MSU baseball notebook: Could Houston Harding be a weekend starter and more

Bulldog head coach Chris Lemonis updates the status of his team ahead of MSU's series at South Carolina

As Mississippi State left-handed pitcher Houston Harding silenced Texas A&M bats over five innings of relief last Saturday, you didn't have to look far to see a Tweet or message board post asking if the Bulldog southpaw might be working his way into MSU's weekend rotation. 

Freshman Jackson Fristoe has served as State's No. 3 starter for much of the season, but the rookie has seen his earned run average climb from 3.34 up to 4.97 over his last four starts. At the same time Harding has been strong in long relief, putting forth perhaps his best effort yet with his five scoreless innings against the Aggies a week ago.

So with the youngster, Fristoe, experiencing some ups and downs and Harding surging, will the Bulldogs possibly soon consider moving Harding into a starting role? MSU head coach Chris Lemonis addressed the topic when talking with reporters on Thursday.

"Does Houston Harding deserve to start? I’d say yes," Lemonis said. "He’s been really good. So has Jackson Fristoe. We have the luxury of having both those guys. In the next couple of weeks, when you get into these funky weeks, you may see some of that type stuff going into the [postseason] and needing an extra starter who didn’t start on the weekend – [you can] do some different things. I have 100 percent confidence in Houston starting. He’s had some of our biggest starts in those [midweek games] early in the year. He could always be a possibility."

Mississippi State pitcher Houston Harding has been strong out of the bullpen of late for the Bulldogs. (Photo courtesy of Mississippi State athletics)

Harding has started in six games in his State career, including four this season. But as Lemonis indicated, at least for now as MSU gets set to battle South Carolina in a three-game set starting Friday, Fristoe is sticking in his starting role on the weekend. It's a spot the first-year right-hander has excelled in up until his recent inconsistency. 

Over Fristoe's first seven appearances this season, he pitched at least three innings in all of them and surrendered more than two runs only once. In his last four showings, Fristoe has lasted longer than three innings only once and given up three or more runs in three of the four times out.

Still, Lemonis likes what Fristoe could bring against the Gamecocks and MSU's leader is also happy to likely have Harding right there to back Fristoe up, depending on if Harding is used earlier in the weekend.

"We just felt matchup-wise Jackson was the guy this weekend," Lemonis said. "And you feel like Houston is used to his role coming out and being able to piece that game together."

However things shake out the remainder of the season, one thing seems certain. Harding is going to continue to play a huge role for the Bulldogs going forward.

"He’s huge," Lemonis said of Harding. "He’s kind of a swing guy for us. If we need a long [reliever] or a lot of times, the other team [might struggle] with lefties. He’s been able to go out there and piece those games together. He’s a reason we have confidence in our starting staff, because they don’t have to go three, four times through the lineup."

Hatcher's future

It seems as though Josh Hatcher has become a bench player for the Bulldogs. The first baseman hasn't started the last three games for MSU as he's endured a season-long slump.

Hatcher's struggles have grown of late as he's just 3-for-29 with 10 strikeouts over his last 11 games played. His season average now sits at .187 entering this weekend's action. 

So how will MSU handle Hatcher going forward given how valuable he could be if he could turn his season around? After all, he hit .321 in 2019 and .311 in last year's shortened season, so the potential is there for Hatcher to figure things out.

"I think he’s going to get some at bats over the next couple of weeks," Lemonis said of Hatcher. "He has a chance to play in every game because of his defense...He’s really a talented player. I’ve probably held onto him as long as anybody because I believe in him. I know he’s a good player. We play a really tough game. It can be cruel sometimes. He’s had some tough stretches, but he’s also had some stretches where he hit the ball hard and didn’t get anything for it. But the game doesn’t feel sorry for you either. Josh has to keep working and be ready to go. We’re gonna need him. I’ve been around teams before where kids struggle like Josh and the last month of the season, he’s your best player and you get all those hits back at once. He’ll be back out there."

James coming back from sickness

State third baseman/designated hitter Kamren James missed Wednesday's MSU win over the Citadel. Lemonis said on Thursday that James was dealing with some sickness, but the Bulldogs are hopeful James will be good to go this weekend.

"Kam had a little stomach bug," Lemonis said. "He’s better [Thursday], but he stayed at the hotel [Wednesday night]. Hopefully, we’ve got him back and he’s ready to go."

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