Razorbacks baseball opens the season four weeks from today, but the young man expected to throw the first pitch won’t be there. Peyton Pallette will miss the 2022 season thanks to a UCL injury that will reportedly require Tommy John surgery. That leaves the Omahogs without a clear Number One starter.
Recent history suggests they will adjust, and at least one pitcher will emerge. And it’s as likely as not that it will be a kid who isn’t grabbing many headlines this winter.
Matt Jones at WholeHogSports dives deep into how the Razorbacks have replaced valuable starters and relievers over the past few years. Pitching coach Matt Hobbs knows a thing or two about rebuilding a staff. And most observers believe the talent on the Arkansas pitching staff is at or near an all time high.
As Jones points out, this team is far more than one pitcher.
What Pallette’s injury doesn’t change is the perceived strength of this year’s Razorbacks, the lineup. What it lacks in experienced pitching, Arkansas has in position veterans like Robert Moore, Brady Slavens, Jalen Battles, Cayden Wallace, Braydon Webb and Zack Gregory.
The 2021 Razorbacks had a special run. Expecting them to repeat that in 2022 only sets fans up for disappointment. But the one thing that team did not do is certainly attainable for this year’s team: getting back to the College World Series.