A new era of TCU baseball gets underway Friday as the 2022 season opens in Arizona
TCU doesn’t expect its baseball program to regress transitioning from Jim Schlossnagle to Kirk Saarloos.
Saarloos has been groomed and prepared to take over a program for years, turning down multiple head coaching offers until the right opportunity arrived. It did last offseason when Schlossnagle departed for Texas A&M.
So far, so good for Saarloos as the Horned Frogs open the 2022 season tonight with expectations of contending for a College World Series berth once again. TCU faces San Diego State on Friday in the MLB4 Tournament in Scottsdale, Arizona, followed by games against Cal on Saturday and Houston on Sunday.
In a recent interview, Saarloos said not much has changed with him in charge. He’s confident in his baseball knowledge and abilities, and the program is committed to keeping a winning culture with the foundation being built on words such as “selfless, excellence and energy.”
“Culture is a buzzword,” Saarloos said. “You don’t just want to have it. You want to live it. We’ve added little things here and there but, for the most part, it hasn’t changed much.”
Rotation set
TCU’s season-opening rotation has been set with left-hander Austin Krob scheduled to start Friday followed by right-hander Riley Cornelio on Saturday and right-hander Brett Walker on Sunday.
Krob is coming off a season in which he went 8-1 with a 3.81 ERA over 16 starts. He had 96 strikeouts over 85 innings. He steps into the No. 1 spot after Johnny Ray served as TCU’s opening-day starter the past two seasons.
Cornelio has been one of the pleasant surprises for TCU this offseason. Saarloos has consistently talked about the strides Cornelio has made, and the hope is he has a breakout season. He pitched in just five games, including two starts, last season, going 1-1 with a 4.91 ERA.
And Walker is a graduate transfer from Oregon who went 6-3 with a 3.66 ERA last season. He’ll provide a veteran presence in the weekend rotation.
Sophomore right-hander Cam Brown is another starter who Saarloos has been high on this offseason. Signs point toward Brown being the starter for the home opener Tuesday against Stephen F. Austin.
Bullpen matters
Along with Walker, TCU landed a couple more arms for the pitching staff via the transfer portal this offseason to bolster its bullpen.
Caleb Bolden, a right-hander from Arkansas, is a versatile weapon who can pitch in any role similar to what Charles King and Haylen Green did last season. So does left-hander Tommy Vail, a Notre Dame transfer who is coming off Tommy John elbow surgery.
Among the notable returners in the bullpen include right-handers Marcelo Perez, Drew Hill and Garrett Wright and left-handers River Ridings and Augie Mihlbauer.
Lineup watch
TCU returns several position players headlined by third baseman Brayden Taylor. Taylor led the team with 12 home runs as a true freshman in 2021, and was recently named to the Fort Worth-based Bobby Bragan Award watch list.
Along with Taylor, TCU also brings back veteran shortstop Tommy Sacco and second baseman Gray Rodgers in the infield. In the outfield, center fielder Elijah Nunez and right fielder Luke Boyers return as does Porter Brown.
A couple of newcomers to keep an eye on are catcher Michael Petrie, a graduate transfer from Washington, and first baseman David Bishop, a highly-touted freshman out of Georgia.
Did you know?
MLB Network is televising TCU’s opener against San Diego State and will incorporate a drone footage into its coverage.
A MLB Network spokesperson said the drone is expected to capture shots such as “flyovers over the field until a pitch is delivered, following a batter around the bases after a home run, shooting the pitcher as he walks to and off the mound, and the exteriors and interiors of the Salt River Fields complex.”
For the drone enthusiasts, it is being supplied by JibTek and is a DJI Inspire II drone with a Zenmuse X7 camera/gimbal.
Stephen Nelson (play-by-play), Dan O’Dowd (analyst) and Jim Callis (analyst) will call the game for MLB Network.
