STARKVILLE — Mississippi State sophomore left-handed pitcher Jacob Lindgren could be on the disabled list this weekend when the Bulldogs host the University of Florida.
Lindgren, who has been hampered with a injury issue with his his left elbow after a bullpen session last week, will not be available until at least Sunday vs. the Gators this weekend and MSU coach John
Cohen listed his status as “questionable” when asked in a phone interview Monday afternoon.
“We feel more than confident that he’ll pitch again but we don’t know when that will be exactly,” Cohen said.
Lindgren (2-0, 2.83) hadn’t missed a start after getting the call for the season opening assignment until last weekend when he started feeling discomfort in his elbow area while preparing in the bullpen on March 26.
Lindgren did receiver a Magnetic resonance imaging scan on his left arm last week and the results of that exam gave MSU coaches some hope that their left-handed ace could return this season.
“He was checked out pretty throughly and there’s some soreness there so I think we’ll get him back,” Cohen said. “I know Jacob will eventually beg us to give him the ball even if he’s really close to being fully back.”
MSU (23-8, 3-6 in Southeastern Conference) will likely go with the same rotation in the first days of the weekend against Florida with seniors Luis Pollorena and Kendall Graveman getting the starts.
Cohen explained that he likes having Graveman, who leads the Bulldogs with 40 2/3 innings, in the Saturday role to hopefully save the bullpen for the Friday and Sunday games in a weekend.
“Traditionally Saturday is your day as a starting pitcher because you definitely only want to use your bullpen for two days,” Cohen said.
MSU decided to give junior right-hander Ben Bracewell his first start in over a year after 10 solid relief appearances and Cohen was unsure Monday who would be in line to replace Lindgren in the rotation this weekend against Florida (13-16, 4-5). The options for that Sunday role include sophomore right- hander Brandon Woodruff (1-1, 5.56), sophomore right-hander Trevor Fitts (0-0, 1.17) and sophomore right-hander Will Cox (2-1, 3.60).
“I think we asked him to do something completely out of the ordinary there,” Cohen said about Bracewell’s start. “All of his pitches were good in terms of velocity, they just didn’t locate them perfectly and in that scenario, you can’t afford early walks.”
The bright news for the MSU pitching staff, which is last in SEC in walks allowed in conference play with 42, is senior catcher Mitch Slauter is expected to be back on the active roster this weekend after recovering from emergency throat surgery last week.
n Cox to get pitching start vs. South Alabama in Mobile: Will Cox will get another mid-week opportunity to earn his way onto the weekend rotation in a critical game against a solid non-conference opponent.
Cox (2-1, 3.60) has been named MSU’s starting pitcher tonight when the Bulldogs travel to Mobile, Ala., to face the University of South Alabama for a 6:30 p.m. first pitch. The right-hander from Amory got the start last week at Dudy Noble Field against Austin Peay but lasted only 1 1/3 innings after allowing four runs on five hits.
South Alabama (22-7) is ranked 12th in the latest ratings percentage index despite not having only two victories against teams ranked in the top 50 of the RPI.
If MSU can get Cox a comfortable lead, they can not only use young arms they haven’t seen a lot of work and save the right-handed starter for innings on Sunday against Florida.
Cox, who normally works with a fastball, curveball and a developing changeup, has 21 strikeouts compared to just 10 walks this season.
The key will be the first inning for Cox as MSU has been outscored 10-5 in the opening frame of SEC play this season and 7-7 this season when the opponent scores first.
“I think there’s a book on us right now that our guys are having trouble finding the strike zone in the early innings so they’re taking pitches on us,” Cohen said. “It’s what LSU, Kentucky and Arkansas all did on us and so we’re going to have to get ahead on people to not be in a 3-0 (score) hole anymore.”
n Mississippi State falls out of Top 25 polls in Baseball America and Perfect Game: After losing its fourth consecutive series to this past weekend, MSU fell in both the Baseball America and Perfect Game polls.
“They still keep losing series and right now they’re about the seventh best team in the SEC right now,”
Baseball America national college baseball writer Aaron Fitt said on the BA Top 25 podcast Monday morning. “They certainly have enough time to turn this around but if you’re the seventh best SEC team, you’re not hosting a regional. You’re just not.”
Six Southeastern Conference schools are ranked in this week’s BA Top 25 (Vanderbilt 2, LSU 3, Kentucky 7, Arkansas 14, South Carolina 15 and Mississippi 17) which is the most by any conference in Division 1 baseball.
In the Perfect Game Top 25 poll put together by senior reporter Kendall Rogers, the same seven SEC schools in BA’s poll are in Perfect Game’s rankings but just in different order (Vanderbilt 2, LSU 3, Kentucky 6, Arkansas 12, South Carolina 13 and Mississippi 16).
“I think right now when you look at our schedule our kids understand the idea we’re not going to probably catch a team that is struggling for the remainder of the season,” Cohen said. “We have three teams under .500 in league play along with us right now. We don’t play any of those three teams this season. That right there tells you how daunting our task is.”
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.