Peyton Fowler ready to compete inside the SEC

Just one month after Peyton Fowler landed a major opportunity with Mississippi State, he wasn’t so sure about his future.

The Meridian Community College pitcher got an offer from pitching coach Justin Parker in the middle of the season, but head coach Chris Lemonis was fired in April and that created uncertainty. While Parker did an admirable job and took the Diamond Dawgs to postseason, there was no guarantee that the new coach would keep him on staff.

Brian O’Connor would be the choice and Parker would soon be named his pitching coach. Fowler then began to look towards his future with State from there.

“Whenever Lemonis got fired, the coaching staff sent us all a text and told us they’d keep us in the loop. I reached out to coach Parker, and he told me he’d let me know and then, boom, coach O’Connor was hired,” Fowler said. “Coach Parker texted me a week after and told me that he was staying and that was huge for me. I don’t think we could have hired a better coach than coach O’Connor and I’ve talked to coach (Kevin) McMullan and coach (Matt) Kirby and those guys are great as well.”

Visit to Starkville amazes talented pitcher

After the first wave of roster management was taken care of by O’Connor and the staff, they brought in high school and junior college commitments to get a firsthand look at the new staff. Fowler was blown away with his future coach.

On top of that, it was a chance for him to see Starkville and Dudy Noble Field. It reaffirmed his feelings about the place.

“I got a chance to meet coach O’Connor and it was awesome. He’s a really good dude and a really good person. He told me he liked my competitiveness,” Fowler said. “The visit was just surreal. We had a chance to eat on top of the Lofts which was an amazing view. The visit was just great and it felt more real because we’re so close to the time we’re on campus. I was so impressed with how kind and genuine the whole staff was.”

Parker identified Fowler and saw a player that had a needle pointing directly up in his development. After playing his high school baseball at Germantown, Fowler slipped under the radar and went to Meridian Community College.

Last season, Fowler pitched in 19 games and 24.1 innings and had an ERA at 7.03 with 30 walks and 29 strikeouts. Those numbers drastically changed his sophomore year. The 6’3, 190-pound RHP jumped into the starting rotation and had nine starts and 15 appearances. His ERA dropped to 4.63 with 68.0 innings and he surrendered 34 walks while striking out 87 batters.

Parker pulled a trigger on the offer and the two have been building a relationship since.

“When we were on our visit, I told him that if he gave me a ball, jersey and a glove we could get to work right then,” Fowler said of Parker. “He’s so easy to talk to and we talked basically the whole time. It’s huge to keep him in the program. You see the numbers before he got there and where they are now and he does a really good job. That’s someone that I want to work with.”

Fowler’s “stuff” is beginning to round into form. He has a fastball sitting 93-95 mph and touching 97 as a sophomore and it played well up in the zone. Next up is developing his secondary pitches more and that begins with his curveball. The slider has been sharp for him as well if he needs to turn to a breaking ball pitch for a strikeout.

Parker had him take a month off after his season following a year where he threw over 1,500 pitches. He plans to ramp up a throwing program this week as he prepares to arrive in Starkville on July 6. He’s ready to get his college career underway.

“I went to a couple of workouts after our season ended but I talked to an advisor a couple of weeks ago and we both came to the conclusion that it’s best to go compete in the SEC,” Fowler said of the Draft. “Between the ears is a big part for me. I’m going to have to be able to keep my cool in big moments. I feel like I have the competitiveness, so I have to realize that I’m good enough to be there. Coach Parker will take care of that.

“I think it’s going to be a really gritty team. You’re going to have guys that can come in and make pitches in big spots. We’ve got Tomas Valincius, Ryan McPherson and Ben Davis on the staff and they are really good so having that experience is big. I like the young guys a lot like Maddox Miller. We’re excited about what’s to come.”