Ohio State Baseball Season Preview: The Pitchers
2/16/2022 4:16:46 PM | Baseball
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A veteran staff in 2021 saw three of their key members become the most recent group of Buckeyes drafted into the MLB, with Seth Lonsway going to the San Francisco Giants in the sixth round, Garrett Burhenn going to the Detroit Tigers in the ninth round, and Jack Neely going to the New York Yankees in the eleventh round. While the program lost their three weekend starters to the next level, the 2022 staff does not lack experience. Two-time captain Griffan Smith has taken the mound for crucial games for Ohio State during his four-year tenure and will be looked to as the leader of the pitching group for the upcoming season.
“Griffin Smith is a veteran,” Coach Greg Beals said. “Griffin has pitched in the Big Ten Tournament Championship game. He’s pitched in the NCAA Regionals. He’s got that experience and he’s got that calmness about him, and he’s got a four–pitch mix that he can go with. He’s a leader of this team and someone we have a lot of confidence in.”
Including Smith, there are four other Buckeye hurlers who will be competing for spots in the starting rotation. On the top of the list will be sophomore Isaiah Coupet, a left-handed pitcher who appeared in nine games for the team as a freshman in 2021 including one start. The young southpaw recorded one save over 17.1 innings of work last season and finished with a 3.63 ERA. After great showings in the fall and a solid offseason that saw him gain significant strength, Coupet will be looked upon as a potential weekend starter going forward.
“He’s got a curveball and slider that are really, really good,” Beals said. “He’s going to be at 89 to 92 miles an hour. Not overpowering, but it’s a quick arm with some ball movement on the fastball. The breaking balls are elite.”
Two returnees also figure to log significant innings, whether it be as a starter or in long relief. One is sophomore Nate Haberthier, who made six appearances as a freshman in 2021 including a start in the season finale against Northwestern and has made major strides towards being a key part of the rotation for 2022. Standing at 6-5 and coming into the season weighing around 245 pounds, the right-handed Haberthier will look to take the next step in his sophomore campaign. The other returnee is senior Will Pfennig, a 6-foot right-hander who has pitched many meaningful innings for the Buckeyes over the past three seasons. Pfennig has made 38 appearances in his time at Ohio State, including nine starts, striking out 91 batters over 98.2 innings pitched. The senior will compete for a starting job while also being looked to as a dependable long relief arm as the season progresses.
Rounding out the rotation will be graduate transfer Aaron Funk, a 6-5, 225-pound righty who spent the previous four seasons at Arkansas Little Rock as a staple of their starting rotation. Now in Columbus for his final year, Funk brings his 185 career strikeouts over 47 appearances and 33 starts from the Sun Belt to the high-major ranks of the Big Ten. Funk was named the 2021 Preseason Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year after dominant showings during the shortened 2020 season, and whether he lands in the weekend rotation or in the bullpen, Coach Beals saw the opportunity to bring a standout arm into the program for 2022 and capitalized.
“Aaron Funk is a guy we brought in here out of the transfer portal, and what attracted us to him is that he took the ball and started every weekend for three years in his college career,” Beals said. “He ate up innings and he threw strikes. He’s got a four–pitch mix and a good overhand curveball. It’s been fun to watch Aaron connect with the other guys. He loves Buckeye nation. He loves being here. We talk about the brotherhood of our team and he’s come in with a brotherhood attitude. And the locker room has accepted him. His transition for a mid-year transfer has been as smooth as I could have imagined.”
While the starting rotation will see an intriguing mix of young talent and experienced arms, the strength of the Buckeye staff coming into the 2022 is their over-powering unit in the bullpen. Ohio State is fortunate enough to bring back a loaded group headlined by senior closer TJ Brock, a NCBWA Preseason All-American.
“If you’re talking about the strength of pitching staff being the bullpen, you’ve got to start with TJ Brock,” Beals said. “TJ is the guy that we expect to get the ball on the back end of games and finish games for us. He has dynamic stuff. The fastball and the slider are electric. His fastball goes up to 99 miles an hour and the slider is in the 90–mile an hour range. That puts a lot of pressure on the hitter. TJ has grown not just as a pitcher, he’s also grown as a man. I’m excited about TJ and seeing his evolution and how that plays out on the field.”
Brock’s talent was on full display during the 2021 season, where he tallied nine saves in 19 appearances with a team-leading 2.08 ERA. The flamethrower has touched triple digits on the radar gun during the offseason and averaged nearly two strikeouts per inning a season ago. Brock has his sights set on a potential selection in the upcoming MLB draft, but will be looked upon as someone who can consistently closeout games from the backend of the bullpen in his final season in Columbus.
Brock’s potential setup man for 2022 is junior Ethan Hammerberg, a 6-4, 250-pound righthanded pitcher with a hulking mound presence and an arsenal of pitches that includes a fastball up to 96 MPH and a wipeout slider. Though “Hammer” has only appeared in nine games as a Buckeye, the Upper Arlington native did not allow an earned run in any of his last four outings in 2021. He carried that momentum into a successful summer in the Northwoods League, posting a 2.12 ERA across 15 appearances.
“Ethan Hammerberg had a great summer and then a great fall and has really developed,” Beals said. “His success has built confidence and his stuff has really grown. Ethan is a big, strong young man. He’s the strongest guy on our team and throws a very heavy fastball that gets into the mid–90s, and he has a really good breaking ball as well. I’m excited for Ethan and his role and how it complements our ballclub. He and TJ in the backend of our bullpen is going to be a pretty tough 1-2 combination.”
Ohio State will have many right-handed relievers at their disposal this season who bring an interesting mix of styles and background to the fold. 6-6 junior Wyatt Loncar (seven career appearances) has seen limited action thus far in his career but will be called on to provide power from the right side with a mid-90’s fastball and a hard-breaking curve. Fellow junior Tyler Kean (seven appearances) has battled injuries throughout his time in Columbus but has pitched well in spots, allowing only one earned run in 9.1 total innings as a Buckeye. Junior Nate Karaffa is a converted shortstop who possesses an electric arm and has made his way over to the mound after two seasons as a utility player. 2022 will see his first pitching appearance, but he has started in 28 games around the diamond across his freshman and sophomore seasons and is an intriguing athlete to watch heading into the year. True sophomore Trent Jones (four appearances) is the only other righty to have game action at the college level. Redshirt junior Casey Maniglia, redshirt freshman Tim Baird, and true freshmen Jacob Gehring and Jace Middleton will also compete for roles in the bullpen.
To finish off the Ohio State pitching staff for 2022, we have the left-handed relievers; namely, senior Mitch Milheim, who has made 23 appearances as a Buckeye in his career and has fanned 32 opposing batters. Outside of Milheim, the Buckeyes will look for contributions from three players who have yet to make their college debut. Redshirt freshman Garrett Peters and true freshmen Drew Bachman and Gavin Bruni round out the bullpen. Though in just his first season at the college level, Coach Beals sees Bruni stepping in and making an impact right away.
“He’s going to come in and power the baseball,” Beals said. “There’s a great deal of talent in Gavin and I’m looking forward to seeing him evolve as a pitcher. He’s got the stuff to be a starter someday.”
The Buckeyes are set to open the season on Friday, Feb. 18, against Marshall at the Snowbird Classic in Port Charlotte, Fla.
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