FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas right-hander Zach Jackson, an All-SEC reliever and Team USA's closer this summer, will get a chance to start for the Razorbacks next season, Coach Dave Van Horn said Thursday.
Whether Jackson, who will be a junior, is a starter when the 2016 season opens likely will depend more on the quantity of his pitches than the quality.
"He's a big leaguer," Missouri State Keith Guttin said after Jackson retired 11 consecutive batters to end the Razorbacks' 3-2 NCAA Super Regional victory over the Bears that advanced Arkansas to the College World Series. "He's got a breaking ball that very few people on Earth can hit."
Jackson also throws a fastball in the mid-90s and has a good changeup, but sometimes he struggles with control. In 60 innings this season he had 89 strikeouts but 38 walks while going 5-1 with 9 saves and a 2.10 earned run average.
"The key is we don't want him to be at 100 pitches after five innings," Van Horn said. "If you do that two and three times and just keep doing it, it gets into the bullpen too much.
"He's got to conserve some pitches, and he's got to locate his fastball. If he does that, he'll be a starter."
In the Razorbacks' 10-7 victory at Auburn, Jackson threw more than 50 pitches in one inning and finished with 77 in three innings. He threw 51 pitches in two innings against Oklahoma State in the Stillwater Regional.
There were postseason games in which Jackson was more efficient with 12 pitches in one inning against Tennessee in the SEC Tournament, 14 in one inning against St. John's in the Stillwater Regional and 23 in 1 2/3 innings against Virginia in the College World Series.
"He did a lot better the last month for sure," Van Horn said. " It's like anybody else. He's got to work on things. He's got to work on his fielding. He's got to work on his pickoff move. Just things you harp on and harp on.
"He's a great kid, a smart kid, and very talented. If he can make one more jump, he'll be one of the top pitchers in the country."
Wait and see
Arkansas signee Jacob Schlesener, a left-handed pitcher from Rogersville (Mo.) High School, was a 12th-round draft pick by the St. Louis Cardinals, raising the question of whether he'll make it to campus in the fall.
"They're going to offer him a lot more than 12th-round money," Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said. "We'll just have to ride it out."
Van Horn said he thinks "it's 50-50 at the very best" Schlesener turns down an offer from St. Louis.
Schlesener told the Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader it had been his lifetime dream to be drafted and that "being a Missouri boy makes it that much sweeter" to be picked by the Cardinals. He has until July 17 to sign with St. Louis or declare his intent to honor his national letter of intent with Arkansas according to Major League Baseball rules.
Schlesener told the News-Leader he's "not 100 percent sure on anything yet."
Tough debut
Luke Bonfield was rated as the 57th recruit nationally last season by Perfect Game, a website devoted to scouting high school and college players, but had a disappointing freshman season for Arkansas.
Bonfield missed most of fall practice after breaking an ankle. After undergoing surgery, he played in 28 games this season, mostly as a designated hitter, and batted .177 with 7 RBI in 62 at-bats.
"He's disappointed he didn't have a good season and really didn't contribute that much," Coach Dave Van Horn said. "I think he'll be on a mission to be a lot better player and more prepared."
Van Horn said the injury he suffered, in the first or second practice in the fall, was devastating for Bonfield because he needed to learn to play the game a little bit more than just swinging the bat.
"When he missed 45 days of practice outside and all the work that we did inside, it really threw him behind," Van Horn said. "He was just dependent on the bat, and the bat didn't happen early and then he pressed."
Van Horn said Bonfield, an outfielder, will play in the Cape Cod League this summer.
"He's going to face some great pitching," Van Horn said. "Then hopefully he'll get ready to do a 360 and be a guy that we can depend on next year."
Taccolini update
Coach Dave Van Horn is hopeful pitcher Dominic Taccolini, who missed all of the NCAA Tournament because of complications resulting from arm tendinitis, will play next season.
"He's got to see another specialist or two and I think he's going to have to have some surgery," Van Horn said. "We feel like he'll be ready to start playing catch again in the fall and be ready to pitch by the spring."
Van Horn has declined to be specific about Taccolini's medical condition because of federal laws protecting an individual's privacy, but Taccolini was hospitalized in Oklahoma City when the Razorbacks played in the Stillwater Regional.
As a sophomore Taccolini was 6-4 and had 2 saves with a 4.32 ERA in 77 innings 17 games, including 13 starts and 4 relief appearances.
Alberius a pitcher now
Josh Alberius was converted from being an infielder to a pitch in late September. The sophomore from Little Rock Christian was 1-2 with a 3.77 ERA in 33 innings.
"He got better as the year went on, and now he sees himself as a pitcher," Coach Dave Van Horn said. "He's excited about next year.
"He's a kid that throws 87 to 90, and he's got a good breaking ball. He's really starting to develop, and I like him because he fields his position well. I don't feel like he's intimidated one bit. I really like his approach on the mound."
Two gone
Blake Wiggins, an infielder from Pulaski Academy who played in three games this season as a freshman, has left the program, Coach Dave Van Horn confirmed.
Van Horn said Wiggins likely will qualify for a medical redshirt because of a hairline fracture in his foot that caused him to fall behind on the depth chart.
It was Wiggins' decision to leave Arkansas, Van Horn said, and transfer somewhere he'll have a chance for more playing time.
Freshman pitcher Jonah Patten is also leaving. He had a 7.90 ERA and hit 5 batters in 13 2/3 innings.
"He's going to go to junior college and try to learn how to pitch a little bit," Van Horn said. "He's got a good arm, but you've got to have a lot of intangibles and he's lacking some of those. So best of luck to him."
Sports on 06/19/2015