Steve Sabins Makes Change to Starting Pitching Rotation Ahead of TCU Series

The West Virginia Mountaineers will be looking to finish off the regular season strong at home this weekend against TCU, hoping to take care of business and get some help from BYU to capture their second straight Big 12 regular season title.

Head coach Steve Sabins will shake up the starting pitching rotation this week, moving Dawson Montesa to the bullpen and Ian Korn will get the ball in the series opener on Thursday night.

Had this been a normal week where the series would start on Friday, we would likely see Maxx Yehl and Chansen Cole on the hill for the first two games. Because the series will start one day ahead, they will give Korn the opener to keep Yehl and Cole on the same 7-day schedule.

The move to insert Korn into the rotation is an interesting one. No details have been shared at the moment, so there's no telling if this will be the new rotation from here on out or if it's an opportunity to get Montesa some rest.

As I detailed yesterday, it makes sense to swap him and Montesa, considering how inefficient Montesa has been. Too often, his pitch count is hitting 50 or even 60 before the third inning comes to an end. His control just hasn't been there, and when he does get ahead, he hasn't been competitive with his pitches outside the zone, leading to very few chases.

Personally, I think leaving Korn in that long relief role gives West Virginia a huge advantage. If one of Yehl or Cole doesn't go too deep into their start, Korn can clip off several innings and maybe even finish things out, preserving the bullpen for the next day. Not every team in the country has the luxury of having an efficient innings eater in its bullpen. Many games are lost in college baseball due to shaky bullpens, and to move one of your most reliable arms into a starting role is not an easy thing to do.

Korn is 100% capable of being not only a quality starter but a high-end one for the Mountaineers. It's more about the bullpen strategy and not having him as an option. Then again, WVU's starters have done a great job of pitching deep the last two weekends, so the pen should be very well rested heading into the series, meaning multiple guys can pitch twice if needed.

It is a little surprising to see the move, but who am I to question Steve Sabins? The man is only 79-28 through his first two seasons and possibly on the brink of a second Big 12 title. He knows what he's doing.

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