What we have learned about Texas baseball heading into SEC play

As the Longhorns head into SEC play, Texas is off to a roaring 13-1 start and is ranked No. 11 in the latest D1Baseball poll. There is a lot to like about this Texas squad. There are some really hot bats throughout the lineup and the pitching staff is looking like a group that can really push the Longhorns through the postseason. Best of all, the group still isn’t firing on all cylinders. So what do we know about the Horns?

[Pre-order THE LONGHORN ALPHABET today and teach your little ones the A to Z of Texas Football!]

Texas has started blazing hot, almost surging into the top-10 after starting the year No. 19 in the D1Baseball poll. Jim Schlossnagle’s team is one out versus Louisville away from being the 4th Texas Baseball team to start a season 14-0. But there’s more room for this team to grow as SEC play starts this coming weekend at Mississippi State.

To start with the upgrades, the pitching staff looks to be much improved. Right now there are five key pitchers for Texas that sit below a 2.00 ERA and 1.20 WHIP. Those pitchers, Jared Spencer, Luke Harrison, Dylan Volantis, Jason Flores, and Max Grubbs, account for 75.1 innings pitched.

Texas still needs to see a little bit more from Flores, but early signs are that he is a reliable option. Spencer looks like topline starter in the SEC. He can really gear up his fastball and live in the 95-98 mph range. Harrison has returned from injury and finally looks great as a starter for Texas. Volantis has really started to make waves as a freshman. As the year goes on and he gains experience he could be a dangerous Sunday option like he was versus Santa Clara yesterday. Last out of this group but certainly not least is Grubbs, who has moved from a starting role to the jack of all trades spot.

The options at pitcher don’t stop there. Schlossnagle and Max Weiner have JUCO transfer Kade Bing, who started the season as the Sunday option but has been shifted out of that role. Once he starts to settle into Division I play, Bing will be a good option to start games or give long relief. Andre Duplantier II and Ruger Riojas are guys that Texas can trust to come in against quality hitting.

However, two players to keep eyes on are Thomas Burns and Will Mercer. Burns was a solid starter for Arizona State and the staff has been open about wanting to get him more innings as the year progresses, even some starts. Mercer had a rough start and is out a couple of more weeks due to injury, but it is clear the staff liked what they saw in the fall.

Texas has a good number of arms it trusts for key situations, but the battle ahead of SEC play is to find more to make it through the difficult grind that is the conference schedule.

Let’s look at the hitting.

There isn’t much of a break for opposing pitchers in the Texas batting order, with Tommy Farmer IV and Kimble Schussler being the only Texas batters with 11 or more starts without a homer. In fact Texas has often put Ethan Mendoza at the leadoff spot with Rylan Galvan in the nine-hole. Oddly enough, those two lead the team with four home runs apiece.

The bats for Texas have been slightly hotter than expected, and this is a group that can handle their best hitters being on a bad streak. Jalin Flores started the season hitting .217 with no extra-base hits, but as mentioned at the top of the article, Texas only has suffered one loss despite the early struggles from its All-American. In recent games, Max Belyeu has started to cool down, but the wins keep on coming.

Will Gasparino has cut down on the strikeouts. Plus, his batting average is misleading. Despite the .226 AVG he’s slugging .604 and his OBP is .339. He has the potential to be the best hitter on the roster.

Schuessler is another guy yet to see fully arrive this season, and it’s not really his fault. This dude keeps hammering baseballs, probably with the most consistency of anyone on the team, but he cannot buy a hit. When Schuessler is up, opposing fielders either don’t have to move a muscle or decide to make a great defensive play on a hard-hit ball. The balls will eventually start to find turf and the extra-base hits will come.

Mendoza currently leads the team in batting average after a rough stretch in Arlington. He is getting on base at a .548 clip, what you want from a leadoff hitter. In fact as a leadoff guy, Mendoza has gotten on base in six of his eight first at-bats of the game. With four hits, two homers, and two walks in those situations, Mendoza provides exactly what you want out of a leadoff hitter. Even if his first stop is first base, he finds ways to make it to second and third with his legs.

Guys like Farmer, Adrian Rodriguez, and Casey Borba are all batting above .300 and will look to be big time contributors in SEC play. In the case of Rodriguez he has cooled off slightly but expect more great at bats with potential freshman moments here or there moving forward. Borba is very similar to Gasparino in that when his bat touches the ball, magic starts to happen.

How about the leather?

When it comes to fielding, Texas has been good but not great. That doesn’t mean there aren’t bright spots like Galvan not allowing a stolen base, Schuessler acclimating well to first base, or Flores and Mendoza having clear chemistry turning double plays up the middle. This is a team that can develop into a great fielding team now that it has figured out more about left field and third base.

Schlossnagle’s club will face Mississippi State to start off the first SEC schedule for the Texas Longhorns. This is a good team to have as Texas’ first conference foe as the Bulldogs were were previously ranked and are a fringe top 25 team. The competition won’t start off at a super regional level, though the atmosphere may feel like one, but that top-16 level of team will arrive quickly in the coming weeks.

LSU – March 21st-23rd, UGA – April 4th-6th, ARK – May 1st-3rd, FLA – May 9th-11th (home/away)

[Join Inside Texas TODAY for just ONE DOLLAR!]

The Schlossnagle era is off to a promising start. The era continues this weekend with Schloss’ first foray into SEC play as head coach of the Longhorns.