Jim Schlossnagle: What to know about Texas baseball coach
Four things to know about Texas baseball coach Jim Schlossnagle
No Texas baseball loss disappointed Longhorns coach Jim Schlossnagle more than the one UT suffered against Florida on Sunday, he said.
It’s fitting that it began with a free pass ‒ the pinnacle of Schlossnagle’s pet peeves.
Texas starter Jason Flores plunked the first Gator to step into the batter’s box at UFCU Disch-Falk field ‒ one of four free passes he issued in 2⅓ innings of work. Two of them came around to score in a 4-1 Florida victory that won the series for the Gators and denied the Longhorns a chance to celebrate a share of the regular-season SEC title on home turf.
The Longhorn offense spent nine innings in a stupor, managing only four measly singles. But Schlossnagle said Texas’ “challenge” over the next week will be to streamline its pitching staff.
“We got to figure out who the five, six or seven best pitchers are, got to get them in the right spots to give us a chance to win ball games and advance our season,” Schlossnagle said.
The Sunday starter job, in particular, looks to be up for grabs. Since Jared Spencer’s season-ending injury prompted Schlossnagle to move Ruger Riojas from Sundays to Fridays, Flores has twice taken the ball in the Sunday role. Both times, he’s failed to get through the third inning.
Walks and hit batsmen derailed both of those outings. Schlossnagle and pitching coach Max Weiner value strike throwing above anything else, and 60% of Flores’ walks on the season have come during the 3⅓ innings he’s pitched as a weekend starter. The rest of his 29 innings have been squeaky clean, with just four walks.
“He’s a young pitcher who’s got a chance to be really good for us,” Schlossnagle said postgame. “We had a guy at (Texas) A&M named Chris Cortez who was very similar at the same stage and ended up being a superstar on a team that played for a national title and a second-round pick and will probably pitch in the big leagues. Jason’s going to be fine.”
Schlossnagle also tried out Max Grubbs in the Sunday role last weekend against Arkansas. He allowed four earned runs by the time he exited that start ‒ his first this season after starting 12 games last year ‒ in the fourth inning.
Flores and Grubbs both remain under consideration, Schlossnagle said. It’s an important job; in a regional format, the Sunday arm could end up starting a regional final if the Longhorns get out to a 2-0 start.
“It’s just about figuring out who’s going to start a game for us that’s going to give us a better chance,” Schlossnagle said. “It could be Flores, but it could be some other guys. We’ve had a good season, so it gives us some wiggle room to try a few things before we get to NCAA Tournament play.”
Schlossnagle touted Thomas Burns (4.58 ERA), Grayson Saunier (3.57 ERA) and Ethan Walker (3.86 ERA) as other candidates to start postseason games.
What he’s not considering is changing the front line of his rotation, even though Riojas has given up 15 earned runs in his last four innings of work.
“Ruger’s going to be fine pitching right where he is,” Schlossnagle said.
Reach Texas Insider David Eckert via email at deckert@gannett.com. Follow the American-Statesman on Facebook and X for more. Your subscription makes work like this possible. Access all of our best content with this tremendous offer.