How Will Kentucky Juggle Pitching in NCAA Tournament Regional?

The Wildcats, head coach Nick Mingione and pitching coach Dan Roszel will have some big decisions to make this weekend, starting with who gets the ball on Friday afternoon.

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Perhaps the hardest part about an NCAA Tournament for any coach is finding the "right" way to go about using a pitching staff. It's the ultimate juggling act, as one wrong decision can easily be shamed by any and everyone.

"Why didn't you throw (insert name here) against this team?" 

"Why did you leave (insert name here) in when you had (insert name here) hot in the bullpen?"

Playing a Regional isn't normal. It isn't a three-game series where you can properly map everything out, announce who's going to pitch which game, so on and so forth. There has to be some serious game-planning, along with a little gamesmanship. 

Kentucky head coach Nick Mingione is doing just that, as the Wildcats aren't announcing a game-one starter ahead of their opener against Ball State on Friday afternoon at Kentucky Proud Park in Lexington.

“We’re just gonna use a bunch of different guys," the seventh-year skipper told Kentucky Sports Radio on Thursday morning. 

He spoke more at length about it when the bracket was revealed on Monday, noting that Kentucky's one-and-done showing at the SEC Tournament in Hoover does bring along some silver-lining value, as far as rest concerns go:

"We've thought a lot about it. Obviously we'll go back and we'll look, and kind of evaluate strengths and weaknesses of each team. You know, we threw some guys last weekend where we feel good about if they throw on Friday or Saturday or Sunday, however we line it up. They're in a good position," he said. "That was one of the benefits of coming home a little early from the SEC tournament is we've been able to let guys get rested but also practice really hard. And we've practiced really hard over the weekend. Going to have a great practice today, but we'll look at and evaluate and try to see match up who might do best versus who."

Teams are allowed a 27-man roster for the postseason. How many pitchers will the Cats carry? A total of 14 arms have made 10 or more appearances, and that doesn't include Logan Martin, UK's original Friday-night starter who will possibly be a fixture at some point this weekend. 

*Bold indicates a likely addition to the 27-man roster. Nothing is confirmed. 

Starters

• RHP Zack Lee (5-2, 3.58)
• RHP Travis Smith (4-3, 5.28)
• LHP Tyler Bosma (4-4, 5.61)

Bullpen

• RHP Ryder Giles (1-1, 4.08)
• LHP Evan Byers (1-0, 1.20)
• RHP Mason Moore (2-1, 2.43)
• RHP Ryan Hagenow (2-1, 3.48)
• LHP Jackson Nove (3-0, 4.43)
• LHP Magdiel Cotto (1-0, 6.19)
• RHP Seth Logue (1-0, 1.77)
• RHP Seth Chavez (2-1, 4.50)
• RHP Zach Hise (1-1, 7.11)

Utility

• RHP Darren Williams (4-2, 4.08)
• RHP Austin Strickland (3-1, 5.01)
• RHP Logan Martin (1-1, 4.24)

Travis Smith and Zack Lee will each likely get a start, leaving the potential for Austin Strickland — a reliever that's been stretched out to the point where he even started in the last series of the regular season — or Darren Williams — the do-it-all Swiss-army knife — to also take the ball for a start if need be. 

Tyler Bosma was pulled from the rotation in place of Strickland against Florida. He hasn't pitched since May 13 and hasn't completed four innings since April 22. However, he is a left-hander that can provide length, and may be the only one on the roster who can say that, if former starter Magdiel Cotto — who has thrown 2.0 innings just twice this season — is left off. 

From there, Mason Moore is the clear No. 1 option out of the bullpen, can close down a game but can also throw a few innings if called upon. Length in the bullpen can be deemed an issue after that. Ryder Giles and Evan Byers combine for 36 appearances but only 32.2 innings. 

Ryan Hagenow was a midseason All-American and can throw multiple innings, but battled staying healthy and had a rough second half of the season, throwing just 2.1 innings in four appearances in May. UK could use the version of Hagenow that threw 4.1 innings of one-hit ball against Mississippi State to open SEC play on March 18, or the one that pitched three days in a row against Alabama and didn't allow a hit. 

Seth Chavez is back from injury and pitched an inning against Florida to close out the regular season. He was a high-leverage closer-type in the beginning of the year and still has the stuff to be just that, but will he be trusted in a pressure-filled situation in the postseason? 

Martin is the biggest question mark of all. Mingione has made it clear that he won't be able to give the Cats the length of a starter at this point, but will still be a vital piece. When he came back from his non-arm related injury in the middle of the season, he opened games, throwing an inning or two before making way for Williams. Will UK follow that path again if it's called for? Could he be a secret weapon of sorts out of the bullpen and maybe even close a game? 

It all comes back to how Mingione and pitching coach Dan Roszel want to handle things. Do you throw Lee, the "ace" of the staff down the stretch, against the "lesser" Ball State team in the first game? Do you save him for a game against West Virginia, if you make it there? 

Mingione has called Williams UK's "trump card" in the past. Do you not extend him for a long outing so you can bring him out again if need be? Williams told reporters on Monday he'll be ready whenever his number is called:

"I'll be prepared for anything. They haven't told me specifically, but I would imagine being in the bullpen ready to close out a game. Maybe get in there early, you know, but whatever we need, I'll be ready to do."

Going back to Mingione's first appearance in the NCAA Tournament as UK head coach in 2017, it was the reliable inning-eater and current big-leaguer Sean Hjelle that got the ball against Ohio to start the weekend.

Everything will unfold this weekend, as the Wildcats and Cardinals kick off a monumental weekend of baseball in the Bluegrass. The game will air on the SEC Network.

• For a complete preview of the action this weekend in Lexington, click HERE.
• For some UK baseball postseason lore, click HERE.
• Everything Kentucky head coach Nick Mingione said about the draw HERE.
• More on Mingione HERE.

Once again, here's the weekend schedule for the Lexington Regional:

• Day 1: Friday, June 2
  • Game 1: Kentucky vs. Ball State (Noon EST)
  • Game 2: West Virginia vs. Indiana (7 p.m. EST)
• Day 2: Saturday, June 3
  • Game 3: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 (Noon EST)
  • Game 4: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 (6 p.m. EST)
• Day 3: Sunday, June 4
  • Game 5: Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4 (Noon p.m. EST)
  • Game 6: Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5 (6 p.m. EST)
• Day 4: Monday, June 5
• Game 7: If necessary, same teams as in Game 6 (TBD)

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