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Look, there’s no way around it. Whether you were a Vandy fan or not, everybody wanted to see Rocker, Leiter, and whoever else the Vandy Boys threw at you in a weekend series. Unless you were trying to beat them. But while those particular Vandy Boys are gone, the good news is the SEC will still bring a fair amount of imposing weekend rotations to league play. Here are our top 5:
5. Arkansas: Noland, Wiggins, Smith?
Arkansas is still putting together its rotation after the injury loss of starter Peyton Pallette. The good news is that veteran (and former Razorback QB) Connor Noland should be ready to roll. Injuries held Noland to just 14 1/3 innings in 2021, but he’s a veteran starter and should be ready to take the ball. Among the more intriguing other candidates is sophomore Jaxon Wiggins, who fanned 28 hitters in 23 innings last year behind a fastball that approaches 100 miles per hour. Freshman lefty Hagen Smith could get the first crack at the No. 3 spot, but if he stumbles, there are plenty of other candidates. With Pallette, this would be a top 2-3 group. As it is, here they are at 5th.
4. Ole Miss: Diamond, Gaddis, McDaniel
Ole Miss lost Doug Nikhazy and Gunnar Hoglund, but they return 3rd and 4th men up Derek Diamond and Drew McDaniel and added lefty John Gaddis, a transfer from Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Diamond, a California-born righty, was up and down last season, but fanned 82 hitters is 75 1/3 innings and has the stuff to be an ace. Gaddis posted a 2.25 ERA last year. McDaniel will be a nice bookend to the pair, and he fanned 72 hitters in 63 2/3 innings last year for the Rebels. This group is a work in progress, but they are likely to be tough down the SEC stretch.
3. Mississippi State: Sims, Fristoe, TBD
The reigning CWS champs will be serious about this. Bullpen ace Landon Sims will take his superhuman stuff and stats (5-0, 1.44 ERA, 100 Ks in 56 1/3 innings) to the top of the rotation. Sophomore righty Jackson Fristoe got plenty of opportunities as a freshman. Sometimes, it was great (6 perfect innings and 8 Ks against Kent State) and other times it wasn’t (3-3, 5.69 ERA, tons of strikeouts, but too many walks), but he’s a front-end starter in the SEC. The third spot will be up for grabs. Ten Bulldogs started games last season. Lefty transfer Andrew Walling has electric stuff and could be the guy. Big righty (6-4, 250) Preston Johnson was solid out of the bullpen last year and could eat some innings. We’ll have to see who nabs the third spot.
2. Florida: Barco, Sproat, Coppola?
Florida is kind of a mystery, too. Not at the top of the rotation, where sophomore lefty Hunter Barco is one of the league’s top hurlers. Barco was 10-3 with a 4.01 ERA last year, striking out 94 hitters in 83 innings. Second-year freshman Brandon Sproat is apparently holding down the No. 2 spot. Sproat showed talent but was inconsistent in just 2 starters and 21 2/3 innings last year. The third spot is apparently going to true freshman Pierce Coppola, a lefty whose frame (6-8, 210 pounds) and electric stuff are drawing AJ Puk comparisons in Gainesville. If Sproat has grown into his skills and Coppola is indeed ready to go, watch out for the Gators.
1. Vandy: Reilly, Little, Maldonado
There’s plenty to work out around this Vandy rotation. It’s not the group that will open the season — that will include junior Chris McElvain and freshman Carter Holton. But Patrick Reilly is the most experienced of this group, as Vandy’s preferred No. 3 behind Rocker and Leiter last year. He and fellow sophomore Christian Little took the most starts of Vandy’s other hurlers and both showed moments of massive promise. Nick Maldonado worked out of the bullpen last season, but his arm was too good to save for late innings. These guys are three rightys so maybe Holton can work his way into the trio. But it’s one of the SEC’s best … if they ever get used together.
Joe Cox is a columnist for Saturday Down South. He has also written or assisted in writing five books, and his most recent, Almost Perfect (a study of baseball pitchers’ near-miss attempts at perfect games), is available on Amazon or at many local bookstores.
