4 Days 'til Aggie Baseball: Pitching the key to unlocking success in 2024

It’s that time of year! The Texas Aggie baseball team is set to open up the 2024 season on Friday against McNeese State at Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park. We’re counting down the days with our 2024 Aggie Baseball Preview Series.

In the lead-up to Texas A&M baseball’s 2024 campaign, a lot of the preseason accolades and recognition have been bestowed on the group of position players donning the Maroon & White. Rightfully so. They check a lot of the requisite boxes for what a top-tier offense looks like in today's version of college baseball.

However, the key to unlocking this team's potential is on the other end of the roster.

When Jim Schlossnagle landed on Max Weiner to replace Nate Yeskie as the A&M pitching coach, the 29-year-old was tasked with repairing a group of pitchers that set a school record for walks in 2023.

On one hand, it's easy to look at that and let out a sigh of exasperation. On the other, it can be viewed as an amazing opportunity.

Based on my interactions with Weiner, it has most certainly been the latter. In fact, I've not heard him ever mention what happened on the field prior to his arrival in College Station. To me, that's admirable.

Weiner isn't/wasn't alone in this rebuild.

Jamie Maury, TexAgs

Weiner was hired away from the Mariners, where he had been Seattle’s pitching coordinator since 2018.

Schlossnagle and Nolan Cain went to work on the recruiting trail last offseason with the goal of injecting new life into the group and completely reshaping the overall pitching profile for the 2024 roster. They did that — on paper, at least — with an impressive haul from the transfer portal and a batch of super-talented freshmen who have significantly raised the floor of the entire pitching staff.

While the new faces are absolutely going to play a prominent role on this year's team, I wanted to focus on the returners on the mound because I believe their growth and development under Weiner is the one unknown that, if answered in the affirmative, could be the foundation for success this spring.

Let's take a look at those names and what their progression and arsenals could look like to start the season.

LHP Ryan Prager - After missing the entirety of last year coming off Tommy John, Prager was fully released in early January and has had a really strong preseason. He's a safe bet to be in the weekend rotation and is in the mix to grab the Friday night role to kick off 2024. The analytics (spin rate, inverted break, pitch shape, etc.) of his stuff have made a jump from where he was as a freshman, and the coaching staff loves his demeanor. He has also added a split-change to his repertoire, which has provided him with a putaway pitch late in counts against right-handed hitters.

LHP Troy Wansing - The Purdue transfer had an up-and-down season last spring, mostly due to inconsistencies in command. He'd have innings where he'd put himself into precarious scenarios with a pair of walks then follow it up with a pair of strikeouts. A couple of really strong outings toward the end of the season did provide a glimpse of what it could look like if he gets it reined in from a command standpoint. Wansing has been a little banged up in the preseason, but I don't think it's anything that will put him on the shelf long-term. The slider remains an elite pitch that gets a lot of swings and misses.

LHP Justin Lamkin - A season ago, Lamkin led the SEC in innings pitched by a freshman. He took some lumps. At times, he got beat up for throwing too many strikes. At times, he struggled because he didn't throw enough strikes. However, Lamkin was able to build some callouses through it all and enters his sophomore season as a much-enhanced version of what took the mound 365 days ago. Perhaps his greatest attribute is his demeanor. He's as steady-Eddy as it gets. Success and failure look the same for Lamkin in terms of how he responds to both. The velocity has ticked up, as have the analytics for his secondary and tertiary offerings. His release height, combined with his natural cross-firing tendencies, helps the fastball play quicker than what the radar gun says, as well. He has had a strong few weeks of preseason performances, and I expect him to make a big jump in effectiveness and production. He’s the other guy with a real chance to start on Friday nights.

CJ Smith, TexAgs

As a freshman in 2023, Sdao struck out 46 in 43.1 innings while walking just 15.

LHP Shane Sdao - The lanky left-hander emerged as one of A&M's most reliable bullpen arms in 2023. He's a fearless strike thrower with sneaky stuff. He has also been very sharp in the preseason, from what I've been told. Sdao has added some quality weight to his frame in the offseason, which should help with any durability concerns and has also led to a little bump in velocity. The staff has tinkered a tiny bit with his delivery to enhance the presentation of his stuff to hitters, and it appears to have taken hold up to this point. I expect Sdao to get his name called a lot, and it's not out of the question that he grabs one of those weekend starter spots.

LHP Evan Aschenbeck - Where would the 2023 season have been without the southpaw from Brenham? It's hard to even fathom, much less put into words. You could make an argument that he was the most valuable player on last year's squad. Every time he took the ball (and he took it a lot), he HAD to be sharp. That should change this year with much-improved depth, but the hope is that Aschenbeck continues to pitch with that same mentality and chip on his shoulder. For me, it's less about pitch shapes or spin rates with him and much more about his competitive mentality. Aschenbeck’s stuff gets better when the lights come on. We'll see how the conference adjusts its plans and scouting reports after he put so much on tape last season.

RHP Chris Cortez - Entering year three in Aggieland, and it's a similar story for the hard-throwing right-hander from Las Vegas. Anybody with a pair of eyeballs can tell what kind of talent Cortez possesses in that thunderbolt attached to his right shoulder. The issues that have plagued him up to this juncture in his career have been command of the heater and an inability to provide a consistent secondary offering. If he can start taking big strides to answer those questions under Weiner, he has All-SEC potential. I think we will see some changes in his pitch arsenal and selection. Cortez has spent a lot of time reworking pitch shapes that should, in theory, give him more avenues for success. Seeing is believing, and I anticipate Schlossnagle giving him some chances early in the season to see where he's at. Grabbing Cortez some confidence in the first few weeks would be ideal.

RHP Brad Rudis - Another third-year veteran under Schlossnagle, Rudis saw his utility and production take a dip in 2023 after being one of the most reliable bullpen arms for the coaching staff on their way to Omaha as a freshman. Rudis has completely reworked his delivery in order to improve his pitch metrics. There's been a significant change in arm angle as he has dropped down to a low three-quarters/sidearm plane. This was done in an effort to induce more ground balls. Rudis has never had issues throwing strikes and has always shown a lot of confidence in a plus changeup. However, the fastball lost some of its wiggle last season, and Weiner was keen on making alterations to hopefully find Rudis a more readily available "get out of jail" pitch.

RHP Josh Stewart - During his time with the Seattle Mariners, Weiner started to make a name for himself in the pitching community for his ability to effectively add or subtract from a pitcher's stockpile to simplify his plan. He has essentially done that with Stewart, and as a result, Weiner has helped the veteran right-hander become a more viable option out of the A&M bullpen. Expect to see a high percentage of sweepers/sliders this spring from Stewart. The tracking numbers on it are quality, and it has gotten similar results this offseason. His command of it will be key to how much he's trotted out there, but it's unquestionably a development that has improved his chance at success when he goes out there.