The 2023 baseball season begins on Friday for Texas State against Northwestern. This is the third and final positional previews on the team that covers the pitching staff.
 
Starters
The Bobcats return the top starting pitching duo in the Sun Belt Conference with Levi Wells and Zeke Wood. They were both all-conference first team honorees last season and were picked to the preseason all-conference squad earlier this month. A switch will be made on when Wells and Wood start that will see Wells take over the Friday role and Wood slide back to Saturdays.
 
Wells compiled an 8-3 record with a 3.07 ERA and 86 strikeouts in a team leading 91.0 innings. He held opponents to a .231 batting average while also throwing TXST's lone complete game of 2022. The highly rated right-hander is ranked as the 49 best prospect for the 2023 MLB Draft by MLB Pipeline and also earned four preseason All-American third team accolades.
 
Last season, Wood became the just the 10th Bobcat pitcher to crack triple-digit strikeouts in a campaign with 103 that also led the Sun Belt. The Paris, Texas native posted a 7-1 record with a 3.78 ERA in 88 innings. Opponents were limited to a .190 batting average against him, which was the lowest in program history.
 
Sunday is still to be determined with a mix between Nathan Medrano, a transfer from Houston, and Jack Stroud, who played last year at Weatherford College after two seasons at Florida Atlantic.
 
Currently, midweek starters will depend on how weekends go and who will be available to throw.
 
Bullpen
The biggest hole in the bullpen to address from 2022 will be replacing Tristan Stivors at the backend. Right now, head coach Steven Trout is looking at sliding whoever doesn't win the Sunday starting spot between Medrano or Stroud into the role.
 
Another possibility to close out games is Triston Dixon, an All-Sun Belt preseason team pick, who went 8-0, struck out 56 and posted a 2.93 ERA.
 
Trout will have plenty of experienced guys to call upon out of the pen this year. Right-handers going to get the ball are Cameron Bush (2-2, 35 K), McCray Gann (0-0, 3 K), Reece Gould (0-0, 2 K), Jonathan Martinez (3.78 ERA, 13 K) and Tony Robie (4-1, 5.05 ERA). Possibly seeing action either as a starter or reliever is freshman Colby Diaz.
 
Joining Austin Smith and Stroud as left-handed options to call on are Carson Keithley (2-0, 15 K) and Rhett McCaffety.
 
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