OPINION: Chris Lemonis has a rotation decision to make and it's impossible to make a wrong one

The Bulldogs are in an enviable spot

What if I told you that you'd just won the lottery? You'd only have to sweat one small detail – to get your money, you'd have to decide between it coming via check or cash.

Over in the Mississippi State baseball offices this week, head coach Chris Lemonis is tasked with a comparable choice. No, Publisher's Clearing House isn't coming knocking over by Dudy Noble. But MSU's skipper does have to pick through his rich stable of young guns to settle on a pitching rotation for the start of Southeastern Conference play this coming weekend at LSU. 

No matter what Lemonis ultimately does, it'll be scrutinized. The fact of the matter is that it's impossible for him to make a bad decision.

If you're a casual State baseball fan and don't understand MSU's current pitching situation, let me catch you up to speed. The Bulldogs started the year expecting to have three potential MLB first-round draft picks in its weekend rotation – Christian MacLeod, Will Bednar and Eric Cerantola. Bednar ended up with an injury that took him out of action for a couple of weeks. Cerantola missed the first weekend of the season himself, then returned and struggled mightily in his first two starts. As all this went on, true freshman Jackson Fristoe exploded onto the scene as MSU's most reliable weekend starter as even the ace, MacLeod, has been inconsistent.

Now, MacLeod and Cerantola appeared to have figured things out as both pitched five strong innings over the weekend, allowing a grand total of one run between them. Fristoe, while not spectacular, was again solid this past Sunday. And Bednar? Well his arm is now stretched back out where he's a starting option and he looked ready to go in four shutout innings of relief Sunday in which he struck out seven.

So do the math. That's four arms for three weekend slots. Somebody will be the odd man out. What do you do?

This is only one man's opinion, but the guess here is that MacLeod's spot is 100 percent safe. Given his splendid 2020 before things were shut down and the fact that, even amidst his struggles, he's been competitive, it's far too early to change things up for the face of your starting staff. Assuming that's the case, now what? Who's out?

If you go by seniority, Fristoe gets bumped after four straight weekends of impressing. If you go by the stats, Cerantola is the one taken out of the rotation with his 6.97 ERA plus a history of command issues, but he's coming off a Saturday that saw him allow just one hit over five innings and might have the highest upside of this whole bunch with his electric repertoire. 

Then there's Bednar. I mean, you're the No. 3 team in the country and 13-3 overall without him in the rotation. Couldn't you just keep the status quo, roll with Bednar as a weapon in the bullpen and see what happens from there? You certainly could, but Bednar hasn't allowed a run and only two hits over seven innings of relief in his comeback. He's thrown better than any of the four guys we're talking about here, albeit with a smaller sample size. Wouldn't you want that dominance in your rotation if you can have it?

Odds are if you're reading this, you have an opinion on this matter. You've probably got your own plan drawn out in your head for how Lemonis should handle it. And I'll tell you what I'd tell Lemonis if he happens to call and ask for the opinion of this mediocre reporter – no matter what your plan is, it's not wrong. Any plan you come up with is the right one. 

Baseball is a great game in many ways. One of them is that the long season provides you with at least some margin for error. If Cerantola stays in the rotation and he battles his control issues again, you have more than enough weaponry in your bullpen to make it where a bad start doesn't ruin your weekend and you can reevaluate before the next SEC series begins. Same thing for Fristoe if he happens to suddenly hit a freshman wall. And if either of those guys comes out of the rotation at any point, it's not like they're off the team. 

You could have worse things out of a bullpen than Cerantola pumping 98 mile-per-hour gas or Fristoe's ultra-competitive nature pitching you through a few critical middle or late innings. And if Bednar either stays in or winds up back in the pen? Well he's already proven he can thrive there.

The way I see it, there's only one potential issue here. Can whoever becomes the fourth wheel of MSU's weekend rotation tricycle handle it? Will that guy have the maturity to accept a bullpen role, or will hurt feelings or ego or pride get in the way? 

From what I know of these four young men, there will be no issue for whoever finds himself a reliever come this weekend down in Baton Rouge. And because of that, Lemonis can flip a coin. He can phone a friend. He can just throw a dart against the wall. What he can't do is go wrong.

Will Bednar delivers a pitch in relief on Sunday. After an early-season injury, the right-hander could find himself back in the weekend rotation soon. (Photo courtesy of Mississippi State athletics)

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