first inning. All told, he gave up five hits -- including four singles -- while fanning five and walking two. The young right-hander is 3-0 with a 3.57 ERA through his first four starts, but with his 11/12 K/BB ratio, he shouldn’t be on your fantasy radar

Atilano hasn’t gone more than six innings in any start this season and has more walks (19) than strikeouts (15). He’s a serviceable back-end option for the Nats, but is way off fantasy radars.

This will help his case for remaining in the rotation after Scott Olsen returns. Atilano is now 4-1, but his ERA stands at 4.82 and his 15/19 K/BB ratio in 37 1/3 innings is awfully discouraging. He didn’t fan a single batter tonight.

The former first-round pick was 9-8 with a 4.01 ERA between Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Syracuse last season. He’s no longer considered a top prospect, but he’ll function as insurance in the minor leagues.

It’s been a long time coming for Atilano, who took Jason Marquis’ (elbow) spot in the rotation and impressed. He was drafted way back in 2003 at age 18 and underwent Tommy John surgery in 2006. Atilano was considered a top prospect at one point, but tonight was obviously way above expectation. Only extreme deep mixed leaguers should consider an add for next week’s start against the Cubs.

It’s not exactly the most comfortable offense to face in a major league debut, but the Nationals don’t really have a better option. The 24-year-old is 2-0 with a 1.64 ERA and 9/2 K/BB ratio in two starts (11 innings) for Triple-A Syracuse. Still, he should be avoided in most fantasy leagues.

Atilano will start for the Nats on Friday against the Dodgers in place of Jason Marquis, who was placed on the disabled list Wednesday night with “loose bodies” in his throwing elbow. The 24-year-old was 2-0 with a 1.64 ERA in two starts at Triple-A before the call-up and could be around for a while.