TCU Baseball Positional Preview: Pitchers
Pitching is arguably the most important asset when it comes to college baseball. Year after year, the teams with the best pitching rotations win the titles. How does TCU's staff stack up this season?
Time will tell, but the short answer is: Quite well.
Led by Preseason All Big-12 selection Austin Krob and a host of talented arms, TCU boasts one of the better pitching staffs in the conference.
The Returners: Starters
Junior lefty ace Austin Krob is undoubtably the centerpiece on a talented pitching staff for TCU. Krob was named a first-team All Big-12 selection a couple weeks ago, following up a second-team selection last season. He started a team-high 16 games, where he recorded an 8-1 record and a 3.81 ERA. The Frogs went 11-5 in games he pitched in. Krob rung up 96 batters in just 85 innings.
Krob leads the team in starts by a wide margin, with many of last year's starters departing the team. The remaining starters combined for seven starts, but posted a 7-0 record in those starts. Sophomore right hander Luke Savage made his name known this offseason by starting the Blessed Feet initiative, which you can read more about here.
Sophomores Riley Cornelio and Cam Brown also return for the Frogs after making limited appearances last season. Brown posted an impressive 1.93 ERA in his two starts last year. Savage went 3-0 with 20 strikeouts in 19 innings pitched and earned Big 12 All-Academic honors as a freshman.
Austin Krob pitches in the Big 12 Tournament in May, 2021.
The Returners: Relief & Closers
Sophomore left hander River Ridings was a unanimous Freshman All American selection last season, making Perfect Game's first team list. Ridings boasted a 1.08 ERA in 33 1/3 relief innings. He fanned 39 batters, walked just 14, and didn't allow a score in 18 of his 21 appearances. Potentially the most impressive of all: Ridings inherited 22 runners and allowed just seven of them to score.
Right handed pitcher Garrett Wright made the third-most appearances out of the bullpen for the Frogs last season. As a freshman, he held opponents scoreless in 15 of 19 games and led TCU to a 15-4 record in those games. Wright recorded one save and a 3-1 record.
Senior Drew Hill also played significant time last year, recording the fourth-most relief innings for TCU. In those games, he recorded a 3-1 record with a 3.90 ERA (32 1/3 innings). Hill rung up an impressive 40 batters while walking only eight– one of the best marks on the team.
Junior Marcelo Perez made 13 appearances last season, where he struck out 33 batters (31 1/3 innings). Perez was a 2019 Big 12 Honorable Mention. Lefty Augie Mihlbauer recorded 13 strikeouts in nine innings last year, his COVID Junior season. He held opponents scoreless in eight of 12 outings and was named a Freshman All American in 2018.
Sophomore righties Braxton Pearson and Storm Hierholzer made eight combined appearances as freshmen last season. Pearson led TCU to a 4-0 record in his pitching appearances.
Reliever River Ridings pitches in the Big 12 Tournament against Oklahoma State.
Transfers
A strong group of grad transfers join the Frogs this coming season. Lefty Tommy Vail comes in from Notre Dame, where he last pitched in 2020. Tommy John surgery curbed his 2021 season, but Vail left South Bend with 115 strikeouts in four years. He held opponents to a .168 average during his career with the Irish. Vail is expected to be a closer with TCU after making 59 appearances with Notre Dame, mostly all in closing situations.
Brett Walker comes in from Oregon. He appeared in 47 games, where he posted an 11-6 record and a 3.98 ERA. He struck out 98 batters in four seasons and throws right handed. Caleb Bolden rounds the group out. Bolden transfers in from Arkansas, where he started 16 games and recorded 84 strikeouts. He will likely assume a rotational starting role with TCU.
Junior Connor Oliver is the only non-grad transfer, playing last season for Wabash Valley College. Oliver also played at Wichita State out of high school and is D1 Baseball's 91st ranked prospect coming into this season.
Grad transfer Brett Walker played four years for Oregon before making the move to TCU.
Newcomers
Five pitchers join the collegiate ranks for TCU this coming season– four right-handed pitchers and one lefty.
That lefty, Trip Banta, is a local kid, playing his high school ball at Lake Country Christian. Banta will wear No. 45 for TCU. Cohen Feser from San Antonio (will wear No. 49), Jake Kolkhorst of Brenham (No. 51), and Caedmon Parker of Montgomery (no. 3) round out the right-handed Texas recruits joining the team. Righty Gray Thomas joins TCU out of Oklahoma City.
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