Horton back on mound as TCU baseball tries to find best rotation

Dalton Horton, unexpectedly a major part of the TCU pitching staff as a freshman, returns to the mound Tuesday night for the Horned Frogs in a nonconference matchup against Stephen F. Austin.

The left-hander skipped his turn in the rotation last week so he could get extra rest. He had lasted only five innings combined in his previous two starts, and coach Jim Schlossnagle suspected a tired arm.

“He feels better, having the rest he’s had,” Schlossnagle said.

Horton is 7-0 in 10 starts with a 2.44 ERA. He began the season starting on Tuesdays, moved to Sunday, then Saturday and made his last two starts on Fridays.

Horton’s return and Mitchell Traver’s gradual increase in workload are helping to set up a rotation for the last week of the season and the Big 12 tournament, which the Horned Frogs still hope can keep them in consideration for a home regional.

Long reliever Jared Janczak made his first start Sunday at Baylor, and the right-hander could be in consideration for a rotation spot as Schlossnagle continues to look for reliable options down the stretch.

“Those weren’t guys that we went into the season thinking they were going to play some big role on the pitching staff,” Schlossnagle said of Horton and Janczak, who have won 12 games between them. “They were going to have a role, but they weren’t going to have a prominent role.”

Whatever rotation the Horned Frogs go with, they hope it helps improve their playoff résumé. TCU is No. 19 in RPI, bubble territory for the one of the 16 regional hosting positions when NCAA postseason play begins in two weeks. The Frogs helped themselves by salvaging the last game of a series at Baylor on Sunday.

“The season’s not over,” Schlossnagle said. “We’re still 34-14 and we’re in the top 20 of the RPI in a top-three RPI conference in the country, and the nonconference RPI is ninth in the country. You’re setting yourself up to be in the NCAA tournament, still with an outside chance to host if you finish strong down the stretch.”

Since a 22-5 start, TCU is 12-9.

“I still think we can get back to that level of play,” Schlossnagle said. “The challenge is that Mitchell Traver has to give us what Luken Baker was giving us on the mound at the beginning of the season, and Brian Howard has to be consistent, which he has been lately.

“And then we’ve got to come up with a third guy. It may be Janczak. And then you’ve got to have those three veteran bullpen arms give us something. If they do, then we can definitely make a run.”

This story was originally published May 16, 2016 at 6:38 PM with the headline "Horton back on mound as TCU baseball tries to find best rotation."