By the time the Longhorns wrap up their three-game non-conference series against Michigan State, which begins Friday at UFCU Disch-Falk Field, Schlossnagle hopes left-handed junior Haiden Leffew and freshmen righties Brett Crossland and Brodie Walls will have made their respective season debuts.
“He's an experienced pitcher at the highest levels of Division I baseball,” Schlossnagle said of Leffew on Thursday. The Wake Forest transfer was preparing to enter Tuesday’s 14-4 rout of Lamar when freshman Maddox Monsour ended the game with a three-run double in the bottom of the seventh inning.
“With (Dylan) Volantis in the rotation, we would like another lefty in that bullpen," Schlossnagle said. “Crossland and Walls are both just super talented young players. They hear it from Max, how important they are to this team and this program moving forward, but playing time and an opportunity to pitch is what they want the most. It's what I want to see them do the most.”
The challenge in that regard is that the run rule will be in play for each of the three games between Texas (4-0) and the Spartans, who took two of three from a top-10 Louisville club on the road in their season-opening series last weekend.
While the run rule is a mandatory stipulation in SEC play, Schlossnagle said the Longhorns are abiding by the conference’s recommendation that any game can end if one team has a lead of 10 runs or more after the seventh inning unless both head coaches agree beforehand to play a full nine innings.
“I think what everybody wants to avoid is the game that gets out of hand. The 21-4 game, where everybody in the park is just waiting for it to be over,” Schlossnagle said. “Not all 10-run rules are the same. There are 10-run games where the wind is blowing out and the pitching is not great and you still feel like you're in it down 10. Then there's also the argument for this time of year, where we need to get players in the game. I'm sure Michigan State wants to play — I've been in a cold weather climate where you're just looking to play. You can argue both sides, but that's the recommendation from our conference.
Coaches across the country are dealing with the drawbacks of a mandatory rule and discussing how to best utilize it, Schlossnagle said. With that said, managing the implementation now could pay off in a few years, when downsized rosters could make the run rule necessary to get through the grind of a college baseball season.
“We're getting closer to a 34-man roster once we get through the next couple of years. Three years from now, there will be a 34-man roster only. There won't be any extra players,” he added. “The 10-run rule comes into effect more when you're trying to avoid injury, or let's say you're down pitchers and you don't have anybody to pitch the extra two innings.”
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The starting pitching rotation won’t change this weekend. Schlossnagle and Weiner will give the ball to Ruger Riojas on Friday, Luke Harrison on Saturday and Volantis on Sunday.
The bullpen roles, however, remain fluid, especially since Schlossnagle added two names to the mix on Thursday when he went out of his way to single out junior southpaw Kade Bing and redshirt senior right-hander Cody Howard for how they looked in Wednesday's simulated game.
According to Max Grubbs, the lack of a defined pecking order isn't an issue for the Longhorn hurlers. The senior righty said the relievers have accepted their roles as out-getters, which puts everyone on notice that they could be called upon to enter the game in a high-leverage situation at any time once it gets turned over to the bullpen.
Without a designated closer following Volantis’ promotion to the weekend rotation, Grubbs and the other relief pitchers have adopted the mentality that “it's always the bottom of the ninth and you're always in for a one-inning save, one pitch at a time.”
“It doesn't matter if there's runners on or anything, the zone never changes for us,” Grubbs said. “Just attacking the zone, dominating the zone. It's what we do.”
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While Texas waits to see if Jonah Williams will make his season debut this weekend, the team got good news on the injury front coming out of the Lamar game.
Anthony Pack Jr.’s early departure from Tuesday’s win was an issue with cramps, which Schlossnagle indicated isn’t expected to keep the electric freshman out of the lineup against Michigan State (2-1). Pack, who leads the Longhorns in hits (seven) and is tied for the team lead in doubles (two) and stolen bases (2-for-2) through four games, took part in batting practice and the team's regularly scheduled practice on Wednesday.
Pack was expected to “go full scale” in team activities on Thursday, according to Schlossnagle.
“He did some early work before that game in the outfield. He's looking to get more comfortable in the outfield and he's not afraid of repetition. He's not afraid of work. Probably did too much,” Schlossnagle said of Pack, who played high school baseball on a field that didn’t have an outfield fence.
That's amplified the challenge of Pack trying to navigate right field, which is arguably the toughest outfield position to play at Disch-Falk Field.
Although Pack won't stop putting in work to hone his craft, Schlossnagle suspects the newcomer learned a tough yet important lesson in his fourth collegiate game.
“We all sweat differently,” Schlossnagle said. “I think we've learned he sweats more than others and he's got to learn how to rehydrate and do different things that way.
“He should be fine.”
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