Arkansas Baseball Has An ELITE Pitching Staff
Arkansas has been the number one ranked team in the country for two weeks now. Their pitching has been the reason of their success. Let's examine the Razorback's dominant pitching staff.
By Baron Dionis
The Arkansas Razorbacks are ranked number one in the country after a great start to the season. Their record currently sits at 17-2 with a 3-0 conference record.
Their pitching staff has been a very big part of their success as they consistently dominate opposing offenses. Let's take a look at some of these dominant arms on the Razorback roster.
Hagen Smith
Hagen Smith is the ace of the Razorback rotation and he has been straight dominant this season. Smith is a top 15 draft prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, and so far this season, he has proved why he is ranked that high.
Through five starts, Smith has a record of 3-0 with a 1.57 earned run average in 23 innings pitched with 50 strikeouts. He is averaging over two strikeouts an inning and opposing batters are batting .108 against him.
If he continues to strike out batters at this rate, he has a chance to break the single-season college strikeout record. Hawaii pitcher, Derek Tatsuno, holds this record of 234 strikeouts, set in 1979.
Brady Tygart
Brady Tygart has been another dominant arm for the Razorbacks this season. Tygart has been a consistently good arm for Arkansas in his first two seasons. He was mainly used out of the bullpen last year, but this year he has the starter role.
Throught five starts, Tygart has a record of 3-0 with an earned run average of 0.73 in 24.2 innings pitched with 35 strikeouts. He also has an impressive WHIP of 0.95 and an opposing batting average of .152.
Tygart is not ranked on MLB Pipeline's top 100 draft prospects, but if he keeps it up, he will have a shot at being drafted very early in this years Major League Draft.
Mason Molina
Mason Molina is another great starting pitcher for the Razorbacks. Molina transferred to Arkansas after spending his first two collegiate seasons at Texas Tech. He was very good at Texas Tech, but he looks even better with the Razorbacks.
Through five starts, Molina has a record of 3-0 with an earned run average of 2.74 in 23 innings pitched with 43 strikeouts. He also has a WHIP of 0.86 and an opposing batting average of .122.
Molina is the third starting pitcher that might be drafted from Arkansas this season.
Will McEntire
Will McEntire is one of the oldest players on the Razorbacks roster, but that has not stopped him from being Arkansas' best reliever out of the bullpen.
In nine appearances, McEntire has a 2-0 record with an earned run average of 1.75 in 25.2 innings pitched with 27 strikeouts. He also has a WHIP of 0.79 and an opposing batting average of .189.
McEntire has been with the Razorbacks since 2019. He is another pitching prospect that could be drafted from Arkansas this season.
Arkansas travels to Auburn for a three game series, starting Thursday night at six o'clock central time. Auburn has had a solid offense this season, so let's see how the Razorback pitching staff can handle it.