Moving Ian Korn to the Starting Rotation Could Hurt WVU More Than It Would Help

Don't expect Steve Sabins to shake things up now.

WVU Athletics Communications

Coming into the season, West Virginia had several candidates to fill out the starting rotation, and if I had to guess, I would have thought that Division II Pitcher of the Year Ian Korn would have been one of those three weekend starters. Instead, Steve Sabins has routinely rolled out the trio of Maxx Yehl, Chansen Cole, and Dawson Montesa, using Korn in a long relief role.

With the consistent struggles of Montesa not being able to find the zone and driving up his pitch count early in games, it would make sense, in theory, for Sabins to swap Korn and Montesa. But I wouldn't expect that to change, and honestly, I think it's the right thing to do.

The Mountaineers have been getting elite production from Yehl and Cole in the first two games of a series, while also giving length in their outings. More often than not, WVU will be able to save much of its bullpen for game three, and if Montesa gets knocked out of a game early, you're going to need someone to eat up a bunch of innings, aka Korn.

The other benefit of keeping Korn in his current role is that you can have the option of pitching one of your best arms to lock up game one or two, and not having to go deep into the bullpen. Dawson Montesa has good stuff; he just has to pitch more competitively in and around the zone. If and when he does, it makes WVU that much scarier a team to play in the postseason.

When it comes to the Big 12 tournament and the NCAA tournament, you're only playing the game in front of you. I know that sounds weird to say, but in the regular season, you're trying to strategically cover innings and keep certain guys available for game two or three. In the postseason, you throw your best arms in game one (if needed), and that includes Korn. Plus, if he throws 30-35 pitches in the first game, he can come back two days later and give you another 30-35 or more. If you save him to start game three and Yehl or Cole gets chased early, you're immediately putting a lot of stress on the bullpen early in the tournament.

Not every team has a pitcher who is built to be a starter sitting in their bullpen. Having a guy who can clip off several innings is a luxury to have and is why it's probably best for WVU to keep Korn in that role.