Here are a few notes from the Chris Jones podcast interview on the pitching staff with pitching coach Josh MacDonald.
According to Coach MacDonald, it sounds like Ryan Radue is doing very well with his cancer treatments, and could be declared cancer free soon. No timetable is set for when he might return to the mound, in fact right now they would just like to see him in uniform in the dugout for games (even if he isn’t going to play) instead of having to make visits to the hospital for treatments and such. Despite the encouraging report, it wouldn't surprise me if Radue does not pitch for the Huskies this spring, but that is definitely a wait or see thing..
The early line for the weekend starting rotation is Kay, Montgomerie, and Zapata. Montgomery is much improved over last year to the point that it is hard for Coach MacDonald to think he will lose this spot over the next few weeks. Nepiarsky is off to a slow start this winter, but they do expect him to regain his form from late last season. They are not ruling him out as a starter later in the season.
Rajkowski, Ruotolo, and Over are coming off injuries. Ruotolo will not be ready to pitch in games early in the season. He is throwing in practices, but it was not said how much time Ruotolo would miss. I’m not sure how many games, if any, Over will miss.
Nico Darras has changed his delivery, he longer pitches side arm. The new delivery has given him better control over his pitches. With Ruotolo out of the early games, look for Darras to get a lot of work and possibly be the closer at the beginning of the season.
The coaching staff really likes what they have seen from the five freshmen pitchers: Rossomando, Cate, Poulin, Hintze, and Polonia. It sounds like they all could get action out of the buillpen early in the season. Rossomando and Cate are possible candidates to start as the season progresses. Redshirt freshmen Riley, Dandeneau, and Rajkowski could make contributions as well, with Riley named being a possible starter later in the season. They think Rajkowski could be something, but repeated nagging injuries have been holding him back for now.
Joe Rivera is much improved over last season. His wildness and lack of pitching control episodes are much less frequent now. The coaches think he is a candidate to make a great leap forward. Coach MacDonald suggested they may want to get him in games, let him taste some success, and then get him out quickly.
Doug Domnarski could be this season’s Sam Nepiarsky. That is, he may see little action early but end up emerging later in the season, possibly as a starter.
The window of opportunity may be fast closing for Max Slade. He may have potentially nasty stuff, but the coaching staff’s patience with him is wearing thin. He needs to produce and be effective in the coming weeks, or risk losing out to the horde of talented freshmen and sophomore pitchers looking to carve out a niche on the UConn pitching staff.
