The LSU Baseball team sits as 26-3 and 7-2 in the SEC after this weekend's series sweep against Mississippi State. This season, few issues have come up that the Tigers haven't been able to handle whether it's a rough outing on the mound or a cold game at the plate. As of late, there has been some concern about the Tigers starting rotation as SEC play has seen LSU's staff take a step back.
While LSU has struggled with its starting pitching and some of the pieces out of the bullpen, Wofford transfer Zac Cowan has been dominant. On the season, Cowan has a 2-0 record with 3 saves, pitching 25.1 innings to a 1.07 ERA striking out 36 while walking just 3 batters. As Cowan continues to dominate, the debate begins over whether he should remain in the bullpen or transition into the weekend rotation.
The case for moving Zac Cowan to the rotation:
While Kade Anderson has been LSU's most reliable starting pitcher at this point in the season, Anthony Eyanson and Chase Shores have both had struggles. When you compare LSU's three weekend starters and Cowan, it's clear that one of the four is having the best year even if Cowan's sample size is smaller.
Stats Comparison:
- Zac Cowan: 2-0, 3 saves, 25.1 Innings Pitched, 1.07 ERA, 36 strikeouts, and 3 walks
- Kade Anderson: 5-0, 38.1 Innings Pitched, 3.52 ERA, 61 strikeouts, and 10 walks
- Anthony Eyanson: 4-0, 37.0 Innings Pitched, 3.89 ERA, 58 strikeouts, and 11 walks
- Chase Shores: 4-1, 31.2 Innings Pitched, 5.40 ERA, 35 strikeouts, and 14 walks.
Zac Cowan has been far and away LSU's best arm and deploying him out of the rotation may give LSU the best chance to win any series. Kade Anderson has been solid as a Friday starter giving LSU length in every game and if you could add in a solid performance weekly from Zac Cowan, it'll be tough for any team to beat LSU twice.
As LSU is deploying Zac Cowan out of the bullpen, the Tigers may be putting a limit on just how much he can help the team as he's following the starters rather than potentially giving LSU more length. By moving Zac Cowan into the rotation, the bullpen would in turn get one of the starters who could be more effective in less innings while the bullpen should return Gavin Guidry.
The case against moving Zac Cowan to the rotation:
The old saying is if it's not broke, don't fix it and that could be the case with Zac Cowan as he's been dominant out of the bullpen. While Cowan was a solid starting pitcher at Wofford, he was never as dominant as he has been in LSU's bullpen which makes moving him out of his set role risky.
In Zac Cowan's current role, Jay Johnson can deploy him in any close game and rely on him to close the game out without having to use any other pitchers. Whether it's like we saw this week when Johnson deployed Zac Cowan to pitch the final four innings or like we've seen when Cowan has come in to close a game, when he's brought in, the game should be over.