Happy game week. Tennessee baseball opens up its 2026 season Friday afternoon when it hosts Nicholls in a three-game series at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. It’s a new era for the Vols with Tony Vitello off to San Fransisco and Josh Elander stepping into the head coach position.
We previewed Tennessee’s position players Tuesday and we now turn to the pitching staff and what that could look like. Let’s dive into it.
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What I Think I Know
The Starting Rotation To Begin The Season
Elander shared Monday that Tegan Kuhns, Landon Mack and Evan Blanco will make up the starting rotation in that order to begin the season. All three bring a level of weekend starting pitching experience with Kuhns serving as Tennessee’s Sunday starter a season ago, Mack as Rutgers’ Friday starter and Blanco as a weekend starter at Virginia.
Kuhns and Mack are both high ceiling guys that could be future first round picks in the MLB Draft. Blanco is a bulldog who was one of Tennessee’s most effective pitchers in the fall and brings an abundance of experience.
The starting rotation could end up changing but this is how Tennessee will begin the season.
Brandon Arvidson Is The Best Pitcher On The Staff
This one is a bit more of a take. But I think Brandon Arvidson is the best pitcher on Tennessee’s roster. As a redshirt sophomore a season ago, Arvidson posted a 4.19 ERA in 38.2 innings pitched. But Arvidson was dominant late in the year once he limited his walk issue.
The left-handed pitcher followed it up with a strong offseason where he looked like he could be Tennessee’s Friday night starter. But left-arm soreness has limited Arvidson this preseason and could keep him off the mound this weekend.
We’ll see what Arvidson’s role ends up being, but he’s certainly a massive piece of Tennessee’s rotation.
Bo Rhudy Is Going To Be One Of The Most Used Bullpen Arms
Rhudy committed to Tennessee just a few days before the Vols left to face Arkansas in the super regionals. Combine that with the fact that Rhudy was a relief pitcher at Kennesaw State last season and he has gone a bit under the radar as a portal pickup.
But Rhudy was awesome in the fall and highly effective for the Owls last season. His fastball is not overpowering with velocity but extremely effective because of its movement. The right-handed pitcher is going to be one of Tennessee’s top bullpen arms.
There’s A Variety Of Looks In The Bullpen
Elander talked about this following fall practice, but Tennessee has a variety of looks in its bullpen. There’s a better mix of right-handed pitchers and left-handed pitchers then there’s been in recent seasons. Arvidson, Duke transfer Mark Hindy and true freshman Cameron Appenzeller all project as trusted pieces.
Rhudy has deceptiveness with the movement of his fastball. ETSU transfer Brady Frederick is a submarine pitcher. Sophomore Brayden Krenzel is a more traditional look with long relief potential.
My big question about the bullpen is about whether they have enough flamethrowers especially from the right-handed side. But I like this group and its variety of looks.
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Questions Entering The Season
Does Arvidson End Up Starting?
I think Arvidson is Tennessee’s best pitcher. The natural next question is does he end up as a weekend starter? The ball isn’t going to entirely be in his court because he’s not getting the first crack at it. But rarely does a starting rotation stay the same from the opening weekend of the season to the postseason.
If one of Tennessee’s three starters falters, Arvidson is the obvious choice to replace them. I don’t know who, but I predict one of the starters will face some degree of struggles and Arvidson will get a chance. Once he does, I do not expect him to give it back.
Can One Of Kuhns Or Mack Take A Step Forward?
Both Kuhns (5.40 ERA in 36.2 innings pitched) and Mack (4.03 ERA in 80.1 innings pitched) each flashed to different degrees as freshmen a season ago. Kuhns is looking to become a more steady starter after struggling to get deep in games a season ago. Mack is looking to adjust to the SEC compared to the Big 10.
Each have the potential to be high level SEC starters and ideally both take that step forward. But the Vols really just need one of the two to take that step and their starting rotation will be in a strong position. Combine one of Mack and Kuhns being a high-end starter with Blanco’s high ceiling and a bullpen that I’m high on then this pitching staff could be in business.
Does Tennessee Use Blaine Brown On The Mound?
Tennessee landed two-way player Blaine Brown out of the transfer portal this offseason. His bat shined all offseason and he will have a consistent every day spot in the lineup because of it. But what does his role on the mound look like?
Brown was extremely shaky there as a freshman at Rice and has been inconsistent as a pitcher since arriving at Tennessee. Because of that, I do not anticipate his role being a big one. However, Brown still throws in the upper-90s from the left-handed side. He could bring a bit of that pop that the bullpen could be lacking. I’m curious to see if he becomes an option on the mound once SEC play begins.
Do Any Young Guys Emerge?
There’s a number of young pitchers on this roster that will get opportunities. My expectation is for Appenzeller to carve out a weekend role. Will anyone else?
Sophomore Nic Abraham is one of four returning pitchers on the roster and was fantastic during Tennessee’s last scrimmage of the preseason. Freshmen Ethan Baiotto, Sawyer Deering, DJ McDowell and Chandler Day all flashed at times in the fall. Do any carve out a real role?
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Projected Rotation And Top Bullpen Arms
Game one: RHP Tegan Kuhns
Game two: RHP Landon Mack
Game three: LHP Evan Blanco
Top Bullpen Arms
LHP Brandon Arvidson
RHP Bo Rhudy
RHP Brayden Krenzel
LHP Cameron Appenzeller
LHP Mark Hindy
RHP Brady Frederick
