Needing good fortune in the worst way, Kentucky is making a big switch in its starting rotation ahead of its home series against No. 3 South Carolina this weekend.
On Friday night, the Wildcats will hand the ball off to redshirt freshman Travis Smith for his first career weekend start. The right-hander out of Walton, Ky. has made nine starts this season, all of which have come during the midweek.
The move from Tuesday to Friday comes following Smith's best start of the season on April 25 in a loss to Louisville, where he threw a career-high 5.0 innings, allowing one earned run on four hits. He struck out a career-high eight batters while walking just two on 76 pitches.
"He's just been getting better every week, and gave us a chance. I hated it that we couldn't get the win, especially for him because of the way he pitched ... this was his best outing, kept an offense a really good offense at bay,"UK head coach Nick Mingione said of Smith after the outing."I just can't say enough good things about Travis Smith tonight. I mean, that was electric stuff. That was some really high-end stuff, proud of him. He's worked really hard."
"From the get-go, just confidence and attacking hitters and just trusting myself. I trust my infielders and outfielders to get it done," Smith added of his performance.
Across his nine starts, Smith has thrown 31.1 innings and owns a 4.02 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. Opponents have struck out 29 times, walked 17 and are hitting .212. The solid numbers come following the righty's return from Tommy John surgery. He pitched 7.1 innings during the summer of 2022, but was yet to make his Wildcat debut.
Following the Louisville start, Mingione didn't commit to announcing any plan for Smith moving forward, as just one midweek game is left on the schedule:
"I've really just tried to focus on the right here and right now and not get too far down the road. For Travis, I gotta keep reminding myself he's a freshman. He's a redshirt freshman, you know? Our whole goal for him is to just keep learning and growing and improving, and he's done that."
"What happens with him moving forward? I don't know, but we're gonna keep him right there for now until something changes, and just want him to keep building. I want him to build off of this."
Smith echoed that, saying "I just listen to Coach Mingione and (pitching coach) Coach Roszel. Whatever they have me do, I do it."
Kentucky's Friday-night spot in the rotation hasn't been what it had hoped, as D-III transfer Logan Martin was named the original starter, but a non-arm related injury has marred his season. He's made just six starts, totaling 20.1 innings. He is yet to throw more than 2.0 innings in SEC play and was not available last weekend at Vanderbilt.
The next option in place of Martin has been seventh-year senior Darren Williams. The 6-foot-6 hurler has ate plenty of innings (47.1) and has made four starts to go along with seven relief appearances, often piggybacking Martin. Also coming off of Tommy John surgery, Williams owns a serviceable 4.37 ERA, but gave up five earned his last time out against Vandy. Three of his last four outings have seen him allow five or more hits, while his last five outings have all seen at least two walks and one hit batsman.
Needing another high-caliber arm on Fridays, Kentucky is turning to its midweek arm to provide some life and help it kick an SEC series losing streak that has reached four weekends in a row.
Perfect Game ranked Smith as the No. 72 overall 2024 MLB draft prospect a year ago. The 6-foot-4, 200-pounder has continued to show growth over the span of the 2023 campaign, but clearly took a step in the right direction against the Cardinals last week, as his fastball touched 96 mph while a couple of wipeout breaking balls accompanied, creating an impressive pitch mix.
"Getting back in there and throwing more pitches every week and getting more comfortable has really helped me with my confidence," Smith said.
That confidence will be needed, as his first challenge is going to be a big one. No. 3 South Carolina leads the SEC with 98 home runs and is second in team on-base percentage with a .429 clip.Smith's first pitch versus the Gameco*cks on May 5 is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. EST and will air on SEC Network+.
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