In anticipation of the 2023 SEC baseball season, we here at Southbound & Down will be ranking the top players at each position entering the year, with us beginning here this week with the Top 10 starting pitchers from across the conference, beginning with a few honorable mentions.
Honorable Mention:
- LHP Devin Futrell – Vanderbilt Commodores
- RHP Grant Taylor – LSU Tigers
- LHP Zander Sechrist – Tennessee Volunteers
Top 10 starting pitchers entering 2023 SEC baseball season
10. RHP Joseph Gonzalez – Auburn Tigers
The list begins here at the No. 10 spot with Gonzalez, who is one of the top names returning for an Auburn team that made a deep run a year ago. The right-hander held a 7-4 record with a 3.22 ERA and 54:15 K:BB ratio across 78.1 IP a year ago for the Tigers.
9. RHP Brandon Sproat – Florida Gators
Selected in the third round of the 2022 MLB Draft, Sproat opted-to return to Gainesville for the 2023 season, and now enters the spring as one of the SEC’s top starting pitchers. Sproat posted a 9-4 record a year ago with a 3.41 ERA and an 82:33 K:BB ratio across 89.2 IP.
8. LHP Carter Holton – Vanderbilt Commodores
Holton is likely the top name entering the season for a talented Vanderbilt pitching staff, coming off a 2022 season in which he was a Freshman All-American selection. As a freshman, Holton held an 8-4 record with a 3.14 ERA and a 97:29 K:BB ratio across 80.1 IP for the Commodores.
7. RHP Will Sanders – South Carolina Gamecocks
Having posted a combined 3.47 ERA across his first two seasons at South Carolina, Sanders is one of the more experienced names on this list. The right-hander is coming off a sophomore season in which he held a 7-3 record for the Gamecocks, as well as a 3.43 ERA and 91:31 K:BB ratio across 89.1 IP.
6. LHP Hunter Elliott – Ole Miss Rebels
After splitting time as a starter and reliever a year ago as a freshman, Elliott likely enters 2023 as one of the top starting pitchers in SEC baseball, as well as arguably the top left-hander. Named to the Freshman All-American team a year ago, Elliott held a 5-3 record with a 2.70 ERA and 102:34 K:BB ratio across 80 IP for the national champion Rebels, with 12 of his 20 appearances being starts.
5. RHP Chase Burns – Tennessee Volunteers
The top five starting pitchers in the SEC entering the 2023 season features three players from a Tennessee rotation that is arguably the nation’s best, the first of which is Burns. Receiving All-American honors a year ago as a freshman, Burns posted an 8-2 record with a 2.91 ERA and 103:25 K:BB ratio across 80.1 IP.
4. RHP Drew Beam – Tennessee Volunteers
The second Tennessee player in the top five is Beam, who is coming off a stellar first season in Knoxville, one in which the right-hander received All-American honors, as well as being named the 2022 SEC Freshman of the Year. As a freshman, Beam held an 8-1 record for the Volunteers, along with a 2.72 ERA and 62:21 K:BB ratio across 76 IP.
3. RHP Hurston Waldrep – Florida Gators
Transferring to Florida from Southern Miss during the offseason, Waldrep was a prominent offseason transfer addition for SEC baseball. A strikeout machine who held a 14.0 K/9 a year ago with the Golden Eagles, Waldrep is coming off a season at Southern Miss in which he held a 6-2 record with a 3.20 ERA and 140:33 K:BB ratio across 90 IP to earn All-American honors.
2. RHP Paul Skenes – LSU Tigers
Another top transfer this past offseason in SEC baseball was Skenes, who transferred to LSU after two strong seasons at Air Force. Receiving All-American honors a year ago, Skenes is a two-way player who held a 10-3 record with a 2.73 ERA and 96:30 K:BB ratio across 85.2 IP on the mound, along with a 1.046 OPS with 13 HR and 38 RBI offensively.
1. RHP Chase Dollander – Tennessee Volunteers
Coming off a season in which he was a First Team All-American, as well as the 2022 SEC Pitcher of the Year, Dollander is an easy selection at the No. 1 spot, as the right-hander might just be the top starting pitcher in all of college baseball. After transferring from Georgia Southern last offseason, Dollander had a truly phenomenal first season in Knoxville a year ago, owning an undefeated 10-0 record with a 2.39 ERA and 108:13 K:BB ratio across 79 IP.