Hagen Smith, Brady Tygart, Mason Molina Ready to Get Fast Start
FAYETTEVILLE Ark. — Few things are more important in college baseball than a lights-out weekend rotation. Having three guys who can mow down SEC-caliber hitting to give the team a shot to win each game is imperative. It makes Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn's job infinitely easier.
The Razorbacks have three clear frontrunners for one of the strongest weekend staffs in the nation. Returning ace lefty Hagen Smith, junior Brady Tygart, and Texas Tech transfer Mason Molina put up scary numbers in fall camp and are ready to keep Arkansas from burning through relievers. The three have combined for 29 strikeouts in just 152/3 innings according to unofficial statistics kept by Arkansas media members.
Fans will already be familiar with the talents of Smith, who served multiple roles on a pitching staff decimated by injuries while flourishing in each. Smith made 18 appearances (11 starts) and compiled a 3.64 ERA in 712/3 innings. Although the strikeout numbers were sparkling (13.7 strikeouts per nine innings pitched), Smith struggled with command at times, hampering his chances of pitching deep into games.
Smith’s 5.3 walks per nine innings is the only concern for the lefty as he looks to gain further control of his high 90s fastball and nasty slider/sweeper. Both MLB.com and ProspectsLive have Smith slotted as a 2024 first-round pick in their latest MLB mock drafts. It would be the first opening-round selection for a Razorback since Baltimore Orioles right fielder Heston Kjerstad was taken with the second pick of the shortened 2020 MLB Draft.
Smith only made one appearance during fall ball and struck out the side on 13 pitches in a single inning of work, but he did pitch for Team USA on the Collegiate National Team, pitching 52/3 innings with six strikeouts and one walk.
Meanwhile, Tygart spent much of the early part of the 2023 season recovering from a sprained UCL is counting on a full campaign to boost his draft stock while leading Arkansas to a College World Series. Tygart went 3-1 with a 3.20 ERA in just 251/3 innings and was on a pitch count his first few games back.
“Tygart has some of the most obscene stuff you can find in college baseball,” Joe Doyle of Future Stars Series wrote in a glowing review of Tygart in May. “His two-seam fastball produces immense sink and arm-side bore with huge spin rates. Tygart has been up to 96, but mostly breaks knuckles and bat handles at 94. There is some command woes here, but it’s pretty unique stuff. He pairs the fastball with a huge sweeping slider in the low-80s.”
However, it's a transfer who proved he might steal the show this season during fall ball. Mason Molina, who was expected to be the ace at Texas Tech this season, put up a 3.77 career ERA the past two seasons in 141 innings of work. Molina made 16 starts last year and is a much-needed additional piece to round out the rotation.
“It is really cool,” Molina said. “We’re all pushing each other to do more and more each day and get better. Having those two guys (Smith and Tygart) in the same room as you, it’s really an honor to be able to share that with those guys. They’re two great baseball minds and pitchers.”
Molina survived the entire fall without giving up an earned run, turning in eight innings and striking out 15.
"Mason Molina for sure," transfer shortstop Wehiva Aloy said when asked which arm stuck out to him in fall scrimmages. "Yeah, he's incredible. I want to face him again though for sure. I haven't really gotten good results off of him."
With the fall season wrapped up, the three-headed monster is revved up and ready to go in the spring to begin striking out opposing hitters rather than fellow Razorbacks. The season begins Feb. 16 against James Madison.
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