Iowa Baseball Season Preview - Bullpen

Over the offseason, Rick Heller and his staff have had to navigate the process of retooling the Iowa bullpen. Ben Beutel and Dylan Nedved are the biggest losses for the group. Beutel appeared in 29 games and posted a 1.47 ERA, including 41 strikeouts to just six walks, while Dylan Nedved was the do-it-all guy for the pitching staff. Add in Duncan Davitt and Connor Schultz and that’s 65 appearances out of the bullpen that depart coming into this season.

“It’s been a challenge…we’re hoping that one of the back end guys steps up and can make that kind of improvement that Ben was able to make last year,” said Rick Heller. “The only thing we lack is experience. We feel like we have the talent and we feel like we have the depth to have a quality pitching staff.”

THE RETURNING NAMES

Maybe the most important arm in the Iowa bullpen is junior Will Christophersen. Will dealt with some injuries throughout last season, but when he is healthy and throwing at his best, he is the best arm in the Iowa bullpen. He was #5 on our list of most important players on team.

“He’s definitely one of those guys that we need to click and when you have one of the best sliders on the planet, we need Will to be in a good place,” said Heller. “He’s been a different guy the whole offseason. His focus has been there. He’s worked hard on his body, he’s worked hard with his flexibility, so that he can stay healthy this year.”

Last season, Will appeared in 13 games with a 5.52 ERA, but had an impressive 25 strikeouts to six walks in just 14.2 innings. He showed how good he can be in the Big Ten Tournament when he went 2.1 innings with five strikeouts to close out a win against Purdue in an elimination game.

“He definitely could (fill the Nedved role). Being able to bounce back and throw twice on a weekend is another thing that we’ve worked really hard with Will on.”

Jacob Henderson returns after appearing in 21 games last season. He posted a 3.55 ERA with 18 strikeouts to four walks in 12.2 innings, but allowed 20 hits. Rick Heller said the hope is that Henderson can make a jump this season and step into a role that is similar to what Ben Beutel had last season.

“It’s just if he can pound the strike zone, regardless of where his velo is, but if the velo is up a tick like it has been, that makes him a lot tougher. With his arm angle, if he can stay in that, 88 mph range and not drop down to 84, he’s a different guy,” said Heller. “I don’t have any concerns putting him out there. Hopefully, we can get a more consistent Jacob Henderson to bail us out of some jams.”

Another guy looking to have a bigger role this year is junior Luke Llewellyn. He transferred in from Kirkwood CC last season and was expected to be a reliable arm in the backend of the Iowa bullpen. Instead, he pitched in just 14 games, due in large part to the fact that he walked at least one batter 11 of his 14 appearances. Heller mentioned that Llewellyn has made big strides over the offseason.

“He’s another guy that’s a 180 from where he was this time last year with his confidence and belief in himself,” said Heller. “He and Sean (McGrath) have really clicked. Sean helped him with another pitch other than his fastball that he has a lot of confidence in that he can throw for strikes.”

“He’s in great shape right now and he wants the ball. We had a great meeting last week and Luke wants the ball every chance I can give it to him. That’s a great feeling when a guy’s telling you that.”

Wrapping up the returning arms is sophomore Chas Wheatley. He appeared in nine games last season and posted a 4.35 ERA over 10.1 innings as a true freshman. The role for him this year is likely during the midweek games, which is still an important spot given that any losses there can hurt your NCAA Tournament chances.

THE “WILDCARDS”

Arguably the two most important arms on the pitching staff, Marcus Morgan and Brody Brecht were called the “wildcards” by Rick Heller. They came to Iowa City as highly touted freshman and were expected to be immediate contributors.

“Last year, I was trying to live up to the hype and trying to meet everybody’s expectations,” said Brecht. “I kind of lost track of how I wanted to do things and for this year, I’m just trying to be the best me.”

Brody appeared in 17 games with a 3.18 ERA over 22.2 innings. He had 44 strikeouts, but 25 walks and 13 hits got him in trouble more often than not. His best outing was six strikeouts in 2.0 innings against Bradley, but he allowed two walks and a hit in 0.1 innings in his only start against Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament.

“After Michigan last year, I realized I didn’t ever want to feel that feeling again. Feeling like I let my team down,” said Brecht. “Marcus went through something similar. We’ve gone from being really dominant in high school to having a lot of ups and downs last year. We’ve been a shoulder for each other to lean on and we’ve definitely bonded over that.”

Marcus Morgan struggled to control his pitches and posted a 2.48 WHIP over 15.1 innings. He appeared in just ten games, but has made big strides mentally and on the mound this offseason.

“I feel really good about Marcus being able to have a key role. Done a 180 in a lot of areas and I think his mindset is in a way better place right now. The thing I’ve noticed about Brody is that he’s just in way more control of himself.” said Heller. “We need to find a way to be able to use those guys in key leverage situations. If we’re going to be the best version of the 2023 Iowa Hawkeyes, those two need to have a key role.”

If Brody Brecht and Marcus Morgan can be reliable contributors this season, the ceiling for the Iowa pitching staff raises a considerable amount. Right now, it seems the coaching staff feels like they have the ability to do that.

THE NEWCOMERS

Leading the group of newcomers to the bullpen is a pair of guys from schools you probably haven’t heard of. Despite that, Jack Whitlock and Jack Young have the potential to carve out important roles with the pitching staff. Whitlock transfers in from Hutchinson CC, the same school that Dylan Nedved started at, and had a successful season last year for the Blue Dragons.

“He’s not a prototypical stuff guy, but he’s a winner. At his JUCO, they threw him in all the big games. It’s going to be a little different role for Jack coming out of the bullpen when he’s primarily a starter, but I think he’ll handle it fine,” said Heller. “He’s got the toughness and the mentality to go in and get you some outs. I wouldn’t have any question putting him in a tough situation.”

Whitlock started 15 games for Hutchinson and finished with an 8-3 record, including a 4.15 ERA. He had 44 strikeouts to 22 walks in 78.0 innings and while he allowed 82 hits, opponents got an extra base hit just 19.5% of the time.

Jack Young transfers in from Parkland College in Champaign, Illinois and really impressed with what he did during the fall. In three appeances, Young went 4.1 scoreless innings, allowing just one hit, while striking out nine and walking just one.

“He impressed me,” said Heller back in October. “He came in advertised as the guy that was going to pound the zone, throw a good breaking ball. Be at 90 mph or right around there and that was pretty much exactly what we saw. There was no fear. I really liked his confidence.”

“A guy that had a really good fall and kind of falls into the same mentality as Whitlock. They’re both winners. They both have a lot of confidence in themselves. Those two guys kind of fit that Grant Leonard type mold with their mentality and toughness.”

Nick Gotilla started his career at Central Florida, before transferring to State College of Florida for the last two seasons. The Davenport, Iowa native found his way back to Iowa after going 9-4 with a 4.99 ERA last season for the Manatees. He struck out 63 over 66.2 innings, which is good for 8.50 K/9.

Cade Obermueller was a late riser at Iowa City High and finished his senior year with the Little Hawks with the potential to get drafted. His numbers were eye popping. 7-1 record, with a 1.11 ERA and 0.89 WHIP, including 103 strikeouts in just 50.1 innings. He has the talent to be to a help to the pitching staff right away, but it is a matter of coming in and handling some of the same things that hurt Marcus and Brody last season.

“His stuff is as good as anybody on our staff, but it’s going to be consistency with the strike zone and where he’s going to be with that. I feel like Cade has really improved since the fall,” said Heller. “He’s made some nice adjustments and he’s pounding the zone at a way higher percentage. Finding a spot to get him in, hopefully get his feet wet in situations where he can have success and get his confidence rolling.”

Winona State transfer Caleb Strack and true freshman Max Tramontana, Aaron Savary and Drew Proskovec round out the list of newcomers.

FINAL THOUGHT

The challenge early in the season will be trying to experiment with players in certain roles and try to start to fit puzzle pieces into the location that works best. A couple of the more experienced arms on the staff may get leaned by the coaching staff on early in the year, while things get worked out, but it also must be pointed out that a couple of names in the starting rotation conversation will join this group as the season begins. Potentially adding a Jared Simpson or a Keaton Anthony to this group will bolster things.

“As Michael Jordan would say, ‘the ceiling is the roof’,” said pitching coach Sean McGrath. “Ton of talent, a ton of raw stuff on the staff…talking about how to construct and manage your bullpen has been really tremendous for both of us. Coach Heller has done this for a long time and he’s won a lot of games, so there’s tons of value to how he does things.”

UP NEXT, we look ahead to the opening weekend of the season with our Snowbird Classic preview.