Previewing Alabama Baseball's Opening Weekend Starting Pitchers
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — On Tuesday morning, Alabama baseball coach Brad Bohannon announced his starting pitchers for the team’s opening weekend against McNeese State.
Bohannon announced that freshman left hander Connor Prielipp will be the Crimson Tide’s opening-day starter on Friday, while sophomore lefty Antoine Jean will start on the mound Saturday and junior right hander Dylan Smith will start on Saturday.
With the starters announced, Bohannon also stated that despite his three starters being chosen, outside of Prielipp the roster of pitchers has been quite competitive in the preseason.
“I’ve said a couple of times and I’ve told the team we’ve got eight or nine guys that I’m anxious to see have extended outings. Antoine and Dylan have thrown the ball really well. I don’t want to take away from the way that they have performed throughout the fall and in the preseason but not a lot of separation from the next eight or nine so you’ll see multiple guys have extended outings over a period of time whether that’s two weeks or four weeks or whatever it may be.
“At some point if Antoine and Dylan or Tyler Ras or whoever it is separate themselves then maybe we’ll settle into a more traditional pitching-type rotation. But until that happens or even if it doesn’t then we’ll just have several guys have extended outings and certainly the order can change, you know, depending on the opponent or the situation and how everyone does.”
All three pitchers saw starts in the Crimson Tide’s abbreviated 2020 season, with both Prielipp and Jean starting four games and Smith starting one but seeing time on the mound in four total games.
While the three-pitcher rotation is hardly set in stone and will most likely be altered as the season develops, Bohannon seemed confident that these three pitchers should be able to get the job done for Alabama’s opening weekend against the Cowboys.
Here is a look at all three of the Crimson Tide’s opening-weekend starters:
Connor Prielipp – Friday
Prielipp separated himself last season as the best pitcher on the team, and did so even more last fall and in this year’s preseason. Prielipp has been named a First Team Preseason All-American by D1Baseball.com, Collegiate Baseball News and Perfect Game USA heading into 2021, and he certainly has the stats from last season to back up those accolades.
In the 2020 season, Prielipp allowed no runs in 21 innings pitched throughout his four starts. Combine that with only allowing five hits, walking just six batters and striking out 35, Prielipp has become a dominant starter on the mound.
To Bohannon, there’s no one more confident than himself regarding Prielipp’s abilities to get the Crimson Tide a win on day one of the new season.
“Connor got off to a great start last year as a freshman and has really kinda separated himself from the rest of the pack,” Bohannon said. “[I] don’t have any doubt that he’ll give us a great start on Friday and give us a chance to win.”
One criticism of Prielipp from last season was his pitch selection, of which he very rarely selected his changeup. While it worked out for him in non-conference play, it would have been interesting to see how it would have worked out for him against the teams of the SEC. That being said, Prielipp said that he has been working hard to develop his changeup in the offseason and is now poised to use it more frequently this year.
“What I really think I’ve improved at is I’ve really developed a third pitch,” Prielipp said on Tuesday. “I’m really looking forward to using that this season — which is a changeup. I didn’t use it a lot last year in my four starts. […] Me and [pitching coach Jason Jackson] have been working on that since last fall and this summer I used it a lot in Meridian,” Prielipp said. “And especially this fall and preseason I really used it a lot and I think it’s going to be beneficial for me.”
Alabama baseball fans should be in for a real treat on Friday afternoon when Prielipp steps onto the mound (3 p.m. CT, SEC Network+).
Antoine Jean – Saturday
Jean also saw a lot of success in his freshman season in 2020, much like his teammate Prielipp. Through four starts, Jean had the same record as Prielipp at 3-0 but did allow significantly more runs and hits in his four appearances.
In 17 innings pitched, the Canadian southpaw allowed seven runs off of 18 hits, with six of those runs being earned. However, he walked only three batters and struck out 17. Jean was certainly showing some good stuff last year, but with the amount of hits he allowed against lesser non-conference foes, there is still some concern regarding his performances against the upcoming SEC slate.
Bohannon was quick to point out that while Jean and Smith are this weekend’s starters, that could change in the weeks to come.
“Well, neither one of those guys took control and they’ve thrown well,” Bohannon said. “I think you take eight or nine guys that we want to see have extended outings and it’s a sliding scale — some guys have better stuff, some guys command it a little better, some guys have a little more experience, less experience — so I think what Antoine and Dylan have done, they’ve done a really good job of throwing all three of their pitches for a strike.
“I think their secondary stuff is probably what stands out for those two compared to maybe some of the other guys but again we may get to next week and two other guys throw the first inning on Saturday or Sunday.”
Jean still has some development to undergo as a sophomore, but should prove himself and his offseason work on Saturday (2 p.m. CT, SEC Network+).
Dylan Smith – Sunday
Out of the three starters pitching this weekend, Smith by far had the least amount of playing time last year. That being said, Smith is also the only player of the three that has experience against SEC opponents.
Smith appeared in four games last season, starting in one of those games. However, he pitched for a combined 6 and one-thirds innings in those four appearances, allowing four runs off of eight hits, walking three and striking out just six.
Smith needs to show improvement heading into the 2021 season. He’s already the most experienced on the staff despite how the stat lines from last year might read. Smith was seventh in playing time among the Crimson Tide bullpen last season, but has worked his way up to a position as opening-weekend starter. With that in mind, he must have shown significant improvement over the preseason.
That being said, Bohannon has full confidence in Smith heading into this weekend. Whether the rotation will change over time is completely up to Smith and his performances on the mound over the next couple of weeks.
“Antoine and Dylan have done an outstanding job with their secondary stuff and that’s why I’m really anxious to see them pitch this weekend,” Bohannon said.
Despite his experience, Smith is the most unproven starter of the Crimson Tide's opening weekend pitchers. However, he will get his shot at becoming a regular starter on Sunday (1 p.m. CT, SEC Network+) and if Bohannon is correct in his statements, he might just do so.
