FAYETTEVILLE — Figuring out a starting rotation was already among Dave Van Horn’s top priorities, but Peyton Pallette’s injury has placed a greater importance on the next few weeks of practices.
With the season opener against Illinois State quickly approaching, Arkansas’ veteran coach will use the next three weeks of scrimmages to finalize which pitchers will start on Opening Weekend.
Even with Pallette, the projected ace and possible first-round pick, going down with a UCL injury that requires Tommy John surgery, the Razorbacks have several options for their rotation.
“There’s about five or six guys that are going to be battling to get on the mound as a starter,” Van Horn said. “We have a lot of good arms. We just have to figure out how to use them.”
Based on what Van Horn said during the fall, the most likely candidate to step into the role of staff ace is senior right-hander Connor Noland.
While he may not have the same kind of arm as others on the team, Noland is an experienced starter who has pitched in big games - including in the 2019 College World Series - and was even the Friday night guy in 2020 before the pandemic hit.
He’s coming off a tough season in which he posted a 6.91 ERA, but he missed a large chunk of the year with an injury and was never really 100 percent healthy. This offseason, though, Noland has worked hard and Van Horn has said numerous times that he looks better than ever.
