Iowa Baseball Preview: Bullpen

As the Hawkeyes watched their season come to a close against Indiana State last season in the NCAA Tournament, it was apparent that they didn’t have the pitching depth necessary to win a regional. The coaching staff went and picked up six pitchers from the transfer portal, while there is still a good group of returning arms. If Iowa wants to win a regional and have a shot at the College World Series, the bullpen has to have a few more reliable arms. On paper, it appears that the Hawkeyes have a deeper stable of arms this season.

THE RETURNING NAMES

The Hawkeyes top three arms, in terms of appearances, from last season are no longer on the roster. Will Christophersen (29 app, MLB), Luke Llewellyn (29 app, Grad) and Jared Simpson (22 app, MLB) have all moved on, but there is still a lot to like with the group of returners.

RHP Jack Whitlock

Headling the returning arms is junior right-hander Jack Whitlock. After transferring to Iowa from Hutchinson CC, Whitlock began last season far down the bullpen depth chart. He got his shot early in Big Ten play and did not disappoint, putting together scoreless outings in eight of his last 12 appearances. Whitlock finished the season with a team-leading 2.02 ERA, including 38 strikeouts to just eight walks over 35.2 innings. His .175 opponent average on balls in play was second-lowest on the team.

“We recruited Jack because we felt like we had a lot of guys that we’re gifted with a lot of stuff, but there were frustrations with consistency and free bases, so we felt like we needed to find a guy out there that could stabilize that,” said Rick Heller. “He pounded the zone and he didn’t give free bases. Hard worker, good leader, tough guy and a winner. That’s what we were looking for.”

Whatever way you slice it, Whitlock’s numbers were elite out of the bullpen. A 28.8% strikeout rate, with a 6.1% walk rate, while he allowed 0.51 hits per inning. He doesn’t have a flamethrower fastball, in fact, his cutter sits in the 86-89 range, but he executes well. Along with that he uses a big breaking, frisbee slider (74-77) and a changeup (78-82). Rick Heller says that the role for Jack, at least to start the season, will be to come in after Brody Brecht and close the game out on Friday’s. If that’s 1-2 innings, he will have a chance to comeback later in the weekend, but Heller said they are comfortable with him going 3-4 innings to close out a game if needed.

RHP Zach Voelker

Zach Voelker began last season as a bookend starter, coming out of the bullpen, but struggled with his consistency. He allowed just three runs over his first 18.2 innings, but allowed 27 runs over his last 25.0 innings of the season. Voelker finished with a 6.18 ERA, including 31 strikeouts to 22 walks over 43.2 total innings. Opponents batted .309 on balls in play against him and his .796 OPS allowed was the highest on the team.

This season, Zach is set for a new role, as a short-stint arm in the back end of the Iowa bullpen. Rick Heller said that in shortened outings, Voelker’s pitch arsenal was hitting at a higher level than longer outings. In some one inning stints in the fall, his fastball reached as high as 96, while he was mixing in a cutter (87-89), slider (81-84) and a changeup (78-83). On top of having really good stuff, he showed good control and consistency in his fall outings. Despite coming to Iowa from Long Beach State with the hope of being a starter, Heller says that Voelker has bought into his new role.

“Having Zach buy into that was going to be the key and he has wholeheartedly. I think he sees that his future in professional baseball is much better in a short role and to help our team be the best it can be him being in short role really helps up the odds,” said Heller. “He’s able to go out and blow 96, occasionally, with a really hard slider and he’s got the makeup as a back end guy. He likes it and, to me, he is the perfect one inning guy.”

LHP Ben DeTaeye

Since Ben DeTaeye arrived at Iowa as a transfer from Iowa Central CC, he hasn’t seen a lot of game action. He appeared in ten games during the 2022 season, with a 4.38 ERA, including 12 strikeouts to 16 walks over 12.1 innings. However, he was injured while warming up in the bullpen late in the regular season and missed all of last season after getting Tommy John surgery. In the first year post-TJ surgery, you never really know what you are going to get from your pitcher. In the fall, DeTaeye showed no signs of rust and looked like a pitcher that can contribute for the Hawkeyes this season.

“Maybe he lost his feel for his changeup or he lost his feel for his breaking ball and it’s going to take him until the summer to figure it out. The impressive thing for Ben was that none of that happened,” said Heller. “I’m anxious to see if Ben can keeping moving forward and hopefully he doesn’t have any kind of setback, dealing with the workload, but he hasn’t shown any signs to this point.”

His pitch arsenal includes a fastball in the high 80’s, but has seen a jump at some points to the 90-91 range. Along with that, he has a really good changeup (72-77) and a slider (73-77). Rick Heller feels really good about DeTaeye having a big role this season, as long as his arm continues to show no signs of struggle with the workload.

“Ben is going to be looked upon a lot like Whitlock. Maybe he’s a guy that you bring in after a starter and let him go three innings. But with that changeup, and now a little bit of a bump in his velo, maybe he’s a guy that you can bring in twice a weekend or maybe three times if he’s able to handle it…it’s great knowing you can put a guy in that you feel confident is going to compete, throw strikes and give you a chance.”

RHP Aaron Savary

As a true freshman out of Dubuque, Aaron Savary pitched in 12 games last season, including seven weekend series appearances. He finished the year with a 3.22 ERA, including 25 strikeouts to 12 walks over 22.1 innings. His best outing was a 3.1 scoreless inning effort, including four strikeouts against Minnesota. Savary has a fastball that can get up to 92, as well as a sinker (87-90), changeup (81-84), slider (75-79) and curveball (73-75). If he doesn’t earn weekend innings at the beginning of the season, Aaron will get a chance to showcase himselves as a midweek arm for the Hawkeyes.

“We know Aaron is definitely capable of of having a role with this team. What the role will be in a lot of ways will be decided by how Aaron performs the last two weekends (prior to the season),” said Heller.

Jack Young/Chas Wheatley/Caleb Strack

Rounding out the returning arms for the Hawkeyes are a trio of pitchers that didn’t see a ton of action last season. Jack Young appeared in eight games with a 5.68 ERA over 6.1 innings, but tried out some new things in the summer pitching with the Clinton Lumberkings. He pitched in ten games, posting a 3.68 ERA over 14.2 innings, including 15 strikeouts to eight walks.

“I thought he had a great fall. We asked Jack to go a little lower (arm slot), when he went out in the summer league,” said Heller. “He was able to practice it and become comfortable with it and I think it really paid off for him…I think all of us feel confident in Jack and feel like we can put him into any situation and he’s going to compete and give us a fair chance.”

Chas Wheatley appeared in 14 games as a sophomore last season, posting a 3.38 ERA over 10.2 innings. He allowed nine hits and had eight walks to seven strikeouts. The coaching staff is hoping that he can iron out some control issues because they like his sinker (88-92) that he throws, as well as his slider (83-89).

“Chas has a really heavy sinker and some really interesting movement profiles on his pitches and when he’s locked in and he is down in the zone, no one ever really hits him,” said Heller. “We have to find the button that allows Chas to go out and be that guy every time he goes out there and not have bouts of control issues. I think he is way closer this year.”

Caleb Strack appeared in just three games last season, but showed improvement over the summer with the Mankato MoonDogs in the Northwoods League. He pitched in 13 games, with eight starts, putting up a 4.50 ERA, including 40 strikeouts to 33 walks in 46.0 innings.

“I think Caleb, of all the guys, probably has made as big of strides of anybody on the staff. He’s really cleaned up his delivery, he’s throwing way more strikes…whether it’s a big role or a small role, I know he is in a good place as we head into the start of the season.”

THE NEWCOMERS

Indian Hills transfer RHP Sam Hart

There is potential for Sam Hart to be in a closer role, or at least a late inning guy for Iowa this season. A transfer from Indian Hills, Hart appeared in 20 games last season for the Warriors, putting up a 1.19 ERA, including 37 strikeouts to just 12 walks over 22.2 innings. He racked up 13 saves and allowed just 0.39 hits per inning. Hart’s delivery will remind you of Jacob Henderson, while his fastball velocity is a little higher than Henderson in the 89-92 range. He also has a sinker and cutter, while his best pitch is a slider (78-81).

“He’s really made a positive jump and he’s been really good so far in the indoor sets. He’s been way more consistent and in control of himself,” said Heller. “If you look at him, you’re drawing up a closer. Different arm slot, good slider, can run it up to 92, can field his position well. That’s the guy that you’re wanting in at the end of the game. We recruited him because we felt like he could potentially come in and be like a Dylan Nedved.”

Oklahoma State transfer LHP Brant Hogue

Brant Hogue began his career at Iowa Western and as a sophomore in 2022, he had a breakout year. In 13 starts (14 appearances), he racked up 93 strikeouts to just 16 walks in 59.1 innings. He posted a 1.67 ERA, a 0.96 WHIP and allowed just 0.69 hits per inning. Hogue transferred to Oklahoma State last season, but injured his arm and got Tommy John surgery midway through the season. He has a three-pitch mix, including a fastball (88-92), changeup (79-83) and a slider (77-81). The expectation was that Brant would reach 100% around the beginning of the season and initially the hope was that he could contribute a bit, but not push things with a year of eligibility left for 2025. However, to this point, Hogue is well ahead of where they thought he would be entering the season.

“I didn’t get to see his first live set the first week and Sean texted me and he said Brant is way ahead of where we thought he’d be,” said Heller. “I think he’s only touched the tip of the iceberg and he’s taken everything and tried to improve during that time (after the surgery). He’s a big guy, 6’4, 220 and left-handed slot. There’s potential to be really nasty from that arm slot. He falls into the same bucket as a lot of guys. He could have a role and probably will, but you don’t know exactly what it will be.”

Freshman LHP Elliot Cadieux-Lanoue

Of the four freshman pitchers on the roster, Quebec native Elliot Cadieux-Lanoue has put himself in the best position to contribute this season. For most freshman, adjusting to college life and being away from home is a big factor, but Cadieux-Lanoue played with the 2021 Canada Futures Team, as well as the 18u Canada Junior National Team, which forced him to be away from home. On the mound, he has an impressive arsenal to work with. His fastball can reach 93, but will stay right in the 90-91 range most of the time, while he pairs that with a slider (74-82), sweeper (70-73) and his best pitch, a changeup (78-83).

“Elliot, for a freshman is extremely mature. He has been a high-profile pitcher in Canada for a long time, so he’s been away from home and has traveled with the Canadian team in the States. His confidence is extremely high for a freshman,” said Heller. “Maybe he’s the midweek starter, maybe he’s the lefty specialist. Elliot has a plus changeup, he’s got a lot of intangibles. He’s got a lot of intangibles. It’s just going to be putting him in the right spots the first four weeks and getting his feet wet at the right time.”

TCU transfer RHP Justin Hackett and Kirkwood CC transfer RHP Ganon Archer

A highly-rated prospect out of Winterset, Justin Hackett set a school record and led the state in strikeouts with 125 during his senior season. He helped Winterset to back-to-back state tournaments, while his 1.02 ERA as a senior was fifth-lowest in school history. As a freshman last year at TCU, things did not pan out the way that he would have hoped. Hackett appeared in just six games with an 11.37 ERA. Sean McGrath did some scouting of Justin when he was with the Mariners organization and they are focused on getting him back to the pitcher that made him a draft prospect out of high school.

“Justin needed to work through some things and make some changes with his training and his conditioning to try to get his velo back. It had dropped off some and it’s been steady progress since fall started,” said Heller. “A lot of collaborative work with Sean, Ryan Koester our strength coach and our trainer Jake Feldman trying to get Justin back to the guy he was in high school. They got their thumb on it midway through the fall and since then it’s been steady improvement.”

Out of Van Meter High School, Ganon Archer was a four-time state champion and as a senior he posted a 0.62 ERA over 56.1 innings, including 113 strikeouts to 17 walks. He opted to spend a season at Kirkwood CC, which had some ups and downs. Archer posted a 6.37 ERA over 11 games, including ten starts, with 34 strikeouts to 24 walks over 35.1 innings.

“He’s done a lot of things that we felt like he needed to do in the weight room and with his training to put him in a better place. In my opinion, he’s really improved,” said Heller. “He always wins, when he was in high school, when he was younger, he just wins. Not enough is really every said about that.”

As for their expected roles with the team this season? Rick Heller says that some of it will be decided on how their live sets went prior to the season, while they will also have a chance during midweek games to prove themselves.

“It kind of remains to be seen and it’ll be based on their performances when they get opportunities. They had the live sets and then the opportunities they get midweek.”

OUTLOOK

Jack Whitlock, Reece Beuter and Anthony Watts are going to be the headliners in the Iowa bullpen this season. That trio of arms is going to be fun to watch, but it’s the depth that gives this group the potential to be better than last season. Some of the depth still has to prove they can do it consistently, whether it’s Zach Voelker or Ben DeTaeye or Sam Hart or even Brant Hogue. However, there have been postive reports about all of them and the coaching staff feels good about them having big roles.

Past that, guys like Cadieux-Lanoue, Savary, Young, Hackett, Archer, Wheatley and Strack will all get their chances, at the very least in the midweek games. If a couple of those guys can prove to be consistent options, the Hawkeyes will have a really tough bullpen on top of a really good starting staff. There is plenty of reason to believe that this group is deep enough to help Iowa win a regional.

UP NEXT, we start making predictions for the season. Five bold predictions for the 2024 Iowa Baseball season. Plus, the preview of the Hawkeyes opening weekend down in Charleston, SC.