Weekend Preview: Clash of Titans
No.
5 TCU, 6, at USC, 7 12 innings
With
a healthy stable of arms, the No. 5 Horned Frogs called upon redshirt
sophmore Mitchell Traver to take the rock Friday night at Dedeaux
Field against the hot-hitting Trojans of USC. The path for Traver to
get to Friday has not been an easy one. While the 6-foot-7, 255-pound
righthander has done nothing but dominate so far in this early season
– he was 2-0, 16 IP, 18 K in 3 starts leading up to Friday – he
has definitely paid the price for success. Plagued by injuries in his
first two years at TCU, he is now back on the bump and making up for
lost time.
Standing
at 6-foot-7, Traver immediately passes the eye test. He has very
well-proportioned strength throughout his frame and his over-the-top
release point provides some heavy arm-side run making him incredibly
tough on righthanded hitters. He shows balance on the mound through
his delivery, and mechanically he will continue to smooth out with
repetitions.
Traver
worked comfortably with his fastball early in the game at 92-94 mph
and was up to 95. He continued to hold his velocity at 91-92 into the
fifth and sixth innings. In his second inning of work he looked to be
in a little bit of trouble and showed outstanding feel for his
slider. His slider sat at 83-86 mph and proved to be his out pitch –
five of his seven punchouts were with the slider. It’s hard, it’s
tight and he showed command of it.
He
also showed a 77-78 mph curveball but predominantly worked with both
his fastball and slider. Traver’s final line: 5 2/3 innings, 6 hits, 3 runs (2 earned),
1 walk, 7 strikeouts.
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