Tanner Witt to return to Texas for the 2024 season
Texas right-hander Tanner Witt has decided to return to the Longhorn baseball program for the 2024 campaign.
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The Baltimore Orioles selected Witt in the 18th round of the 2023 draft, but he elected to return to Texas for one more season.
Witt’s 2024 will be his fourth year in Austin. He was a member of Texas’ starting rotation in early 2022 before needing Tommy John surgery to repair a ligament in his throwing arm. He returned in 2023 on a pitch count in every outing and did not hold the same effectiveness as in 2021 and 2022. Witt will be counted on to be one of the key pieces of the Texas pitching staff for David Pierce in 2024 in an important campaign for his professional future. His presence on the roster serves as a huge boost for the 2024 team.
Witt made six appearances in 2023. He was 2-1 with a 10.97 ERA in 10.2 innings, struggling to balance the process of rehabilitation with appearing in meaningful games for the Longhorns. Witt never threw more than 44 pitches this past season, but was featured in important contests like the regional-clinching win over Miami and the the Game 3 loss to Stanford in the super regional.
He made two appearances during the 2022 campaign before his surgery, going 2-0 with a 1.64 ERA in 11.0 innings. Witt was a major contributor on the 2021 team that made a deep run in Omaha, coming out of the bullpen 28 times. He was 5-0 with a 3.16 ERA with five saves. He allowed 40 hits, issued 25 walks, and let 22 runs score in 57.0 innings. Opponents batted just .194 against him.
Witt was ranked as the No. 76 prospect in the 2023 draft by MLB.com. He was issued a 60 grade (on a 20-80 scale) for his fastball and curveball, a 55 grade for his slider and changeup, and a 50 grade for his control and overall score.
