TCU baseball insider: Schlossnagle talks 6-2 start, plus a rotation change this weekend
TCU baseball has gotten off to the start coach Jim Schlossnagle expected.
The starting pitching has shown its inexperience at times. The bullpen has valuable pieces in it, particularly veterans who can pitch multiple innings in multiple roles. Offensively, there have been players who have gotten off to fast starts and others who have gotten off to slow starts.
At the end of the day, TCU is 6-2 and riding a five-game winning streak going into the Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic at Minute Maid Park in Houston.
“It’s about the team I thought we’d have at this point,” Schlossnagle said.
The weekend tournament features games against in-state opponents in Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Friday, Texas State on Saturday and Sam Houston State on Sunday.
TCU had to adjust its starting rotation for the weekend due to COVID-19 protocols sidelining right-hander Johnny Ray, who got the opening day nod.
Right-hander Charles King is expected to make his 2021 starting debut against A&M-CC, filling in for Ray. King has starting experience but has been a valuable piece out of the bullpen early on this season.
Left-handers Russell Smith and Austin Krob are expected to start for TCU on Saturday and Sunday.
Along with Ray, TCU is also expected to be without right-hander Marcelo Perez (COVID-19 protocols). Without King and Perez as options, the Frogs’ bullpen is somewhat depleted. But left-hander Haylen Green is a reliable arm in relief and the team is high on the potential of freshman lefty River Ridings.
“We feel River Ridings can really become a weapon for us out of the bullpen,” Schlossnagle said.
Speaking of freshmen, Schlossnagle likes the potential he’s seen early out of Elijah Nunez, Luke Boyers and Brayden Taylor. Those were TCU’s 1-2-3 batters in its 9-3 victory over Stephen F. Austin on Tuesday night.
Boyers earned the Big 12’s newcomer of the week honors for Week 2. He scored six runs as the nine-hole hitter in the Frogs’ 20-0 victory over Texas Southern on Feb. 23.
Nunez, an Arlington Martin graduate, has looked like a savvy veteran in the leadoff spot. He’s drawn a team-leading seven walks. And Taylor is batting .375 and is one of four players to hit a home run early this season.
“I like all three of those guys and their demeanor,” Schlossnagle said. “But let’s wait and see how things go. Advanced scouting is at an all-time high, so there’s going to be adjustments that have to be made.”
Finally, for what it’s worth, Schlossnagle is excited about the team playing in another tournament at a big-league venue.
This doesn’t have the star power of the State Farm College Baseball Showdown at Globe Life Field that featured every team being ranked in the top 10 last month, but it’s still another measuring stick for TCU to see where it is with Big 12 play starting at the end of the month.
“You want to put guys in environments like this because, if we earn our way into the postseason, you feel like you’ve put them in every possible situation,” he said. “They should know how to handle it.”
