Clemson Baseball Review: Starting Pitchers

2017 Review

The Clemson Tigers had a solid group of starters in the 2017 season. For midweek match ups, Clemson got a huge boost with graduate student Tyler Jackson, a transfer from USC Upstate who, ironically, began his career as a South Carolina Gamecock. In his only season in the orange and purple, Jackson went 9-1 on thirteen starts and posted a 3.56 ERA. Jackson had probably his best performance in the Sunday evening Regional victory over Vanderbilt. Junior Paul Campbell also had a pair of starts for the Tigers, and finished 0-0 with a 5.19 ERA. As for the weekend starters, Charlie Barnes had a solid season as the Friday starter. Barnes had sixteen starts and finished with a 5-5 record and a 3.20 ERA. Many of Barnes’s losses or no decisions can be chalked up to some defense and run support issues that seemed to plague the Tigers during some early season Friday night games. The junior lefty was drafted in the fourth round by the Minnesota Twins and has signed a contract with the club. RS Sophomore Alex Eubanks took on the role of Saturday pitcher and started sixteen games and finished with a 7-6 record and a 4.09 ERA. Eubanks was drafted in the fourteenth round and signed with the Texas Rangers. Converted closer Pat Krall was moved up to the Sunday slot where he went 8-3 over 16 games with a 3.50 ERA. Krall was drafted in the twenty eighth round by the Oakland A’s.

Previewing 2018

Clemson will have some big shoes to fill with the losses of Jackson, Eubanks, Barnes, and Krall. Owen Griffith looked very promising in the postseason as the freshman came in for some long innings. He looks to fit somewhere in the rotation for the Tigers. Right hander Ryan Miller was taken in the thirty first round by the Atlanta Braves, but will turn that down for another year in Tiger Town. Miller, a transfer from State College of Florida, had eleven appearances and posted a 3.09 ERA. The Tigers will probably be looking to move someone else from the bullpen to the starting rotation, and Ryley Gilliam, Alex Schnell, and Brooks Crawford will definitely be in the mix. Each showed ability to throw for long innings during the season and are experienced veterans. Jacob Hennessy seems doubtful to be named a starter as he did a solid job in the closing role for the Tigers this season. Clemson also has plenty of young guys on the current roster that could be in the mix, such as Will Spiers, who had some solid postseason outings. Adding in the new freshman class, there is a good chance that the Tigers starting rotation may have some young faces and could potentially change over the course of the season.