HawgBeat - What Arkansas' pitching staff could look like in 2024 — Starters
HawgBeat breaks down what the starting rotation could look like for Arkansas, plus other options to start in 2024.
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Arkansas baseball head coach Dave Van Horn has a long list of talented pitchers he has produced while in Fayetteville, but this year's squad might feature his best starting rotation to date.
Headlined by junior Hagen Smith, the Arkansas pitching staff is loaded from top to bottom with plenty of electric arms. Fellow junior Brady Tygart, Texas Tech transfer Mason Molina, redshirt senior Will McEntire and a slew of young arms all have a chance to start on the mound.
While the starting rotations seems pretty set as of now, there are other names who could log starts in midweek matchups, or spot starts on the weekend if needed. Here's HawgBeat's breakdown based on what we saw in the fall and over the summer.
STARTERS
Friday - LHP Hagen Smith
There is no question that Smith is one of the top pitchers in all of college baseball, and I expect him to be Arkansas' ace as a junior.
Last season, the Razorbacks started Smith 11 times, but they also brought him out of the bullpen on seven occasions. While Smith is a lights-out closer, his innings per weekend are limited if he's closing.
Smith was a Collegiate Baseball First-Team All-American as a sophomore in 2023, and he's shaping up to be even better in 2024. Pitching coach Matt Hobbs recently did an interview with Hogs+ — a university-funded media organization — and he spoke highly of Smith.
"The best I've ever seen him, certainly," Hobbs said. "He threw eight bullpens this fall. Seven or eight bullpens this fall and then one outing, which was one of the most electric things I think any of us have seen in person."
Hobbs said Smith was clocking in at up to 99 miles per hour on trackman and some professional scouts have clocked Smith at over 100 miles per hour. He also added that Smith is stronger than he's ever been and he's up 15 pounds from last year to 230 pounds.
Smith pitched just once during the fall scrimmages attended by Arkansas media, but he threw plenty of bullpens. From everything I'm hearing, Smith has taken things to another level and he is shaping up to be a first round lock next summer.
Saturday - LHP Mason Molina
Probably the biggest splash Van Horn and the Diamond Hogs made in the transfer portal was getting Mason Molina from Texas Tech.
Molina is a 6-foot-2, 225-pound junior left-handed pitcher originally from Rancho Santa Margarita, California. He started in all six of his fall appearances and he didn't give up a single earned run across eight innings pitched, according to unofficial stats compiled by Arkansas media members.
While on the mound this fall, Molina struck out 15 batters and walked eight. Batters had a .040 average against him.
As a sophomore at Texas Tech last season, Molina started 16 games and pitched 83.1 innings pitched. He posted a 3.67 ERA with 108 strikeouts, 35 walks, 39 runs allowed, 63 hits allowed and five hit-by-pitches.
Batters hit just .207 against Molina and he finished with a 6-2 win-loss record. Molina was selected to the Big 12 All-Second Team after his stellar sophomore campaign.
The low 90's left-handed hurler was one of the best pickups from the portal, according to Sixty-Four Analytics, which has him ranked No. 8 overall in its portal rankings. This makes sense, as Molina was contacted by as many as 37 Division I schools, according to Van Horn.
Sunday - RHP Brady Tygart
After serving as Arkansas' relief ace as a freshman in 2022, Tygart ended his sophomore campaign as a starting pitcher for the Razorbacks.
Tygart did start 2023 coming out of the bullpen, but a UCL strain kept him out for just over eight weeks. When he returned to the mound on April 29 in a one-inning appearance against Texas A&M, Tygart was the starting pitcher. That role stuck and he performed very well in it.
Each of Tygart's final six appearances last season were starts. He threw 19.0 innings as a sophomore and gave up five earned runs on six hits while walking seven and striking out 21 batters.
“I think you saw a lot different demeanor pitcher this last five or six weeks of the season where we were pitching him 30 pitches here, 30 pitches there before we kind of moved him up," Van Horn said on June 27. "You didn’t see a guy that was all crazy out there and just trying to throw the ball 95, 96 and a bunch of breaking balls. You saw him pitch. He threw his fast ball - whether it was a two-seamer or a four-seamer or his change up."
Some think Tygart would be better fit returning to the bullpen, but he proved last season he deserves to be a conference starter.
Tygart pitched five times with four starts in fall scrimmages attended by Arkansas media members. According to the unofficial stats, Tygart pitched 6.1 innings and gave up four earned runs on five hits. He did strike out 11 and walk just three of the 29 batters he faced.
When I watched him, the stuff was as elite as it's ever been and the velocity is about the same. Personally, I think Tygart might be the most talented pitcher on the staff, but Smith hitting triple digits is unreal.
Other Starter Options:
RHP Will McEntire
While I don't really see McEntire being a starter this season as of now, he's as good of an option as any of the rest. As a redshirt junior last year, the Bryant native logged 10 starts and 21 total appearances. He began the year as the Saturday starter, but transitioned to the bullpen successfully late in the year.
McEntire is shaping up to be an extremely solid bullpen ace for the Razorbacks as a redshirt senior. He pitched in relief on seven occasions this fall with Arkansas media in attendance. McEntire gave up three earned runs (11 total) on nine hits while walking seven and striking out 11 batters.
McEntire was going long distances out of the bullpen behind Tygart, who was on a pitch count for a while. McEntire had relief appearances that went as long as five and six innings and he gave up just 15 earned runs across his final 37.2 innings pitched — all of which were out of the bullpen.
RHP Ben Bybee
Entering his sophomore season, Bybee is one of my favorite Arkansas pitchers to watch throw. At 6-foot-6, 230 pounds, Bybee built on his solid freshman season with a great summer in California and a strong fall back in Fayetteville.
Bybee made seven starts and 15 total appearances as a freshman for the Hogs in 2023. He struck out 29 batters and walked 24 while giving up 22 earned runs on 32 hits in 27.1 innings pitched.
During the summer, Bybee threw for the Santa Barbara Foresters in the California Collegiate League and he made five starts. During that span, Bybee recorded a 1.24 ERA across 21.2 innings pitched with 26 strikeouts and six walks.
This fall, Bybee made three starts and six appearances with Arkansas media in attendance. He gave up nine earned runs on 12 hits with 11 strikeouts and no walks in 10.1 innings pitched.
Bybee has really good off-speed and his velo is mid-to-high 90s when he's on. He struggles with consistency and just having one bad pitch.
"He’s a sophomore now and his stuff is so much better than it was last year, but he seems to make that one mistake," Van Horn said Oct. 17. "He gives up the homer, he gives up another homer. He just can’t quite finish. He’s really close."
RHP Gabe Gaeckle
Gaeckle was ranked the No. 159 overall prospect for the 2023 MLB Draft by MLB Pipeline and the Cincinnati Reds selected him with their 20th round pick. He made it to campus and that was as big of a get as anyone for Van Horn and the Hogs.
At 5-foot--11, 185 pounds, Gaeckle is a hard-throwing righty who can touch mid-90s. He made four starts and six appearances in the fall and he struck out 11 batters while walking eight in 10.2 innings pitched.
A product of Aptos High School in Aptos, California, Gaeckle was the No. 3 overall right-handed pitching prospect in the state, according to Perfect Game. He will have a chance to contribute right away.
LHP Hunter Dietz
MLB Pipeline actually had Dietz rated ahead of Gaeckle at No. 141 in their overall draft prospect rankings. A product of Calvary Christian High School in Trinity, Florida, Dietz is a 6-foot-6 hard-throwing lefty.
Dietz made four starts and six total appearances in the fall. Across 8.0 innings pitched, Dietz gave up five earned runs on two hits while also walking eight batters and striking out 13.
The fastball can get up to 97 miles per hour for Dietz and he's just another solid left-handed option for this year's Diamond Hog squad.
