Baylor Baseball Season Preview: Top Three Wildcards
As Baylor baseball’s Opening Day matchup against Nebraska (Feb. 16) at Globe Life Field approaches, it's time to start breaking down the roster, plus the biggest storylines and questions heading into the 2024 season.
Today, we’ll assess the top three wildcards on this roster. So far, we’ve looked at the top returners and top newcomers. In the coming weeks, I’ll highlight the most impactful freshmen and the biggest questions surrounding head coach Mitch Thompson’s squad going into Year Two.
Collin McKinney & Tanner Duke: Redshirt Freshman RHP Pitchers (Returning)
Toward the end of last spring and heading into the offseason, Thompson and the rest of the coaching staff reiterated how important it would be to get freshman pitchers Collin McKinney and Tanner Duke back in 2024, both of whom had missed the 2023 season recovering from Tommy John surgeries.
Personally, I was a little skeptical of this notion because how much of an impact could these two young arms really make? After seeing them in the fall, I was able to witness what the coaching staff meant. Both McKinney and Duke provide something that few other pitchers on the rosters can – the ability to consistently hit low-to-mid-90s with their fastball.
McKinney, at 6-foot-5, is a towering figure on the mound and will likely get a shot at being in the weekend rotation to start the season – I’d argue he has one of the highest ceilings on the team.
Duke, on the other hand, struggled a bit more with command in the scrimmages I watched this fall, but the talent is definitely there. There was naturally going to be some rust after recovering from a serious injury, so I didn’t chalk it up as something to be overly concerned about just yet.
If both are able to consistently perform out of the gates and at least meet the coaching staff’s expectations, it will soften the blow of adding only one pitcher from the transfer portal. If neither is ready, whether that be because of inexperience or health, a pitching staff thin on experience, to begin with, will look even shakier.
Jack Little: Sophomore Transfer Infielder (Wichita State)
Jack Little, a sophomore infielder and Katy native made his way to Waco this summer via the transfer portal. Little hit .250 with 11 extra-base hits and was named to the American Athletic Conference All-Freshman Team after starting 45 games as Wichita State’s primary third baseman in 2023.
Assistant coach Zach Dillon had a prior connection with Little when he was the director of operations for Twelve Baseball, a premier select organization based out of the Houston area. While Little missed much of the fall with an injury, he’s impressed the coaching staff and will potentially open the season as the starting second baseman.
Little has blazing speed, and D1Baseball has him as Baylor’s “Pick-to-Click” for this spring, noting “He’s a physical player who has the tools to have quite the breakout campaign.” But whether Little can compete against Power Five pitching will be something to monitor as the season progresses.
Mason Marriott: Junior RHP Pitcher (Returning)
This feels like a make-or-break season for Mason Marriott. The junior righty was a highly-touted recruit at one point and has had moments of brilliance but has also had far more moments of inconsistencies over the course of his two years at Baylor.
Regardless of the 7.52 ERA and 1.91 WHIP across 58.2 innings pitched in 2023, there’s something about Marriott that doesn’t allow me to fully give up on him – at least not quite yet.
Last season, he had solid performances against Kanas State, Oklahoma, West Virginia and TCU, where he allowed five earned runs across 20.1 innings tossed. But against Oklahoma State, Kansas, Texas and Texas Tech, he surrendered 28 earned runs over 14.1 innings.
In every game that Marriott starts, it feels like there’s one inning early in the contest that will either make or break him. If he survives it, his outing, albeit short, will typically turn out pretty solid. If he starts walking batters, things can turn south really quickly. You just never know, and that can be maddening. As a side note, it’s also worth mentioning that the defense did him no favors last year and that should be improved this spring.
But ultimately, the determining factor in Marriott’s success will probably come down to whether he can improve his command. Despite striking out 50 batters, Marriott handed out a team-leading 50 free passes last season, which is an astronomical amount. Even in the aforementioned “solid” starts, he continually failed to exceed six innings of work due to high pitch counts.
I would imagine most of the fanbase is in wait-and-see mode with Marriott, and that’s fair, but for better or for worse, he’s going to be heavily relied upon this spring. Whether he takes a step forward or remains inconsistent could determine a lot for Thompson’s squad.