re: Official Adam4848 Baseball Preview Feb 11th (SEC Preview) *PAGE 25*

HEIGHT: 6'1"
WEIGHT: 183 lbs.



HEIGHT: 6'3"
WEIGHT: 198 lbs.



HEIGHT: 6'2"
WEIGHT: 170 lbs.

STARTING PITCHING

Aaron Nola So.*
Ryan Eades Jr.*
Brent Bonvillain Sr.*

Midweek
Cody Glenn So.
Mitch Sewald Fr.

It's hard to imagine LSU's starting rotation last year consisted of three potential first rounders. Kevin Gausman, the top college pitcher selected in the draft, leaves after his sophomore season creating a huge void at the Friday night spot. The good news is LSU brings back Aaron Nola and Ryan Eades who will form one of the top rotations in not only the SEC but the entire league. As per Mainieri last week Nola will start on Fridays with
Eades following him up on Saturdays. After making a big splash last year I look for Nola to cement himself as a top line guy this year. Aaron normally sits anywhere from 91-94mph with an above average changeup, its the cutting movement on his fastball and extremely fluid arm motion that keeps hitters off balance. Looking back at his SO/BB ratio last year was outstanding. Eades is a different story, in some eyes he has more potential than Nola but he's yet to put the puzzle together. Ryan's fastball sits 93-96mph and has a hard cutting slider when it's working for him. Eades knack has been leaving pitches up in the zone when he gets ahead in the count as well as control issues here and there. Ryan knows he needs a strong showing this spring and I firmly believe he'll rise to the occasion for LSU. The third starter spot is a tad more cloudy...Brent Bonvillain for now is my third starter. The lefty, who at times last year was magic last season, enters his final year at LSU. Bonvillain doesn't nearly have the velocity as the other two so he plays to contact to get himself out of jams and at times last year did it very well. If he is able to stay in this spot he may be a 5 inning guy to bridge the gap to the rest of the bullpen. Mainieri normally sets the midweek starters in the following days after a weekend series. To start off the year guys like Cody Glenn and Mitch Sewald may get a shot early. Starting them out against lesser competition allows Dunn and Mainieri to see how well they can build their stamina in the hopes that they take over a weekend spot in the coming years. This position is top heavy for LSU, but may be the strongest in light to two exceptional arms at the front.

NOLA
Arm Strength----------65
Movement---------------65
Stamina------------------60
Control-------------------75

EADES
Arm Strength----------70
Movement---------------55
Stamina------------------60
Control-------------------55

BONVILLAIN
Arm Strength----------55
Movement---------------60
Stamina------------------50
Control-------------------55

*Scale 20-Lowest, 50-Average, 80-Top of the Charts*