Clemson baseball coach Monte Lee has settled on his pitching rotation for the Tigers’ opening series against Indiana this weekend.
As expected, sophomore right-hander Mack Anglin will get the ball in Clemson’s season opener Friday. Lee said fellow sophomores Nick Clayton and Nick Hoffman will start the final two games of the series Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
Anglin and Hoffman each threw more than 49 innings last season, the most among Clemson’s returning pitchers. Clayton, who primarily threw in relief a season ago, pitched 37 ⅔ innings as a freshman. Their experience is a big reason for being part of the rotation, which has to replace New York Mets draft pick Keyshawn Askew.
“We feel like, going into Week 1, we wanted guys with stripes on their sleeves to go out there and start for us,” Lee said Tuesday. “Feel like those are the best three guys for those spots.”
Anglin is entering his third and possibly final season with the Tigers as the presumed ace of the weekend rotation. He posted a 3.99 earned run average a season ago while making the second-most starts on the team (8), allowing 48 hits while striking out 75 and walking 33 in 13 total appearances.
Clayton is vying for a permanent spot in the rotation after making all but one of his 18 appearances out of the bullpen last season. The 6-foot-5, 215-pounder recorded 40 strikeouts and walked 12 last season. Clayton posted a 4.30 ERA while allowing opponents to hit .241 against him, but Lee said the tall right-hander has been Clemson’s most consistent starter leading up to the season.
“He’s been very, very good in all of his starts in the preseason,” Lee said.
Hoffman recorded the lowest ERA of the trio (3.83) in 49 ⅓ innings last season, third-most among the pitching staff. The 6-2 right-hander did most of his work as one of Clemson’s most effective relievers (just four starts in 17 appearances), but Lee said Hoffman has earned the right to be the Tigers’ Sunday starter going into this season, particularly given how strong his command has been.
With 40 punchouts and just five walks issued, Hoffman posted a team-best 8-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio last season. One of his starts went the distance in a win over Boston College, making for the first complete game by a Clemson pitcher since 2017.
“Just look at his numbers,” Lee said. “He’s one of the best pure strike throwers in the league. His command is exceptional. He doesn’t walk anybody, and that’s a pretty calming presence to be able to run out there as a Sunday starter. You know he’s going to fill up the strike zone and pitch to contact and has the ability to get you deep into the game.”
Geoffrey Gilbert (2.23 ERA in 44 ⅓ innings) is another option to start at some point this season, but Lee said he wants to keep the sophomore left-hander coming out of the bullpen for now to give teams a different look. Gilbert allowed 43 hits and struck out 52 in a team-high 28 appearances last season, all in relief.
“We’ve developed Geoffrey as a starter with the mindset that Geoff could go out there and throw three to four innings out of the bullpen if needed,” Lee said. “So we’ve built him as a long reliever, sort of a piggyback option behind one of those starters, or to be able to use him multiple times over a weekend. That’s our plan.”
Friday’s opener is set for a 4 p.m. start at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. First pitch for Saturday is scheduled for 3 p.m. while Sunday’s series finale will begin at 1 p.m.
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