On Deck: Assessing Tennessee's 2022 pitching staff
Tennessee’s historic 2021 season has come to an end.
The Vols won 50 games for just the third time in the program's history and for the first time since 1995 on their way to their first College World Series appearance since 2005.
Tennessee won its most regular-season games (42) and conference games (20) since 1995. The Volunteers also played in the SEC Tournament title game for the first time since 1984 as they earned the No. 3 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Tony Vitello will have to replace quite a bit from this year’s squad. We've detailed how much could be returning from Tennessee's outfield, and how Vitello will have to put together an entirely new infield, but the pitching staff looks to be a mixture of both.
Here’s a look at who is moving on, who is expected to return in 2022 and what additions are being made to the pitching staff.
Moving On
Next week's MLB Draft will certainly have an impact on what Tennessee's pitching staff will look like in 2022. It'll be the biggest reason Frank Anderson's group will look different.
The Vols are likely to see Chad Dallas, Sean Hunley and Jackson Leath get drafted. Although Leath didn't pitch this season, those three being drafted would mean two starters, plus Tennessee's best bullpen arm are moving on.
All three could technically return, but Dallas and Hunley saw their draft stock improve greatly this season. As for Leath, he may be ready to simply move on after the 2020 season was canceled and after he practically missed the entire 2021 season with a significant hamstring injury. The former junior college signee likely would have been a first round pick had he stayed healthy.
The trio are worth keeping an eye on in the draft. Will they all three be drafted? Absolutely. High enough to not return for another year? We'll see. Particularly with Hunley and Leath.
A trio of names to also watch for are Elijah Pleasants, Camden Sewell and Jason Rackers. None of them are likely to be drafted, but could seek professional deals as an undrafted free agent as older players.
Senior lefty Will Heflin is the one pitcher who is most definitely moving on. The East Tennessee native took advantage of the free year of eligibility this past season and performed well. Heflin finished the year 3-3 with a 4.07 ERA in 16 starts.
Will Redmond return?
One name that could have been mentioned above, but could also return is Alcoa native Redmond Walsh. Simply put: the senior lefty has a decision to make. He could elect to turn pro or he could choose to take advantage of the free year of eligibility.
Walsh, like Evan Russell, feels like the John Fulkerson of the baseball team. Someone who loves the Vols as much as anybody and still has more to give to his school.
It would be a big boost to Tennessee's bullpen if Walsh were to return. Particularly with Hunley likely to move on. Walsh finished the year with a record of 5-1 and an ERA of 2.52 to go along with five saves.
So who does return?
Rising sophomore Blade Tidwell is slated to return and will do so as the unquestioned ace of the staff.
Tidwell had an outstanding debut season for the Vols, compiling a record of 10-3 and an ERA of 3.74 in 18 starts. Good enough to earn Freshman All-American honors, All-SEC honors and a spot on this summer's USA Collegiate National Team.
Tidwell will without a doubt be Tennessee's Friday night starter. But what will the Vols have behind him? The draft will have an impact, along with Walsh's impending decision, but there are also some intriguing names returning.
Kirby Connell, Mark McLaughlin and Ben Joyce are three arms Tennessee needs to have a great offseason in order to be key contributors next season. Joyce would have been one of the Vols' top options out of the bullpen this year, but is coming off of Tommy John.
As for Connell and McLaughlin, both were counted on in big moments at times this past season. Particularly Connell, who threw 42.0 innings and finished with a 3.00 ERA. McLaughlin threw 34.1 innings and compiled an ERA of 1.83.
Camden Sewell is another key piece to Tennessee's 2022 pitching plans. We mentioned him above as someone who could decide to turn professional, but the expectation is that he'll return. And he'll be one of UT's best arms.
Sewell was 4-1 this past season with an ERA of 2.82. The Cleveland, Tennessee native could be used as a full-time starter or could move into the Sean Hunley role as Tennessee's top arm out of the bullpen.
Jason Rackers and Elijah Pleasants also fall under that same bill. Guys who may decide to move on, but if they don't, they'll be counted on to be big parts of the pitching puzzle. Rackers has battled injuries at Tennessee after signing out of junior college, while Pleasants has struggled to be consistent.
Other arms currently expected to return are LHP Will Mabrey, RHP Christian Delashmit, LHP Zander Sechrist, LHP Jake Fitzgibbons, RHP Hollis Fanning, LHP Shawn Scott and LHP Drew Patterson.
RHP Connor Housley, RHP Charez Butcher, LHP Cade Elliott and LHP Colin Ahearn have entered the transfer portal since the season ended.
Attacking the portal
Vitello and Anderson have already attacked the transfer portal in search of pitching. Before the Vols flew out to Omaha, they picked up a commitment from Missouri RHP Seth Halvorsen.
Halvorsen just finished his third year at Mizzou. As the Tigers’ top arm this past season, he compiled a record of 4-2 and ERA of 6.00 in 14 starts. He had 70 strikeouts in 72.0 innings.
The addition of Halvorsen likely won't be the last arm Tennessee adds from the portal. Georgia Southern RHP Chase Dollander visited the Vols last weekend and plans on making a decision shortly after the draft. Dollander also visited Texas Tech and is visiting Arkansas this weekend.
Dollander earned Freshman All-American honors this year after going 4-3 with a 4.03 ERA.
High School Signees
The biggest name Tennessee is keeping an eye on in the draft this year isn't a current player. It's Beech's Chase Burns out of Gallatin, Tennessee. Burns is a potential first round pick in the draft as a hard-throwing right-hander that has gotten his fastball up to 101 MPH.
He's a similar prospect to Tidwell. Burns is the next mid-state guy who could be drafted out of high school, but is also content with coming to Tennessee and learning under Frank Anderson. If he does, he could have the same type of impact Tidwell had as a freshman.
At 6-foot-4, Burns finished with a record of 6-0 and ERA of 0.50 as a senior. In 56.1 innings pitched, he struck out 131 batters, allowed just four earned runs, 12 hits and 16 walks.
Here's the other high school arms that Tennessee signed this cycle:
- RHP Grant Cherry (Vestavia Hills, Alabama)
- RHP Kruise Newman (Richmond, Kentucky)
- RHP Drew Beam (Murfreesboro, Tennessee)
- LHP James McCracken (Murfreesboro, Tennessee)
- LHP Sam Bassett-Kennedy (Ann Arbor, Michigan)
- LHP Gavin Brasosky (Kalamazoo, Michigan)
- LHP Wyatt Evans (Greenville, South Carolina)
- RHP Logan Kimberlin (Rockvale, Tennessee)
- LHP Fletcher Whitley (Hixson, Tennessee)
- LHP Kaleb Meredith (Chuckey, Tennessee)