Category: Sports News

The Rays starters had three pitchers throw 150 or more innings in 2025 (Pepiot at 167, Baz at 166, and Rasmussen just made it with 150), which should be viewed as an acoomplishment. The last time that happened was in 2016 when Chris Archer eclipsed 200, Jake Odorizzi threw 187, and Drew Smyly added 175.

The volume of innings and health of the rotation in 2025 was impressive, but their production was roughly average – even accounting for Steinbrenner Field being one of the more HR-friendly parks in the league. The Rays starters ranked 15th in ERA, 21st in FIP, and 13th in xFIP. The accomplished this average production by filling up the zone and being above average in managing quality of contact; ranking 3rd in zone rate and 6th in ground ball rate.

2025 in Review

When choosing which key performance indicators to analyze, I initially wanted to look at the inverse of what I have been doing for batters. However, there wasn’t much to decipher from zone minus out-of-zone swing rates and 90th percentile EVs for pitchers because those are more batter-centric data points. There isn’t much difference in those measurements for pitchers, and they all kind of cluster around league average.

The pitcher-centric metrics that provided the most useful insight were:

• strike rate to measure command (and somewhat by proxy, chases)
• zone rate to measure control
• contact rate to measure the ability to generate whiffs
• hardhit rate to measure EV suppression, and
• ground ball rate plus infield fly ball rate to measure quality of contact.

Here’s how the Rays starters with at least 10 IP last season performed in each key performance indicator (I know Seymour and Boyle had some relief appearances, but they were predominantly in bulk/starter roles):

Right away we can see they were very much a league average rotation, and the key performance indicators mirror their middling production in ERA, FIP, and xFIP.

They were a typical Rays rotation in their above average strike and zone rates, and their contact management is evident in their elevated GB+IFFB% to hedge their slightly below average whiff generation and EV suppression.

Previewing the 2026 Group

Looking ahead to 2026, the rotation will be looking to replace over half of the innings they got from their starters last season with the departures of Baz, Littell, Bradley, and Houser. It will be tough to replace Baz’s combination of plus whiff generation and plus contact management with above average control and command. But the combination of Matz and Martinez gives the team a safe floor as these are two guys who have above average control and command while also featuring plus contact management skills.

I’ve got some conservative innings estimates for the current group of starters and bulk pitchers on the 40-man, and I’ll use their data from 2024-2025 in the key performance indicators mentioned above to see how this group could perform in the majors.

Note: I used McClanahan’s data from 2022-2023 because he hasn’t pitched since then, and Scholtens only had a handful of innings in the majors last year (he didn’t pitch in 2024) so I used his 2025 AAA data.

Not included: Griffin Jax, who is an interesting candidate to start, but it seems like he’ll be in the bullpen for now.

The group should show nearly the same command and control as they did last year, and there’s a higher potential for more whiff generation.

One reason there should be more swing-and-miss is because pitches are sharper at the Trop thanks to the indoor environment. Tropicana Field consistently ranks as one of the best – if not the best – parks for strikeouts. Another reason the whiff generation should be better in 2026 is with guys like McClanahan, Boyle, and Seymour could contribute more innings.

McClanahan will be on a limit for sure, but I think something in the 75-100 IP range should be reasonable for him. The same could be said for Boyle and Seymour if they’re deemed ready to step into a larger role and there’s an opportunity to do so.

The guys who could be workhorses in the rotation in Pepiot, Martinez, and (to a lesser extent but still possible) Matz are all above average in their ability to suppress EVs and manage contact to some degree. These three help raise the floor of the unit while guys like Rasmussen and McClanahan can take over a game and flat-out dominate when they’re on and healthy. Gomez and Scholtens seem to be serviceable backend starter types, but I don’t anticipate big roles for either of them. They can both throw strikes and cover innings and that has value.

The biggest question mark here is that there isn’t a clear front-of-the-rotation guy who is capable of taking over a big game in October.

McClanahan can easily be that guy if he’s healthy, but the workload management he’ll face might limit his impact in the postseason. The only other guy on the current 40-man who can match his level of plus raw stuff across the board is Boyle. However, even with his improvements since joining the Rays, he needs his command to take at least another step or two forward before he could be considered for that kind of role.

I mean no disrespect to Rasmussen; he has above average command, control, and stuff, but he can’t match McClanahan or Boyle in their ability to flat out bully hitters with multiple pitches. Rasmussen is heavily fastball-focused which can be great for throwing strikes, but he’s more of a quality of contact connoisseur than whiff warrior. What makes McClanahan special is that he can be both. Boyle has really only been a whiff guy in the majors, but he has shown he can be both when his command is there.

Take-Aways

I expect this group to be better than last season with the blend of different skill sets and moving back to the pitcher-friendly Trop. This group does have fairly significant upside if at least one of Boyle or McClanahan could take a step forward in 2026, and they frankly need at least one of them to emerge as a viable postseason weapon. Nobody else in the rotation can match the raw stuff that those two feature. Boyle’s trends in both his command and control since joining the Rays have been exciting and better than expected, and McClanahan appears to be fully healthy for the first time in a while.

This was an interesting exercise to do for all of the position groups. It was definitely more challenging for the rotation because of the fluidity of roles for certain guys, so I won’t be doing this for the bullpen like I initially planned.

My very lazy analysis of the bullpen is that they will be good because they’re always pretty good. The were first in xFIP (to account for GMS) and 3rd in whiff rate last season while maintaining above average control and command data. The roles are very fluid, but I do think Baker and Bigge could see more higher leverage opportunities than one might expect. If the bullpen struggles, there are plenty of internal candidates (including some interesting NRIs) who can help. The front office also has plenty of resources to address any needs they might have there as the year goes on. Manuel Rodriguez should also provide some nice reinforcements later in the summer.

Max Muncy became the longest-tenured player on the Dodgers roster this winter, with his eight seasons surpassing all others in the wake of Clayton Kershaw’s retirement.

And on the eve of spring training Thursday, the veteran third baseman ensured his time in Los Angeles will continue to last for at least a couple more seasons, agreeing to a one-year, $10 million contract extension with the team that also includes a $10 million club option for 2028.

Muncy, 35, was previously set to become a free agent at the end of this upcoming season, after the Dodgers exercised the $10 million club option in his current deal back at the start of this offseason. But in recent years, the longtime slugger has repeatedly voiced his hopes of staying with the Dodgers through the end of his playing career.

This new deal –– which includes a $7 million salary in 2027, and a $3 million buyout on his 2028 option –– could potentially do just that, taking him through his age-37 season if his option is picked up.

Muncy, of course, was never expected to become a foundational member of the organization when he first arrived in 2017. Back then, the former fifth-round draft pick had been cut loose by the Athletics after a couple brief and unsuccessful stints in the majors. He signed on with the Dodgers on a minor-league contract. And he spent his first year with the club in triple-A, trying to reinvent his game at 26 years old.

But in 2018, he had a breakout campaign, hitting .263 with 35 home runs. In 2019, he became an All-Star with another 35-homer performance. In 2020, he helped the Dodgers end their World Series drought. And in 2021, he earned a top-10 finish in MVP, before missing the playoffs with a gruesome elbow injury suffered in the last game of the regular season. 

Ever since then, injuries have been a recurring problem for Muncy, who has particularly struggled with oblique issues over the last several seasons. 

However, the left-handed hitter has remained productive when he’s on the field, including a two-month stretch last season when he was among the hottest batters in the sport.

Entering 2026, Muncy is set to be the club’s everyday third baseman, and provide added pop in the bottom half of the lineup. 

And now, he knows his Dodgers future will continue beyond this season too, with Thursday’s extension ensuring that Muncy’s tenure with the team will last at least a decade, and possibly even longer.

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The Dodgers on Thursday extended the contract for third baseman Max Muncy, signing him to a $7 million deal for 2027 that includes a $10 million club option for 2028.

Muncy had his $10 million club option exercised by the Dodgers on November 6, which secured a ninth season in Los Angeles for the veteran infielder.

Muncy has missed significant time with oblique and knee injuries over the last two seasons, combining for just 173 games between 2024-25. But when healthy he has been quite productive at the plate, including hitting .243/.376/.470 with a 137 wRC+ and 19 home runs in 388 plate appearances in 2025.

On the Foul Territory podcast in December, Muncy was asked by Erik Kratz if he’d like to stay with the Dodgers beyond his contract, which at the time ended after 2026.

“We’ve created such a good relationship with Andrew and Brandon, Alex and all those guys over there that, there’s just not really any rush to get to that point. That’s really how it’s always been with me,” Muncy said. “We’ll talk with them and say we’d like to discuss something like this, and they’ll respond back, ‘Yeah, let’s discuss it later on in the year.’ That’s really how it’s always gone.

“I don’t know what they have in the works with who they’re looking at. Obviously they don’t send out organizational updates with what they’re doing. I’m sure they are looking at pieces that are out there, and who they might try to go after, and all that stuff. Once that’s done, maybe we’ll have a discussion, maybe we won’t. I honestly don’t know. I would love to [stay beyond 2026], clearly, but we just have to see how things unfold.”

Muncy joined the Dodgers on a minor league deal in 2017 and reached the majors with Los Angeles in April 18. Since then, he’s made two All-Star teams and hit .232/.358/.485 with a 129 wRC+ in eight seasons, and his 209 home runs rank 14th in the majors during that time. His 16 postseason home runs are the most in Dodgers franchise history.

After the departures of Chris Taylor, Austin Barnes, and Clayton Kershaw over the last year, Muncy is the longest-tenured Dodger on the active roster.

This new contract falls in line with Muncy’s previous dealings with the Dodgers, as the two sides have always found a way to keep the relationship going without Muncy ever reaching free agency.

Muncy ahead of 2020 signed a three-year contract that covered all of his arbitration-eligible seasons. That deal included a club option for 2023, but in August 2022 the two sides reached an extension for 2023 that included an option for 2024. Before the deadline to exercise said 2024 option, Muncy signed another two-year deal that included an option for 2026. That option was exercised in November.

With Muncy in the fold for longer now, all nine members of the projected Dodgers lineup are signed through at least 2027, as are the top six starting pitchers, plus relievers Edwin Díaz and Tanner Scott.

Muncy’s $10 million club option for 2028 includes a $3 million buyout, per Jack Harris of The California Post. Coupled with the $7 million salary for 2027 that means the extension adds one guaranteed year an $10 million to his current deal. The average annual value for competitive balance tax purposes remains $10 million (rather than $10 million over one year, it’s $20 million over two).

A new mural featuring Shohei Ohtani and his famous dog, Decoy, has cropped up in Los Angeles — and it’s huge.

The piece shows the Dodgers star giving a high-five to his furry friend, and, fittingly, it’s located on a wall at a downtown LA dog park called Pawradise Park.

Oh my gosh a Decoy and Shohei Ohtani mural in a dog park!

It’s called Pawradise Park and mural by Alex_Ali_Gonzalez

It’s so beautiful! decoy should come over!! pic.twitter.com/e8nRDnFQjl

— shobae 大谷翔平 ¹⁷ Ohtani Shohei ¹⁷ (@shoheisaveus) February 11, 2026

Artist Alex Ali Gonzalez was responsible for the painting, and videos making the rounds on social media show it clearly took some significant work to complete.

A scissor lift and dozens of bottles of spray paint were used to get it all just right, the footage shows.

The image of Ohtani and his kooikerhondje is one Dodgers fans will recognize immediately — it’s from the game Decoy “threw out” the first pitch at Dodger Stadium during the duo’s bobblehead giveaway night in 2024.

Decoy and Ohtani have formed quite the bond since the MLB player got the pooch a few years ago. The dog’s joined its owner during training sessions and even received some hardware just like Ohtani at the BBWAA Awards Dinner last month.

And now that the two have been immortalized in paint, perhaps it’ll make their impending time apart due to the rigors of the MLB season a bit easier to swallow.

The recent addition of Aaron Civale seems to have solidified the top three spots in the rotation to open the year. Even if you don’t feel that Civale is an upgrade over anyone in-house already, manager Mark Kotsay made it clear yesterday that the top three will be Severino, Springs, and Civale to open the season.

That means that the final two spots in the rotation are theoretically up for grabs, but are they really? Lefty Jacob Lopez was one of the A’s best pitchers last year but is apparently still recovering from the forearm issue that prematurely ended his rookie season. Would he actually be one of the odd-men out if he’s fully healthy and fully ramped up come Opening Day? Would the A’s be that cautious?

Then there’s righty Luis Morales. One of the recent top prospects in the system, Morales showed why he was rated so highly in his first action with the A’s this past season. That would seemingly give him a step up on the other pitchers, but it’s important to remember he set a career-high in innings last year… at just 89! If the A’s do open the season with him in their rotation they’d have to be monitoring his workload essentially all season long.

If the A’s do surprise us all and want more of a workhorse-type option at the back of the rotation to open the year they could turn to a different young arm like Mason Barnett. Or they could give someone like Jack Perkins or JT Ginn a big chance to prove they can be more than a swingman. Want more upside? Gunnar Hoglund might be the arm you want at the back of the rotation to start the season. And there’s always the wild card in Luis Medina, who is out of options.

We’ve had surprises in recent years when Kotsay named his Opening Day rotation and this year could follow a similar path. Who takes those two final spots behind the veterans? Debate and comment below!

A late-blooming out of nowhere relief pitcher is one of the great understated joys of baseball, and the Yankees acquired one of their own prior to the 2025 season. Fernando Cruz, who was drafted nearly two decades ago in 2007 by the Royals, didn’t make his major league debut until 2022, at the age of 32.

Following his long journey to the bigs, Cruz spent three seasons with the Cincinnati Reds, showing promising stuff and elite strikeout potential, despite struggles in the run-prevention department. The Yankees took a flyer on the righty reliever in the deal that sent Jose Trevino to Cincy prior to last season. He continued to show excellent stuff on the mound, as the Yankees hope he can build on the late-career success that has brought him to this point.

2025 Stats: 49 GP, 48 IP, 3.56 ERA, 3.18 FIP, 1.19 WHIP, 13.5 K/9, 4.5 BB/9, 0.9 HR/9, 0.8 fWAR

2026 ZiPS Projections: 61 GP, 61.0 IP, 3.41 ERA, 3.49 FIP, 1.24 WHIP, 12.07 K/9, 4.17 BB/9, 0.97 HR/9, 0.9 fWAR

In his four seasons in the major leagues, Fernando Cruz has never struck out less than 32.8 percent of opposing batters — a skill that has gotten him to this point in his mid-30s, and one that will likely keep him around if he’s able to maintain it. When the Yankees took him on, he was on the fast track to a prominent role in the bullpen. On the whole, he did not disappoint.

Across 48 innings of work in his first season with the Yankees, Cruz managed a 3.56 ERA and 3.18 FIP to back it up, all while striking out a characteristic 36 percent of hitters. Walks are and always have been an issue for the righty, as his 12 percent clip in 2025 was an improvement. But the skill is clear to the naked eye, and despite this coming year being his age-36 campaign, there could be plenty of improvement left to be seen.

Cruz relies on his split-finger more than half the time, and it would be hard to blame him. It’s one of the best around the league, as he has generated a whiff rate close to 60 percent with the pitch throughout his career. It’s the obvious money-maker for Cruz, and he’s not afraid to show that, with the pitch carrying plenty of the load and balancing things out with a fastball that is not exactly overpowering.

Not long after a blow-up against the Tigers in early September, Cruz finished the season strong for the Yankees, and clearly earned the trust of the club heading into October. This was evident in the run Aaron Boone and company gave the right-hander in the postseason. He pitched 1.2 scoreless innings in the Wild Card round, before allowing one run across his two appearances in the Division Series.

It feels safe to assume a decent role for Cruz with the Yankees in 2026. He had a solid year, and has the pieces to put together elite stretches of pitching out of the bullpen. He has a top tier pitch in the repertoire, which can take a pitcher in his circumstances almost anywhere. On top of that, Cruz has already earned himself a level of trust worthy of innings for the Yankees at the highest stakes. He may not be leading the charge in relief, but a significant role isn’t hard to envision.

He is likely a high-variance player in terms of outcomes. It feels equally believable that he posts a low-2s ERA in 60 innings or that he plays much of the season away from the major league roster. Either way, a high-ceiling reliever like Fernando Cruz is far from a bad player to have on a roster.

See more of the Yankees Previews series here.

Pitchers and catchers have reported, which is a cool symbolic benchmark of “baseball is back!” but is really just a lot of throwing and stretching. Games begin a week from Saturday, though, and slowly truths will begin to unfold. Some of the key story lines I will be watching as February eases into March…

1. Muncy: Plan A at 3B?

It appears Max Muncy will be given first shot to grab hold of 3B (but not yank it from its moorings), with Darell Hernaiz, Brett Harris, and Andy Ibañez competing at least in theory for the job.

Harris is a favorite on AN for the gig due to his superior defense combined with a strong offense around the 3B spot and the A’s need to play good infield defense behind an iffy rotation. But anytime you see depth charts cited by A’s insiders, Harris is listed third as more of an “honorable mention,” and it seems like it’s going to be Muncy’s job to lose going in.

So I will be watching carefully to see if the Muncy who shows up next week has better 3B form than the one who learned on the job in 2025 with very mixed results. Does Muncy look like a true 3Bman with adequate range, hands, and throwing accuracy?

At the plate, when he hit the IL Muncy was showing signs of life but overall his EVs, hard hit %, squared up % all left quite a bit to be desired but are also hard to assess in especially the early days of spring training games. So I will follow his hitting somewhat casually but am keen to see how the glove looks.

2. Barnett: New Angle, New Pitcher?

One reason not to overly wig out around a young player’s stats is that a ‘small’ tweak can make a huge difference seemingly overnight. Be it a toe tap or stance adjustment, development of a new pitch or moving from one corner of the rubber to the other, there can be that moment where a stalled player takes off.

For Mason Barnett, that adjustment could be the arm angle which the A’s say shifted last year and was not easily corrected during a season, better addressed in the off-season/ST. Barnett came to the A’s as a solid prospect and even the anti-A’s oriented Keith Law presently ascribes “mid-rotation SP upside” to Barnett.

Barnett’s debut in 2025 was rough: a 6.85 ERA in 22 IP with 26 hits, 11 BB, and just 18 K following a 6.13 ERA at AAA. Will he come to camp with a new (old) arm slot that elevates his game and allows him to present more like the “mid-rotation upside” SP he was projecting to be as a 3rd round pick whose K rates were between 10.70 and 14.14 at every minor league stop prior to 2025?

Having any one of the A’s young arms (Barnett, Ginn, Perkins) strongly emerge would be a huge boon to the 2026 club, especially early in the season when Gage Jump is still in the minors. Let’s see what Mason’s new arm slot delivers.

3. Leo De Vries: Fast Track or FAST Track?

Leo De Vries is not going to break camp with the big league club. But it’s not out of the question at all to think he could be a call up as soon as mid-season 2026. He has been invited to spring training and while he is likely to be an early cut he will have the opportunity to make an impression.

I will be keen to see to what extent he looks so close to ready that the A’s will be “forced” to consider fast-tracking him to the big leagues — or whether he looks “talented but raw” like you would expect from a 19 year old. In particular, we know his bat is special but how does his defense look?

I will also be watching closely to see where De Vries shows up on the diamond. The only position he has ever played so far is SS but the A’s have shown no indications of moving Jacob Wilson off the position. If De Vries sees any time at 2B or 3B it could be seen as significant. Or if he simply comes in at SS to replace Wilson/Hernaiz and get a few innings in there, one could also suggest it means SS is where they see De Vries until further notice.

What story lines do you have to offer for us to watch in the early days of the Cactus League? And what are your thoughts on these 3 that I have identified for myself? It’s just nice to be talking about what to watch for because it means games are coming soon: 9 days but who’s counting?

For first-year Texas Longhorns pitching coach Max Weiner in 2025, the most impressive aspect of producing the sixth-best ERA nationally was how little margin Weiner had to accomplish that excellence.

Without many overpowering fastballs on the pitching staff, the Longhorns had to dominate the zone by largely pitching backwards with the five reliable arms that Weiner had — Luke Harrison, Ruger Riojas, Max Grubbs, Jared Spencer, and Dylan Volantis combined to pitch 300 of the 514.2 innings thrown by Texas last year, almost 60 percent of the total.

In every SEC weekend series, the Horns had a narrow pathway to victory if every pitcher executed their role successfully. But that pathway narrow even further when Spencer, the Friday starter, went down with a season-ending shoulder injury. After Riojas went from the fireman long relief role to the Friday starter, he caught the flu, which turned into bronchitis and led to the rock bottom of the Wimberly product’s baseball career as he lost 20 pounds and velocity on his pitches as a result.

By the Florida series in early May, Riojas was only able to record one out against Florida in allowing six runs on three hits and four walks.

For Weiner and the Longhorns, the margin had evaporated into the hot Central Texas air and Texas was eliminated from the Austin Regional by UTSA.

And so although Spencer was out of eligibility, the other three veteran pitchers had a sense of unfinished business and collectively decided to return to the Forty Acres to cap their college careers.

“Those guys wanted to be here,” Texas head coach Jim Schlossnagle said on Wednesday.

“They were the three most important recruits we could possibly have, to get those guys back for their last year, and that really gives us some space to allow the younger guys to develop. Not many better pitchers in the transfer portal than those guys, so getting those guys back to Texas is like getting a great transfer.”

When Texas opens the season against UC-Davis at UFCU Disch-Falk Field this weekend, the three returnees will start each game — Riojas on Friday, Harrison on Saturday, and Volantis on Sunday.

Like several other pitchers, Riojas remained in Austin to develop his body after the season ended. At 6’0, the UTSA transfer isn’t the biggest presence on the mound, increasing the importance of his strength and conditioning. To that end, Riojas is now at 205 pounds, 10 pounds heavier than he was listed last season before his illness, and has seen an increase in his fastball velocity.

The fastball is one of four pitches he throws from a high arm slot, including a slider, cutter, and splitter. From a lower arm slot, Riojas throws a sinker, slider, changeup, and curveball, putting pressure on on his ability to repeat his mechanics from both arm slots, something that he credits to his background as a position player.

“I think it takes a lot of athleticism. I credit playing middle infield and outfield my entire life to being able to adjust to these arm slots,” Riojas said on Wednesday. “And then it’s really just seeing those shapes on both ends and kind of defining them in your own way. You can go through the lineup over and over and over again, because a batter might not see all the pitches.”

When Riojas was at his best as a starter, he pitched 5.2 scoreless innings in the win over Texas A&M in late April, lowering his season era to 2.98 before his illness robbed him of his effectiveness — of the 45 runs allowed by Riojas in 2025, 27 of them came in his last four starts after he got sick, ballooning his ERA to 5.61.

Schlossnagle credits the self-awareness of Riojas for his ability to bounce back from adversity without lingering effects.

“He’s just being who he is. Away from the field, he’s super consistent as a human being. You’ve got a great combination of humility and confidence. So he has the humility to recognize that, or be self aware enough to know that there are things he has to get better at, and he goes to work on them like he did all summer with his body and in the fall with his pitches with Max. But he still has the confidence that one game or one stretch doesn’t define his career, and that he’s also getting better,” Schlossnagle said.

A left-hander who bounced back from Tommy John surgery after the 2022 season, Harrison kept pushing to improve under the new coaching staff after he struggled in his return from injury in 2024, becoming the team’s most consistent starter in 2025, making a team-best 15 starts while notching a 5-1 mark with 3.06 ERA and totaling 24 walks and 72 strikeouts over a team-high 70.2 innings.

Harrison was able to increase his fastball velocity into the low 90s to make it more playable and added a cutter to be able to pitch in on the hands of right-handed batters and a curveball to complement his slider, which become more effective working in tandem with his cutter, coming out in a similar plane with similar arm speed.

Like Harrison, Grubbs benefited from adding effective pitches to his arsenal under Weiner to post a 6-2 mark with 2.84 ERA and five saves with 14 walks and 61 strikeouts over 57 innings. A sinker-slider pitcher over his first two seasons on the Forty Aces, Grubbs took the next step in his development as a long reliever by introducing a cutter and a split-finger pitch to his repertoire.

Volantis is also developing a changeup as he moves from his closer role into the starting rotation to explore his upside after a sensational freshman season that saw him earn the Baseball America National Freshman of the Year award and first-team All-America recognition from four publications.

A younger returning player who should find a role on the staff is sophomore Jason Flores, who drew praise from Schlossnagle earlier this week for his improved maturity and work habits from his freshman season, when he showed promise with a 4-2 record and 2.78 ERA with five starts over 14 appearances. Flores was hard to hit, holding opponents to a .205 batting average. If the 6’1, 240-pounder doesn’t earn a role on the weekend, he’ll be a valuable asset during midweek games.

Last month, second baseman Ethan Mendoza picked redshirt senior right-hander Cody Howard as a pitcher who could surprise. The Baylor transfer struggled with his command last year, but has the pure stuff to get hitters out — opponents only batted .196 against him in 2025.

Also returning are junior left-hander Kade Bing, a midweek starter for the Longhorns in his first season on the Forty Acres, junior right-hander Hudson Hamilton, who earned two midweek saves as a sophomore, and redshirt junior left-hander Ethan Walker, a soft-tossing southpaw who was able to get through 4.1 innings in his start against Tennessee in the SEC Tournament.

Expected to move into the closer role is 6’3, 230-pound junior right-hander Thomas Burns, a starter at Arizona State in his freshman season before experiencing some ups and downs as a reliever in his first season on the Forty Acres.

With a fastball that can reach triple digits, Burns has considerable upside that was limited last season by his lack of command, never more evident than in a bad appearance against Arkansas in which he allowed five runs over 1.1 innings despite only giving up two hits because he walked five batters.

But new starting catcher Carson Tinney believes that Burns will be the breakout star on the staff because of his mental maturity.

“Just his ability to control himself and his mind, I think is elite and probably the best I’ve ever seen,” Tinney said.

Burns also added a splitter he’s throwing instead of a changeup because he can throw it from the same arm slot as his fastball and has better command with it.

Is he going to be the closer, though?

“We’re all just a bunch of savage out-getters,” Burns said with a smile.