Mack Anglin had a decision to make over the summer. To hear him tell it, though, it wasn’t much of one.
A draft-eligible freshman, Anglin was selected in the 13th round of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by the Washington Nationals, who took the Clemson right-hander with the 383rd overall pick. Anglin prayed about his decision, but “deep down I knew I wanted to come back,” he said.
So while last year’s draft claimed some other key Clemson underclassmen – shortstop James Parker signed with the Seattle Mariners while left-hander Keyshawn Askew inked with the New York Mets after being selected in the first 10 rounds – the team held on to the arm it’s counting on to anchor its weekend rotation this season, which Clemson is set to begin with a three-game home series against Indiana beginning Feb. 18.
“It was honestly the second-best decision of my life with the first one being coming here,” Anglin said. “Just being able to spend another year with these guys. This is one of the closest teams I’ve ever had. It’s been a blast, and we’re ready to get going.”
That was part of the reason why returning for a third season in college was such an easy decision for Anglin. But the 6-foot-4, 220-pound sophomore also wants to further boost his stock for a future that seems destined for professional baseball.
Anglin began his career at Clemson primarily as a weekday starter during a 2020 season that was cut short because of the coronavirus pandemic. He moved into the weekend rotation for the first time last spring as a redshirt freshman, proving to be one of the more steady arms on the roster during a season in which injuries and inconsistency plagued the Tigers’ pitching staff.
Eight of Anglin’s 13 appearances were starts, and he finished the season with just a 2-6 record. But his 3.99 earned run average was tops among anyone who made at least five starts for Clemson last season. He limited opposing hitters to a .227 average and racked up 75 strikeouts.
As he prepares to be Clemson’s full-time Friday night starter, though, Anglin said he’s focused on improving his command, which was an issue at times a season ago. Anglin issued 33 walks in 56 ⅓ innings. To put that in perspective, Askew, who tossed a team-high 57 innings, walked just 11 batters.
Anglin also allowed 12 extra-base hits, including six home runs. As a result, Anglin said he’s worked on honing the feel for his fastball so that he can throw it more often and work ahead in the count. Not only would that help keep hitters guessing later in the at-bat, but fewer pitches would also allow Anglin to work deeper into games.
“Really it was the idea that the fastball is your tool pitch,” Anglin said. “That’s the way you can get ahead in the count, and if you can get ahead in the count with just your fastball, then you have the whole arsenal left to go. Whether that’s the curveball, changeup or slider, it was kind of just the idea of working more efficiently, which would lead to working deeper into games.”
The strategy worked over the summer in the Cape Cod League, where Anglin was the Wareham Gatemen’s top pitcher in limited action. He threw 12 ⅔ innings in three starts for the team without allowing an earned run. Anglin recorded 16 strikeouts while walking just three.
“Me and the coaching staff, that’s kind of the plan we laid, and we felt like we executed it pretty well,” Anglin said.
Now Anglin is turning his attention toward a season he enters as one of the Tigers’ undisputed leaders on and off the mound. Clemson coach Monte Lee said Anglin, Geoffrey Gilbert and Jackson Linley were voted to the team’s leadership council among the pitchers, who collectively posted a 5.00 ERA last season.
That played into Clemson’s 25-27 showing last spring, the Tigers’ first losing season in more than six decades. Anglin said he and his teammates are putting it on themselves to get things turned around in what could be his final season in a Clemson uniform.
“On the pitching side of things, it’s holding all your guys to a standard, which luckily we have a great group of guys,” Anglin said. “There hasn’t been a whole ton of policing. It’s all of us holding each other accountable, and we set a standard among each other.”
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