OXFORD | Mike Bianco changed course mid-sentence Saturday, catching himself from overthinking the topic.
Gunnar Hoglund had just handcuffed Princeton for six innings, giving up a run on five hits with 10 strikeouts and no walks. The bottom line was impressive yet again for the sophomore, and for a second, Bianco was thinking about the sharpness of the pitches or a mistake or two here and there before settling on the main point: Hoglund is dominant in year two for the No. 8 Rebels (14-1).
Ole Miss is at ULM at 6 p.m. Tuesday and 4 p.m. Wednesday before a home weekend series versus LSU to start league play.
Hoglund arrived on campus after the Pirates took him in the first round of the 2018 MLB First Year Player Draft. The expectations were high, and he earned a Sunday starter designation, but all involved will admit it was an up-and-down senior for the right-hander who didn’t walk a single batter his senior year of high school until the playoffs.
The Florida native picked up five wins against SEC teams and had a three-week stretch of six earned runs over 17.2 innings against Tennessee, Arkansas and Jacksonville State. But, overall, improvement was needed. He finished the year with a 5.29 ERA and .282 opponent batting average.
And the improvement has occurred.
In Holgund’s first four starts of 2019, he had a 3.77 ERA with eight strikeouts in 14.1 innings. This season to date, also four starts, he’s lasted 23.1 innings and struck out 37 with a 1.16 ERA. And he still doesn’t walk many batters, giving up just four free passes. Opponents are hitting .205.
“You have an outing like that (against Princeton) and pitch six innings and give up one run and we start thinking maybe he wasn’t his sharpest and maybe if you were really critical, he’d admit to that, but talk about improvement, Gunnar last year to this year,” Bianco said.
“Last year Gunnar gives up runs in that game just because he’d give up another hit somehow with runners on but now his maturity and how much he’s grown as a pitcher. When he got baserunners on he was able to make pitches, get a strikeout, get off the field.”
Hoglund had a solid curveball last year, but it didn’t miss a lot of bats and wasn’t the best complement for his ever-improving fastball. Also, even though command is a plus part of Hoglund’s game, he didn’t pitch to the corners enough, leaving hittable offerings to batters, especially behind in the count.
The slider he developed in the offseason is a better fit for a breaking ball, and he’s gained consistency with it quickly to give him four true pitches including an option to put away hitters.
“Certainly the slider is a difference maker for him,” Hoglund said. “It’s hard to quantify what the slider has done for the fastball. You can look at the slider and strike percentage is up from the curve last year but because you have a swing and miss pitch, an out pitch, how much more does that get people off your fastball? For him to wok on the edges of the plate and quit worrying about throwing strikes. Last year he was in middle of the zone too much. He doesn’t do that as often now.”
Hoglund is one-third of a weekend rotation — along with Doug Nikhazy and Derek Diamond — that has gone at least five innings in all 12 weekend starts so far this season.
“I’ve found a good rhythm,” Hoglund said, and am excited for LSU.”
