Baylor Baseball’s Offseason Notebook: Rebuilding & Retooling the Pitching Staff
After a disappointing second year for head coach Mitch Thompson’s Bears, it’s officially the offseason for Baylor baseball. Today, I’ll focus on the state of the pitching staff and the importance of using this transfer portal this summer. Last week, I discussed the plan for the lineup and position players moving forward.
*all grade classifications after player names are what each of them will be next year*
Before we discuss the pitching staff, I genuinely believe Baylor has enough talent and experience to be an NCAA Tournament-caliber lineup next spring if everyone returns and stays healthy.
However, the pitching staff isn’t particularly close to that level at the moment. It will need to be significantly retooled through the transfer portal this offseason for me to feel comfortable about the Bears' chances heading into Year Three of the Thompson era.
Last week, Baylor took a step in the right direction by hiring Sean Snedeker to replace James Leverton as the new pitching coach. Snedeker has over 30 years of coaching experience and spent the last seven seasons as the pitching coach under Will Davis at Lamar.
Lamar had the second-lowest ERA (3.79) in the country this season and the sixth-lowest (3.96) in 2023. Snedeker has guided his pitching staff into the top 10 nationally in ERA at all three collegiate stops – Lamar, Oral Roberts and Duke.
Last offseason, Baylor struggled to bring in arms through the portal because of limited NIL funds and virtually no track record for pitcher development. Hopefully, that’ll change this summer with an increased NIL budget and a proven coach like Snedeker guiding the pitching staff.
However, the Bears will still have a ton of ground to make up. In 2024, Baylor had the highest ERA (6.51) in the Big 12 and the fourth-highest in the Power Five. The year prior, BU’s pitching staff had similar numbers; they were last in the Big 12 in ERA (6.36), free passes allowed (357) and batting average against (.300).
The good news is that All-Big 12 lefty Ethan Calder (Jr.) will be one of Baylor’s lead arms next spring; Thompson hinted toward the end of the year that the rising junior southpaw will be in the weekend rotation. Calder had the fourth-lowest ERA (3.23) among qualified pitchers in the Big 12 and led the Bears' pitching staff in WHIP (1.11), wins (5) and saves (2).
Beyond that, there are a ton of question marks. Is Friday starter Mason Marriott (Sr.) going to return for his senior year or sign with an MLB team? Is high-profile recruit Brayden Bergman going to come to Baylor or play professionally?
Veterans Patrick Hail (RSr.) and Drew Leach (RSr.) started the 2024 season on strong notes but struggled mightily over the latter half of the year. Hail, in particular, had the best season of his collegiate career under Snedeker at Lamar in 2023 and hopefully can return to that form.
Other veterans such as Cole Stasio (RSr.) and Sam Crain (RSr.) will return from injuries but what can be expected once they’re healthy?
Five freshmen combined for 35% (164.1 IP) of Baylor’s innings this spring, but just three of those players will be returning next season — Tanner Duke (RSo.), Mason Green (So.) and RJ Ruais (So.). Each showed promise but must work on commanding the strike zone before they can take a step forward.
As expected, right-handed pitchers Collin McKinney (RSo.) and Stephen Sepulveda (So.) entered the portal this past week. McKinney was the Bears' Saturday starter and was inconsistent, but could develop into an all-conference type of arm under the right guidance as an upperclassman.
If there was one main takeaway from the ups and downs of watching Baylor’s young pitchers get thrown into the fire, Thompson realized that relying heavily on freshmen is not a recipe for success moving forward. Even with seven incoming freshmen, it’s tough to anticipate how much of an impact they’ll make.
To take advantage of a rising senior class of seven-plus starting position players, Thompson and the coaching staff will need to find a way to add at least five arms through the portal this summer, particularly a starting pitcher or two plus a handful of bullpen pieces. If significant moves aren’t made, this team could enter 2025 in a similar situation as last spring – a talented lineup with a ton of question marks on the mound.
Other Reading: Offseason Notebook: Retaining Key Pieces to an Already Strong Lineup