HawgBeat - Arkansas' weekend rotation set for James Madison series
Arkansas Razorbacks baseball pitching rotation is set for this weekend's series against James Madison.
arkansas.rivals.com
The Diamond Hogs will begin their season against the James Madison Dukes at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville this weekend and head coach Dave Van Horn announced the team’s starting rotation on Wednesday.
Junior lefty Hagen Smith will start Friday afternoon against the Dukes, junior right-hander Brady Tygart will get the nod Saturday, junior lefty Mason Molina will start his first game as a Razorback on Sunday afternoon and freshman Colin Fisher will take the mound on Monday to cap off the rare four-game series.
Nationally regarded as one of the most talented pitching staffs in the entire country, Arkansas' starting rotation is headlined by two pitchers named to D1 Baseball's top 20 starting pitchers entering the 2024 season in Smith (2nd) and Tygart (17th).
Add in one of the top offseason transfer additions in former Texas Tech ace Mason Molina, and it's easy to see why Arkansas was picked to win the SEC by the league's coaches.
As a sophomore in 2023, Smith flipped between starter and reliever and showcased his versatility while maintaining his reputation as one of the most dangerous flame-throwers in the SEC.
The 6-foot-3-inch, 225-pound native of Bullard, Texas, earned multiple All-American and All-SEC honors after he went 8-2 with a 3.64 ERA, 109 strikeouts, 42 walks and two saves in 71.2 innings.
Smith’s fastball has been seen as high as 100 miles per hour this offseason, his mechanics have improved and he’s added a splitter to his repertoire. He was named preseason First Team All-SEC by the coaches and Perfect Game listed him as a preseason First Team All-American.
Through fall and spring preseason scrimmages, Smith has racked up a team-low 1.29 ERA with 16 strikeouts and two walks in 25 at-bats. He's allowed just one earned run and given up four hits total.
"He's 20 years old, he'll be 20 years old at the draft," Van Horn said Jan. 25. "If you talk to him, it's amazing. He just wants to win at the highest level as a team, and I think that's why the players love him so much. He just works. He's not a big talker, but he's been a lot more verbal this year because he knows he's older, he knows it's his time and he feels more comfortable in that role.
"But you can't outwork this guy. His stuff has been amazing. I'm just excited for him and his family, but I'm excited for our team because we have him on our team. That's why he's been put out there a lot."
After not throwing for over a month in the middle of the season due to a sprained UCL, Tygart was one of Arkansas’ most reliable arms down the stretch. He logged five starts in SEC play that went very well.
Tygart's first postseason start was in the Fayetteville Regional, when he threw 5.2 innings of two-run ball, allowing just three hits and striking out six. Through just 25.1 total innings pitched, Tygart accumulated a 3.20 ERA with 31 strikeouts and eight walks.
With one of the nastiest offspeed pitches in the entire country in his back pocket and legitimate velocity, Tygart has done nothing but steadily improve over the offseason. He is currently seventh on the team with a 3.38 ERA and has 17 strikeouts to just six walks in 10.2 IP.
"I think his stuff’s better than ever," Van Horn said on Nov. 30. "We’ve just got to keep him healthy. We need him to pitch and we need him to pitch a lot. He’s really worked on his body. He’s gotten so much stronger in the last five months, it’s been fun watching it."
Molina is a new face as a transfer from the Red Raiders of the Big 12, but the scouts already know his name. Future Star Series lists the left-hander as its No. 196 prospect for the 2024 MLB Draft.
His 4.91 ERA and 14 walks through 14.2 innings of work during preseason scrimmages isn't overly impressive, but Molina is tied for the team lead in strikeouts (21) and has displayed his devestating offspeed when he has control.
"Well, he had a really good fall," Van Horn said. "Although he didn’t throw a ton of strikes in the fall, we didn’t score on him. A lot of 2-2, 3-2 counts, strikeout, fly ball. We didn’t hit him. The other day, we got him. He got behind in the count. He’s going to be better than he’s been his first couple outings, I really feel."
As a sophomore in 2023, Molina started 16 games and posted a 6-2 record with a 3.67 ERA, 108 strikeouts and 35 walks in 83.1 innings of work.
"His numbers were really good," Van Horn said. "He walked too many batters this fall but we didn’t hit him at all. I mean we did not hit him. I mean he gave up maybe one or two hits all fall. Didn’t hardly give up any runs. He needs to hit the zone better. And he really didn’t have that breaking ball he had throughout the season last year."
Fisher will close the weekend out after putting on an impressive display during fall and spring scrimmages. The 6-foot-3 lefty from Oklahoma finished with a 7.11 ERA during the preseason, but also had a whopping 19 strikeouts to just nine walks in 12.2 IP.
Arkansas will host James Madison at Baum-Walker Stadium on Friday for Opening Day. The first game of the season is set for a 3 p.m. CT first pitch and it will be streamed on the SEC Network+.
