OXFORD | Tate Blackman has only faced Brady Feigl once this calendar year.

In the quest for confidence going into the season, he’s grateful for the lack of at-bats against Ole Miss’ Sunday starter.

Feigl will start the series finale against No. 10 East Carolina this weekend, and the Tommy John survivor has impressed teammates and coaches in this six-way pitching competition that yielded David Parkinson, James McArthur and Feigl as the initial rotation.

“I’ve only faced him once this spring and I was blessed by just seeing him once,” said Blackman, who was an All-SEC selection in 2016. “Sitting at second base I can cross my hands behind my back and watch the magic happen. His stuff is not straight. Everything moves left,right or down. It’s hard to get a barrel on him. He has the most electric stuff on the staff. He’s the type of guy to make a big impact.”

Feigl, 6-foot-5, 215-pounder, missed the 2015 season with the elbow injury but claimed Louisville Slugger Freshman All-America honors last season with a 4-0 record and 3.76 ERA. He made 26 relief appearances, which ranked second on the team, and picked up SEC wins against Tennessee and Auburn. He threw a career-long 5.1 innings against Mississippi State.

Mike Bianco went to Feigl first out of the bullpen during the Oxford Regional opener against Utah, and he gained confidence as the season moved along — in his elbow and his game.

“He's got good command and he was in the bullpen last year not because of stamina or any other reason except for he was just new,” Bianco said. “He throws his fastball in the low to mid-90s, and he has a sweeping slider which is just a wipeout-type of pitch and he's really picked up a great changeup. He's a smart kid and a great competitor, and he's really as good as anybody we've got.”

The Chesterfield, Missouri, native credits trainer Josh Porter with his post-surgery success. He made it a goal during his rehabilitation to start on the weekend once he returned to full health. The Rebels kept his morale up by including him whenever possible during that 2015 season, and he’s noticed an uptick in his pitching after the healthy offseason and early-spring work.

“Last year getting back into it you could tell it takes a full year once you’re done with surgery to get through everything and pitching again,” Feigl said. “Having that offseason and taking the fall has really helped my arm get back and fresh… The biggest thing is to throw strikes. It doesn’t matter, as long as you throw strikes, they’ll run you back out there.”

Colby Bortles hit a two-run home run off Feigl during an intrasquad this past weekend. Instead of rattling him, Feigl found a rhythm after the extra base hit. He threw five shutout innings to finish off his outing.

“He’s really dirty,” Bortles said as a compliment. “He probably has the best stuff on our team. The changeup drops off the table. He’s really good and the mindset is even better. He can get hit around and the next inning he comes out and strikes out the side. I’m looking forward to watching him pitch.”