Part I of the HornSports baseball preview looked at team defense and projected positional starters. Part II of the season preview examined the offense, including a projected batting order and candidates for the team’s designated hitter role.
To conclude the team preview, HornSports projects the pitching in 2015. The Longhorns relied on strong performances from the mound to make a deep postseason run last year, and Augie Garrido has plenty of talented arms on the pitching staff this year.
Before discussing individual players and roles, it’s important to note the significance of have pitching coach Skip Johnson on the Texas bench. Johnson is regarded as one of the finest pitching coaches in the country, and also plays a key role in evaluating and recruiting high school pitchers. Simply put, the current stable of pitchers, plus Johnson, should equate to another successful year on the mound for Texas baseball.
Weekend Starters
Parker French (Senior – RHP)
Chad Hollingsworth (Junior – RHP)
French was a fixture in last season’s rotation and will be a steadying, veteran presence on the 2015 staff. There is some scuttlebutt on French moving into the closer’s role, but Garrido and Johnson will try other options at the end of games early in the season. Taking the mound as a Friday night starter is an extremely important role in college baseball, and having the team’s Senior leader do so is likely the best for their long term interest.
Hollingsworth was nearly flawless in two postseason, elimination games (Texas A&M, UC-Irvine) last year, setting the stage for a breakout year in 2015. Ideally, the junior right-hander is the weekend bookend on Sunday.
Probable additions to the weekend rotation:
Kacy Clemens (Sophomore – RHP)
Josh Sawyer (Sophomore – LHP)
Three of the Horns’ first four weekend series are 4-game sets, allowing both Clemens and Sawyer to audition for the permanent role. Rather than focusing exclusively on results, Garrido and Johnson will focus on mound presence and the ability to consistently throw strikes. Regardless of which player is starting during Big 12 play, the other will play a prominent role in the bullpen.
Fans remember Clemens’ contributions at first base in 2014, but he has worked from the mound since Fall practices. Possessing a fearless mindset regardless of count, batter, or situation, the younger Clemens will remind many of his father when he takes the bump.
Sawyer is a power-throwing lefty with a mid-90’s fastball. Because of the differences between French/Hollingsworth and Sawyer, the guess here is that the staff would prefer to keep the sophomore as the Saturday starter. If Sawyer delivers in nonconference play, it’s not a stretch to think that Clemens would be used late in games as the team’s setup man.
Midweek Starters
Parker Joe Robinson (Freshman – RHP)
Tyler Schimpf (Freshman – RHP)
Garrido and Johnson have traditionally used midweek games as auditions for younger pitchers. As the season progresses, the Texas coaches tend to whittle the rotation down and slowly prepare one or two youngsters for postseason play.
HornSports profiled Schimpf after he signed to play at Texas. The freshman from Sacramento, CA is thought to have one of the highest ceilings on the entire staff – as a high school senior, Schimpf threw a three hit shutout in the state championship game (16 strikeouts).
The first thing fans will notice about Robinson is his size. The freshman stands at 6’4†and weighs about 240 pounds – not a typical build for an 18-year old pitching phenom. Notably, Robinson’s dad played for Garrido at Cal State Fullerton before an 11-year career in the majors.
Relievers
Ty Culbreth (Junior – LHP)
Travis Duke (Junior – LHP)
At this point, the bullpen is a jumbled mass of talented arms that will all have to wait their turn to prove they can throw strikes when called to duty. The two known commodities that are surefire contributors are Duke and Culbreth.
Duke improved throughout the season in 2014, ending the year as one of the team’s top relievers. As more than a situational L/R matchup pitcher, Duke will be the first lefty out of the pen.
Culbreth is a solid pitcher that would star on most teams, but is overshadowed by Duke’s presence. As one of the team’s top long relievers, the junior from Bryan, TX will be called on anytime the Horns need more than two innings of relief.
Possible additions:
Jon Malmin (Sophomore – LHP)
Connor Mayes (Freshman – RHP)
Andy McGuire (Sophomore – RHP)
When trying to project which players will be bullpen fixtures in addition to Duke and Culbreth is where things get variable. Despite have one of the deepest pitching staffs in the country, Garrido and Johnson favor using eight or nine players in their rotation. As an example, in 2014 nine pitchers threw 95.5% of all IP.
The next key to the equation is knowing that the pitchers listed in this article that do not win regular roles in those spots automatically become top candidates to contribute from the pen. There are six pitchers listed for four starting spots, if the two non-starters are added to Duke and Culbreth, then the rotation is full by historical standards (counting the addition of a closer, detailed below).
Malmin, Mayes, and McGuire will all have opportunities to log innings during nonconference play. It is especially important for them to handle the chance well in order to be considered an option for use throughout Big 12 play.
Closer
Kyle Johnston (Freshman – RHP)
Johnston, a true freshman from Flower Mound, TX, is going to receive the first opportunity to serve as the team’s closer. With plus control of an electric fastball (mid-90’s) and a college-ready breaker, Johnston’s pitch mix is well-suited for the end of games.
Skip Johnson on Johnston, “He has electric stuff. He’s been in that role before as a high school pitcher.”
Possible changes:
With the understanding that Johnston will receive multiple opportunities during nonconference play to prove he has the mental fortitude for closing at the college level, it is possible that the team has to transition one of the players above (French being an option) to closer. Illustrating the dynamics of the situation, Johnson’s comfort of moving French to closer would also be determined by how Clemens, Hollingsworth, and Sawyer perform as starters.
