TCU’s Schlossnagle high on new pitchers, led by MLB pick Lodolo

National semifinalist TCU opened fall practice Tuesday with four new position players and eight new pitchers, including the 41st overall pick of the Major League draft, Nick Lodolo, who opted not to sign with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The 6-foot-6 left-hander from LaVerne, Calif., declined a $1.75 million offer.

“Nick is certainly the highest profile name, but those young pitchers have a chance to be pretty special,” coach Jim Schlossnagle said. “Those guys are going to get a lot of opportunities to pitch this fall because most of the veteran pitchers are either taking some time off or we’re going to be very careful with how we use them.”

The other new pitchers are right-handers Cal Coughlin, Charles King, Alec Creel, Jake Eissler and Trey Morris and left-handers Haylen Green and Dion Henderson.

The new position players are catcher Zach Humphreys, infielder Bryan Sturges and outfielders Austin Ingraham and Zack Arambula.

The signing class included Drew Medford, a pitcher and catcher from Fort Worth Paschal who died in a car accident Aug. 18.

TCU looks to return a veteran team from last season’s College World Series qualifier. The Frogs lost only outfielder Dane Steinhagen, relievers Brian Trieglaff and Preston Guillory and starter Rex Hill.

Backup catcher Zack Plunkett transferred to Arkansas.

“So far, this team’s really been a joy to be around,” Schlossnagle said.

Traver plan

Right-handed pitcher Mitchell Traver, drafted in the 17th round by the Cincinnati Reds but unable to reach a contract agreement, won’t work out in the fall while he is a part-time student, Schlossnagle said.

“He’s been here for four years. Fall practice isn’t necessary for him,” Schlossnagle said.

Traver would not have been asked to pitch much in the fall while he recovered from a surgery at the end of the season, Schlossnagle said.

Traver will enter his final season of eligibility as the Frogs’ most experienced pitcher, with 107 innings that includes seven postseason starts.

With Brian Howard also opting to return to school, TCU has its postseason rotation back. Howard, Traver and Jared Janczak combined for all 10 NCAA playoff starts last season. Howard was 4-0 in his starts.

Schlossnagle said Janczak would be lightly used until late in the fall schedule because he pitched all summer in the Cape Cod League.

Remembering 2016

Schlossnagle said the first day of camp on Tuesday was smooth because there are so many veterans, but he cautioned them about assuming success next season.

“We’ve warned them off the pitfalls of thinking they have it all figured out,” he said. “And at the end of the day, we didn’t win our last game. So they should be motivated.”

TCU lost two games in the semifinals of the College World Series to eventual winner Coastal Carolina. A win in either game would have put the Horned Frogs in their first CWS championship series.

TCU has won a nation’s-best 148 games the past three seasons.

This story was originally published September 15, 2016 at 9:51 AM with the headline "TCU’s Schlossnagle high on new pitchers, led by MLB pick Lodolo."