BSB: 2019 Pitchers

Previewing Washington's Talented Pitching Staff

By Washington Huskies

February 13^th, 2019

Pitcher's Overview

Starters Returning (1) - Jordan Jones (Jr.): 6-4, 3.98, 18 GS, 104 IP, 83 K, 19 BB.

Other Top Returners - Stevie Emanuels (So.): 8-2, 4.37, 34 G, 45.1 IP, 32 K, 28 BB; Dylan Lamb (So.): 1-0, 3.95, 18 G, 27.1 IP, 22 K, 10 BB; Josh Burgmann (So.): 2-2, 3.19, 16 G, 31.0 IP, 21 K, 13 BB; Leo Nierenberg (Jr.): 0-3, 6.75, 15 G; Chris Micheles (Jr.): 0-2, 9.25, 13 G; Jack DeCooman (So.): 0-1, 3.38, 9 G; Jack Enger (So.): 0-0, 4.76, 2 G.

Key Losses - Joe DeMers: 7-3, 2.42, 3 SV, 130.1 IP, 94 K, All-Pac-12; Alex Hardy: 5-4, 2.80, 8 SV, 61.0 IP, 37 G, All-Pac-12; Lucas Knowles: 6-5, 4.35, 23 G/15 GS, 89.0 IP, 67 K, 21 BB.

Coach Meggs on the pitchers: Not in any particular order, Jack DeCooman, Jordan Jones, Josh Burgmann, Stevie Emanuels and David Rhodes are all candidates to start. Burgmann and Jordan Jones will for sure be involved in the weekend when we head to Irvine. We’ve got four games that weekend, so you’re likely to see Jack DeCooman start one of those days and you may see David Rhodes start a game if Stevie Emanuels has a prominent role out of the bullpen.

That’s the wild card for us. Stevie’s been so good that you could literally start him on Friday night. He’s been 95 miles per hour with a really improved slider. We really like him potentially at the back of the bullpen. It would be great to keep him there, because having him, Leo (Nierenberg), Chris Micheles and Jack Enger at the back of the bullpen, I think would be as good of a bullpen we have had. Now do we have a Troy Rallings, someone that has established himself, or an Alex Hardy in the closing role? We don’t. But Jack Enger had an outstanding fall in that role, and Stevie certainly could do it.

It’s going to be a little trial and error in the beginning but by the time Pac-12 play starts we’ll have three starters that I’m sure we feel really comfortable with, we’ll have a midweek guy – which could be somebody like David Rhodes. Then you’re going to have Stevie as a swing man with a potential spot start and some setup and closing stuff, with Jack Enger also getting some closing.

Starter: Jordan Jones

2018: 2018 All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention & Pac-12 All-Academic Honorable Mention ... tied Tim Lincecum (2004) by making a UW single-season record 18 starts on the mound ... team was 14-5 in games he pitched.

Coach Meggs: "Jordan Jones is a four-pitch guy, throwing all of them for strikes. The last time threw, he cut us to shreds. It was as good as I’ve seen him. He had a good cutter, a good breaking ball, a really good change to the left-handers and he was 88 to 92, as firm as he’s ever been, and we really quite honestly didn’t have much of a chance on that day against him because he threw all those pitches for strikes. He’s pitched in every ballpark in this league, he’s pitched in Regionals, Super Regionals and the College World Series. He’s as battle-tested as they come and he’s our best guy right now."

Starter: Josh Burgmann

2018: Selected in the 30th round (916th overall) by St. Louis in the 2016 MLB Draft ... missed over a year recovering from Tommy John surgery, returning March 25.

Coach Meggs: "Burgy has really come along. Not only is he healthy, he’s in a great place physically. He’s in the best shape of his life. He’s at that point where some guys are when they recover from Tommy John where they get the feel back. Early on, they get the velocity going, but they don’t have much feel. Now he has some feel. The sliders been really explosive. The fastball is above average so you can’t sit on the slider. He’s thrown a decent breaking ball as well, which is a new pitch for him. The change is something he shows, but he’s a power guy that can also pitch off the slider. He’s maybe our best competitor on the mound. I think he’s one of those guys that our guys love having out there. So there’s a lot of energy when he takes the field and he’s an emotional guy that is a great competitor."

Starter: Jack DeCooman

2018: In his first year was 0-1 with a 3.38 ERA in 9 games (3 starts) ... struck out 12, walked 11, allowed 11 hits over 18.2 innings.

Coach Meggs: "Jack DeCooman is kind of your original crafty left-hander. He’s funky enough that there’s some deception with his arm slot and his delivery so you just don’t see the ball very well. He’s anywhere from 84 to 89 on a given day, but it’s on you. It’s sneaky fast, as they like to say. The changeup has gotten better. The sliders gotten better. He’s a guy that we think can give us five strong innings and make it tough when we might bring in a power arm from the other side after you’ve seen this left-hander for four, five or six innings. We think he’s better suited to do that than come out of the bullpen. We’re going to need (innings) out of him each weekend, so we’re trying to decide is it better at the beginning of the game? Is it better in a couple of stints out of the bullpen? Right now, I think he’ll get some starts to see if he can do that."

Stevie Emanuels

2018: Set a UW freshman record and tied for second most ever with 34 appearances on the mound ... 8 wins led team and tied for 3rd in the Pac-12 ... 26-of-33 (79%) inherited runners stranded.

Coach Meggs: "He’s every bit 6-foot-5 and it’s downhill and a power arm. He’s gotten a lot better with the slider and he just attacks people. There is a sense of confidence there now. He just keeps getting better. When he got here, he was immature physically and he’s just gotten stronger and along with that has come some confidence. Now for one inning, if he just lets it go, he’s pretty nasty. Is it an issue that over six or seven innings he can do the same thing? We don’t know that yet. But we know for one or two innings, he’s pretty good."

Leo Nierenberg

2018: Pac-12 All-Academic First Team ... appeared in 15 games out of the bullpen.

Coach Meggs: "For us, Leo is a great bonus to have in the middle innings or in some type of setup role. The slider has been really good and he’s dropped the arm slot a little bit, which has given him better feel for the fastball. He’s kind of high three-quarters now with some sink. He’s still 92 miles per hour and the slider’s hard and he’s got better command of that, so that’s a huge difference for him. You’re going to see him in a variety of roles. If we get in trouble early in the game you could him. You could see him come in and own the sixth inning which would be nice for us if he can do that. He’s been more of a strike thrower this fall than he’s ever been. He’s more confident and feels really good about some things that he’s figured out. He’s in a good place."

Chris Micheles

2018: Made six starts and appeared in 11 games overall.

Coach Meggs: "Chris is another guy that has made a significant jump in velocity up to 88-92 consistently. He maybe has the best changeup on the staff, next to Jordan Jones. It’s just kind of a crippling, can’t-stay-off-it, swing-at-it-in-the-dirt type of changeup that he can bury and also throw for strikes. The slider has been better too. He’s now more comfortable coming out of the bullpen than as a starter. He relieved all summer and had a good season in the West Coast League. Really the most important thing is that he’s a type-A personality and was so geared to start that it was a struggle for him for two years out of the bullpen. He wanted to know when he was going to pitch. He wanted to prepare for that. Every single weekend we weren’t able to give him many opportunities to start the game so it was tough for him to adjust to the bullpen. Now he likes it. He feels good about it. He has a really good day-to-day routine and he’s a really great competitor. He might be the surprise of our pitching staff. He might be a left-hander out of the pen that can come in and get lefties and give you and extra inning or two out of the pen."

Dylan Lamb

2018: Made 18 appearances, all out of the bullpen, throwing 27.1 innings, posting a 1-0 record with a 3.95 ERA ... 12-of-19 inherited runners stranded.

Coach Meggs: "Dylan is a strike thrower. His velocity has improved. His slider has improved. His changeup has improved. He’ll have some of the quicker innings you’ll see on the staff because he’ll put the ball in play early. He sinks it well and gets ground balls. He’s another guy that believes in his stuff and that make him a really good competitor. I’m really pleased where Dylan is. I feel like he can do many things for us and the most important thing is, whatever role we use him in, he’s going to pitch. He’ll throw strikes."

Jack Enger

2018: Made two appearances in relief, going 0-0 with a 4.76 ERA.

Coach Meggs: "Jack’s shown remarkable improvement since this time last year. He came here as a dual sport guy who was a quarterback in high school, so he didn’t play a lot of summer baseball. We hoped when we got him here and it was just baseball that he could make a significant jump, and he’s done that. He’s anywhere from 91 to 95 with a 84 miles per hour slider. It’s an uncomfortable at bat. It’s straight downhill and its firm and there’s a wipeout slider that goes with it. The thing that we always like when talking about a closer is what type of makeup do they have. Alex Hardy had that toughness. Troy Rallings was nasty and we think Jack’s very much in that same mold in terms of being a really good competitor. You like those guys to have one really good pitch, and he has that. The fastball is good and the slider is good and he has the plus makeup. On paper, he’s the guy you say, this guy should be able to do a nice job at the end of the game. The challenge with him is he going to be enough of a strike thrower to do that. He’s your typical closer that is going to be throwing it hard, but it could be up (in the zone), it can be in or it could be out. But when it’s over the plate, he can be really effective."

The NewComers And Other Returners

Coach Meggs On David Rhodes: "Rhodes is going to be a strike thrower with the fastball. He works very quickly, has some deception where it’s down in the zone and the hitters think it’s going to be a ball and it’s usually a low strike. He compares very favorable to Noah Bremer. He has some tilt that Noah had. By the time Noah finished, he had that plus-plus breaking ball. If David can find a secondary pitch like that, he’s going to be very good before it’s all over. Right now he’s competing with just basically his 88-92 mph fastball and a little bit of a change and slider. Those pitchers are getting better and that’s going to determine how we use him. If he develops those secondary pitches, which is what we hope, then he can start. If not, he’s going to come out of the bullpen."

Coach Meggs on Joe Wainhouse: "When we’ve got a good matchup, Joe is a good option for us. His fastball is back in the 90s. His slider is better. His command is better. He’s been injured and had to recover from that. There just really isn’t anything that he hasn’t been through. It’s just a great advantage for us because he’s great with the young guys. He’s struggled, he’s had success, he’s been hurt, he’s left a program and had to find a new place to play. He’s had to start over."Coach Meggs On Diego Barrera: "Diego is a ways away, but potentially he’s a guy that can get in the mix. He’s got a plus changeup and is sneaky fast. He’s kind of where Jack DeCooman was last year, just not throwing enough strikes to say, ‘This is his role.’ So, as he gets better, I can see him helping us out of the bullpen, more as a strike thrower. He can be tough on righties because of his changeup."

Coach Meggs On Riley Benedetti: "Riley’s interesting because he’s a former position player who’s a good athlete on the mound that holds runners on base well. He can sink it with a decent slider, it’s just a matter if he will throw enough strikes. If he throws more strikes, he’ll have some type of role. Right now, it’s a numbers game for him, but he’s gotten better."

Coach Meggs On Adam Davenport: "Dav has been better. He’s got a plus slider. His velocity has improved. He’s never been healthy for any long stretch of time. He finally is healthy and is an option for us. If you want to come in and slider a right hander, he’s an option. He’s healthy enough to pitch."

Coach Meggs On Harrison Goonewardene: "Harrison is coming off a labrum injury and is making good progress. He’s thrown off the mound recently and is a little ahead of where we thought he’d be. He’s not going to be ready when the season starts, but it would be a great bonus for us to have him physically ready by the time conference play starts."

Coach Meggs On Cole Galvagno: "Cole is getting better. He has a lot of energy and is a good teammate. He’s working everyday to kind of create a role for himself."