Iowa baseball preview: The bullpen
The Hawkeyes will be debuting a new look bullpen this season, as the group goes through a big overhaul. They lose Trace Hoffman (52 career app), Ben Probst (31 career app) and Grant Leonard, who finishes his career with 70 career appearances, along with 21 saves, which lands him second in school history. In total, the Iowa bullpen loses eight total arms from last season.
Coach Rick Heller and Pitching Coach Robin Lund retooled the bullpen with five transfers to go along with two freshman. This year’s group can be used in a number of ways and it’s important to remember that any given weekend two or three of those starting pitching options will be working in non-starting roles.
rSr Dylan Nedved returns to the back end of the Iowa bullpen after moving there last season and leading the team in saves with nine. Dylan led the team with 20 appearances, posting a 4.19 ERA and walked just 11 batters in 34.1 innings of work. Last year, Nedved played in the field in both the infield and outfield, but this season he will be a full-time back of the bullpen arm. He throws out of a sidearm delivery and has a fastball in the 89-92 mph range paired with a pretty good slider.
Michigan State transfer rSoph Will Christophersen will step in to the Iowa bullpen and will instantly be an important arm in late game situations. Christophersen was really good out of the bullpen for the Spartans last year, posting a 2.45 ERA and striking out 39 in 29.1 innings of work. He allowed just one earned run over his last 11 outings and surrendered just 15 hits in that last 19.2 innings. Will works with a fastball in the 89-92 mph range along with a wipeout slider (79-81) that can break as much as 22-24 inches, and he also has a changeup.
Iowa Central transfer rSoph Ben DeTaeye is a very intriguing pitcher for the Hawkeyes this season. Last year with the Tritons, DeTaeye appeared in six games, posting a 2.08 ERA, while striking out 33 in 26 innings of work. Over the fall, Ben allowed four runs over 10.1 innings of work, while striking out 16 and walking just one. DeTaeye’s fastball sits pretty low in comparison to others at 86-89 mph, but he uses his slider and a very good changeup to his advantage.
“He has a great changeup, one of the best I’ve seen. Nobody hits it and it’s got a unique pattern to it…We always try to develop a dirty inning guy, somebody like (Trace) Hoffman last year. Someone that you can bring in to a tough situation and get a strikeout or a ground ball double play and I could see Ben doing really well in that role.” – Rick Heller
Wichita State transfer rSoph Casey Day and rSoph Jacob Henderson are also potential back-end bullpen options at the disposal of the coaching staff. Day was with Wichita State last year, but missed the season due to Tommy John surgery. He pitched with the Clinton Lumberkings over the summer, posting a 3.68 ERA over 14.2 innings pitched. Day’s fastball sits in the 90-93 mph range to go along with a good slider and changeup.
Henderson only appeared in eight games and pitched nine innings last season, but was pretty reliable. Jacob had rough outings vs Nebraska and Indiana that accounted for all five of his runs allowed. He threw 7.1 scoreless innings over his other six appearances, including just four hits allowed. Henderson, like DeTaeye, has a lower velocity fastball (85-89), but uses a slider and changeup with it.
“We’re tinkering and toying with the idea of maybe on Friday, whoever starts, if they go six innings, maybe you go right to Dylan, and he closes it out four innings if he can…Then Saturday, maybe you go right to Will and let him go as long as he can. Then Sunday you’ve got to get it done with Casey, Ben or Jacob.” – Rick Heller
“We’ve got a lot of options and we sit here and draw it out all the time, but at the end of the day, none of us really know what’s going to happen because you have to let the game play out.” – Rick Heller
rJr Duncan Davitt is one of the veterans in the group, appearing in 34 games over three seasons and it looks like he will be used in a bullpen capacity this season. Davitt was 5-2 last season with a 5.55 ERA and struck out 47, while walking just 19. While the strikeout/walk ratio is solid, allowing 48 hits in 48.2 innings is just not going to get the job done as a starting pitcher. He throws a fastball in the 88-90 mph range along with a slider and changeup. I could see Duncan in a long relief role this season because of his starting experience and he did have four outings of 5.0+ innings with one earned run or less last season.
Kirkwood transfer rSoph Luke Llewellyn posted a 3.93 ERA over 22 appearances with the Eagles and he struck out 129 batters over 87 innings of work. The issue for Luke is not hits, but walks. He allowed just 59 hits in 87 innings, but walked 77. Over the fall, Llewellyn struck out 13 batters over 8 innings, but allowed 10 hits and walked five. His fastball is in the 90-93 mph range and he uses a curveball as well.
“The big thing for him is going to be the strike zone. Can he throw enough strikes? When he throws strikes, he doesn’t get hit...Really big physical kid…Really unique. It’s really over the top (throwing motion). Really something we don’t have; it’s going to be a unique look.” – Marty Sutherland
Missouri transfer rJr Jared Simpson is someone that the coaching staff is trying to get back to his earlier college form. As a freshman at Iowa Western in 2019, Simpson was brilliant in 13 starts. He posted a 7-1 record and a 2.33 ERA, while striking out 68 batters over 54 innings of work. After his sophomore year he decided to transfer and the coaching staff tried to bring him in, but ultimately Jared went to Missouri, where he struggled mightily. He appeared in just six games and posted a 22.95 ERA, but assistant Marty Sutherland thinks they can get him closer to his early college form.
“At Mizzou he just looked like he was searching. Little bit erratic with command, he got hit…I think you’ll see some flashes every once in a while, that are pretty good. I think you’ll see some flashes where he is a little erratic.” – Marty Sutherland
That’s about how it was in the fall for Simpson. The velocity is back into the 91-93 mph range, while he also has a slider and changeup. Will be interesting to see if working with pitching coach Robin Lund over the offseason will help Simpson this season.
rFr Keaton Anthony could see time at DH, as well as the outfield, but he is also an option on the mound out of the bullpen. During Anthony’s early fall outings, he allowed some hits, but his last four appearances were very good. He struck out six and allowed just two baserunners over four innings. His fastball is in the 89-93 mph range, while also using a curveball, slider and changeup. If Keaton can pitch like he did late in the fall he could potentially be a weekend bullpen option.
Fr Chas Wheatley and Fr Weston Fulk are the other two freshman that join the pitching staff this season. Outside of one bad scrimmage outing, Wheatley struck out seven, while allowing seven base runners and one run over 6.1 innings. His fastball was up and down in the 87-91 mph range, while he also has a low 80s changeup and a slider.
Fulk only saw a couple of outings in the fall, but was a good pitcher at Ankeny as a senior last season. He posted a 2.42 ERA, while striking out 79 and limiting hitters to a .128 batting average over 43.1 innings pitched. He has a high 80s fastball and a pretty good curveball.
Soph Tyson James (FB 90-93 SL CH) and rSr Ben Beutel (FB 85-88 SL CH) both return from last season’s squad and will likely be midweek bullpen options. Last season, the two combined for just 15.1 innings pitched. Tyson posted a 4.50 ERA over 6 innings pitched, while striking out eight and walking seven. James fastball is in the 90-93 mph range, while has also has a slider and changeup. Beutel struggled in 9.1 innings last season, allowing 11 earned runs on 16 hits. His fastball is in the mid 80s (85-88) to go along with a slider, curveball and changeup.
Soph Jackson Payne appeared in five games last season, but missed the last couple months of last season to undergo knee surgery and Tommy John surgery. He will miss the entire season as he rehabs.
Every weekend, the bullpen will get some help from 2-3 guys who do not make the weekend rotation and that should keep the group of arms fresh. The big strength of the group is having four, potentially five options that you feel comfortable with in late game situations. It will be really interesting to see how the coaching staff utilizes Nedved, Christophersen, DeTaeye, Day and Henderson in the later innings. On the other hand, guys like Llewellyn, Anthony, Davitt, Simpson and Wheatley will likely be asked to throw in both weekend and midweek roles. The first month of the season will give the staff a chance to fit pitchers into certain roles, as they get time to work on the mound.
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