FORT WORTH — Every year, the TCU roster teems with pitching candidates.
Not every year are there so many that coach Jim Schlossnagle calls it “the deepest group of talented pitchers that I’ve had at TCU.”
There are so many possibilities for the starting rotation — and other roles — that the Frogs will try to play as many as 16 innings Sunday against Texas State. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Lupton Stadium with free admission.
“There’s probably 12 or more guys that, when they’re healthy, I wouldn’t hesitate to pitch in any game against any opponent,” said Schlossnagle, entering his 17th season in Fort Worth. “There are freshmen that are going to pitch a lot. There’s a couple or three, four, really talented junior college transfers. Enough guys do a lot of different things that we can mix and match in a variety of ways, if everybody stays healthy. It’s a really impressive group of pitchers, to be honest with you.”
It will be the second of two games this fall for TCU. On Oct. 1, the Frogs tied the Texas Rangers Futures squad 3-3 in 12 innings at Globe Life Park.
In that game, Drew Hill, Jacob Meador, Johnny Ray and Matt Rudis each pitched two innings, with only Hill allowing runs. Marcelo Perez, Haylen Green, Riley Cornelio and Jacob Speaker also pitched, with only Perez — last season’s closer and now a rotation candidate — being charged with a run.
“He’s come back really nice,” Schlossnagle said of Perez in his recovery from shoulder fatigue that shut him down in April last season with five saves and three relief victories to his credit as a freshman. “We’re looking at him as a starting pitcher, too, right now. We have about eight guys that we’re giving opportunities to prove that they can be starting pitchers. Marcelo could end up back in a bullpen role. We certainly know he’s capable of doing that. But we may have some other guys that may be more capable. So we’ll see.”
The Frogs have 24 arms in camp, including sophomores Caleb Sloan and Russell Smith, who both missed last season recovering from Tommy John surgery. Sloan will be full-go next week, Schlossnagle said. Smith suffered “a little bit of a setback” but will be fine for the regular season in February, Schlossnagle said.
“I wish we would have had this depth last year,” Schlossnagle said. “Then it would have been a much different season. The injuries last year were just catastrophic.”
Charles King also may not see action as he continues to work on a breaking ball on the side before bringing it to games.
“He’s always just been a breaking ball away from being elite,” Schlossnagle said of the senior right-hander who tied for the team lead in victories (six) last year, was second in innings and threw two complete games. “That’s been the focus for him this fall, to really come up with more of a swing-and-miss breaking ball.”
TCU will wrap up its fall practice with a best-of-three intrasquad series next weekend.
Since the start of workouts in September, Schlossnagle said he has gained confidence in an infield defense led by shortstop Tommy Sacco, plus converted center fielder Hunter Wolfe and freshman catcher Kurtis Byrne, who will play behind senior Zach Humphreys.
Wolfe, however, won’t play Sunday. Schlossnagle said the senior hurt his shoulder laying out for a ball and will sit the rest of the fall.
“Defensively, we’re significantly improved in the infield,” Schlossnagle said. “Really like our shortstop, Sacco. He’s a really good defensive player. Bobby Goodloe right now is doing a nice job at second base, which is probably a position that’s a little more suited for him. I think he’ll be an upgrade. I’m pretty confident of being a better defensive team in the infield, if we can keep those guys healthy.”
Pitching and defense will be the profile of the 2020 team. Schlossnagle said it could remind fans of the 2014 squad that rode a 2.22 ERA and .278 team average to the College World Series, starting a four-year run for TCU in Omaha.
“Runs prevented are as important as runs scored,” Schlossnagle said. “We pitched and played defense and really good team offense. We will probably bunt more. It won’t be sacrifice bunting. But if we pitch the way we’re capable of, playing to a two- or three-run lead could be a pretty good deal for us.”