2019 Privateer Baseball Preview Series-Starters

Senior, Brayson Smith had several strong performances in the Privateers' rotation down the stretch in 2018. This year, he will be looked at as a potential anchor to a rotation that will look mostly new after losing Bryan Warzek and Kyle Arjona who signed with the Dodgers and Phillies respectively.
 
Smith had three straight quality starts from Apr. 27-May 11. In that same stretch, he had 15 strikeouts to just four walks. Last season, Smith threw 53 innings in 15 appearances (10 starts) and collected 52 strikeouts while pitching to a 4.58 ERA.
 
"We need Brayson to do what he did the last five starts," said Coach Blake Dean. "Without Warzek and Arjona, those are some big shoes to fill. We just need Brayson to be consistent. He knows what to expect and he usually has good fastball command. He just has to get the curve working, throw strikes, and keep the tempo up."
 
Christopher DeMayo also returns as well after mostly pitching out of the pen in 2018. DeMayo had 20 appearances and two starts. The southpaw had 37 strikeouts in 27.2 innings of work for the Privateers' pitching staff. The Florida native has gone back and forth between being a starter and a reliever in his two years on the Lakefront.
 
"Chris figured out some stuff over the summer and has come back with a different mentality," Dean said. "I've been impressed and we need him to be a guy who can execute in a starting role. He's got the stuff to do it and it adds diversity to our rotation having another lefty in."
 
Three new faces are also projected to be in the rotation whether it be in weekend or mid-week duty. Brandon Mitchell who was dominant on the mound for Elsik High School. He struck out 101 batters in 54.1 innings last year. He also won first team all-district honors.
 
Steven Swift also comes to the Privateers from Texas and is one of six players on the roster from the Lone Star State. The Aledo native was first team all-district and a two-year letter winner at Aledo High School.
 
Chris Turpin prepped at Holy Cross and went to Delgado before transferring to the Privateers. Last year, Turpin pitched 54.0 innings as the Dolphins went to the Junior College World Series. He also earned AllState Player of the Month in August 2017.
 
"My hope is that Mitchell and Swift can be the Semple and Warzek of the future," said Dean. "I think Swift is ready to pitch now. He's a three to four pitch mix and can change speeds. He's going to help us in multiple capacities. Mitchell, I think is adjusting to the rigors of the collegiate schedule. In the fall he was a bit behind, but he's come back and worked hard. Turpin is a great personality. He's a guy who is even keel and pounds the strike zone. He's more of a sinker/splitter type pitcher. I think he'll do a really good job for us."
 
As mentioned during the relievers profile, Reeves Martin and potentially John Barr have provided starters' type innings out of the bullpen and potentially could be used in both roles in 2019. Martin has started six games in his two previous seasons with the Privateers. All 30 of Barr's appearances came out of the pen but he went at least four innings on six occasions.
 
"Reeves is a guy that our players rally behind and he has a great mentality," said Dean. "At the same time, as a staff it's something we need to evaluate whether to use him in a starting or closer's role. As Coach Rudy (Darrow) says, when those guys come in the pulse rate goes down. If we want to use either Reeves or Barr in a starting capacity, one of our guys has to step up and be the guy to come in and finish games at the end."

Here are all the articles from our 2019 Preview Series. The season begins in two weeks when the Privateers host Michigan State.

Catchers
Infielders
Outfielders
Relievers
 
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