Josh Elander told the media last week that Tennessee baseball had questions that it needed to answer at the SEC Tournament in Hoover. Those questions pertained to their pitching staff as the Vols searched for more reliable pieces in their bullpen.
After dropping their last two series finales with Landon Mack sidelined due to arm soreness, Tennessee’s lack of pitching depth was exposed ahead of the postseason.
One encouraging bullpen piece is emerging as of late with freshman Will Haas throwing the ball well with his increased opportunities. That was especially the case at the SEC Tournament when Haas struck out six batters and allowed just one hit in 2.1 innings pitched in Tennessee’s tournament opening win over South Carolina.
Is Haas emerging as a bullpen piece Tennessee baseball can trust?
“One-hundred percent,” Tennessee head coach Josh Elander said. “I think just the mentality that he brings, he’s a really tough kid and he loves to get out there and compete. And the stuff is getting better and better.
“I believe he hit 96 (mph) tonight for the first time since post surgery. The guy who’s going to compete objectively. It’s really good stuff. It’s a unique slot that’s hard to prepare for. He has three pitches”
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Haas’ outing against South Carolina wasn’t the first signs of progress from the left-handed pitcher. He made two appearances the weekend before against Oklahoma, allowing one run in 2.1 innings pitched. The week before, Texas totaled one earned run in 1.1 innings pitched.
With increased opportunity since Mack’s injury, Haas has allowed two earned runs in six innings pitched (3.00 ERA) while posting a 40.7% strikeout rate. It’s an extremely small sample size, but he’s taken advantage of his increased opportunity as much as anyone.
Zooming out, it’s not a shocking emergence from Haas. He was a high-level recruit out of Minnesota but missed the entire fall and preseason due to injury. Haas made his college debut on March 4 and has slowly earned more opportunities.
“In high school he was 93, 96 and won a lot of big games,” Elander said. “I’m pretty sure he was a state champion his last year. He was a big part of that. So he likes the big moment. But the stuff is starting to catch back up and carry and be a little bit more consistent throughout his outings.”
Tennessee needs Haas high school postseason success to carry over to college. The Vols are thin on bullpen options behind Brandon Arvidson, Cam Appenzeller and Bo Rhudy. Haas is emerging as their next best choice.
