University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Meet The Bullpen
May 31, 2012 | Baseball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
May 31, 2012
By Adam Lucas
NC State head coach Elliott Avent has seen the Carolina bullpen throw 21.1 innings against his club this year. During that span, the Wolfpack has managed eight hits and one earned run against Tar Heel relievers. So after watching the Carolina relief corps shut down the Pack last Saturday in Greensboro, Avent probably felt fully qualified to make this bold statement: "That may be the best bullpen in college baseball."
It's a deep and talented group that prompted Carolina head coach Mike Fox to admit on Wednesday that it might be the best staff he's had in Chapel Hill. "Top to bottom," said the man who has coached some of the best Tar Heel pitchers ever in the past seven seasons, "with all these options, it might be."
But it can also be a head-spinning array of choices for the casual fan trying to keep up with the moves of Fox and pitching coach Scott Forbes. It's not unusual for the Tar Heels to use three pitchers in an inning to get the matchups they want. As Carolina moves into Friday's NCAA Tournament opener against Cornell, here's a look at the primary options out of the bullpen (we also asked veteran catcher Jacob Stallings for his quick impressions from behind the plate on each relief arm):
Michael Morin: The pitcher with the most easily defined role on the team--he's the closer. His 17 saves are third-most in a single season in Carolina history, and he needs just one more save to tie the school record held by Andrew Carignan and Thad Chrismon. He's riding a streak of 15 straight scoreless innings. Oh, and Jacob Stallings says Morin may throw the best pitch he's ever seen in college, a wicked changeup.
Morin is more than just a one-inning closer, and Forbes will match up pitchers in the middle innings of a close game to get it to Morin late.
R.C. Orlan: If it wasn't for Morin, Orlan would likely be the talk of the Carolina bullpen. He's shown incredible progress during his Carolina career, and this year has shown a more developed breaking ball to go with his heavy fastball. The lefty--who is more than just a left-on-left specialist--hasn't allowed an earned run since May 8, a span of eight innings and five appearances. You might see him at almost any time in a game, from the early innings to the late innings. Forbes trusts him in any role.
Shane Taylor: He could be used out of the bullpen, but he's also evolved into the fourth starter, which can be a valuable role in the postseason, when the fourth starter often ends up throwing in an elimination game. Taylor was dominant against Duke in an emergency role during the regular season (one hit over eight innings and a stretch of 16 straight hitters retired), and was solid against Wake Forest in the ACC Tournament opener last week. After playing a big role as a freshman, he battled his confidence during the middle part of this season, but has bounced back and has improved his breaking ball and command.
Chris McCue: One of the most unique stories on the staff, McCue is listed at a generous 6-foot-0, 156 pounds. That sounds like the description of a soft-tossing junk artist, but the Charlotte native is a fireballer who can touch the mid-90s with his fastball. McCue was mostly an outfielder for his first two years in high school, but then experienced rapid progress when he paid more attention to pitching. "When I started taking pitching seriously, it really started to come along," he says. "My velocity went from 80 to 85 as a sophomore to 94 or 95 as a senior."
That puts him in good company in the hard-throwing Carolina bullpen, but simple velocity isn't enough to earn innings. The freshman has focused on his eye level to make sure he keeps his pitches down in the strike zone. When he works in the bottom of the zone, he earns more innings, and says the depth on this year's staff has made him better. "You have to compete on this staff," McCue says. "You look down there and everyone throws just as hard as you do and their stuff is just as good as yours. The more competition you have, the harder you work and the better you get."
Tate Parrish: The lefty could be important against Cornell, a team that features four lefthanded hitters among its top six batters. That plays to the strength of Parrish, about whom the scouting report is not a big secret: slider, slider, slider. Parrish picked up the pitch almost on a whim, and it's made him one of the most relied-upon left-on-left specialists in the Fox era. His slider is good enough that he also throws it to righties, and he's occasionally used it with extended success this year.
Luis Paula: The freshman righthander has emerged at the end of the season, as he's had success in four straight opportunities. The formula has been simple: each time he's had success, he's earned another chance. The latest came against State in Greensboro, as he was given the assignment to get a right-on-right out against dangerous Wolfpack leadoff man Trea Turner. Paula struck him out.
It's never been about stuff with Paula, as his pitching ability earned some of the highest praise from Stallings. His biggest strides have come off the field.
"You have to reprogram these young guys," Fox said of his young pitchers. "They come through summer ball and it's all about them. When they get to many college programs, and certainly ours, it becomes all about winning, and what they can do to help the team win. Luis is figuring out that you can play an important role by getting one out."
Cody Penny: He's filled a variety of roles in his Carolina career, from closer to starter. Of late, the righthander has been very good, and has had four straight shutout appearances. In his last outing, against Wake in the ACC Tournament, he struggled with his command, but prior to that he had just one walk in his previous 3.2 innings.
Chris O'Brien: You can never have enough lefties. Yet another freshman, O'Brien began the year in the weekend rotation but has moved to the bullpen. He's had limited chances lately, but when he's had them, he's been very good. He's in the unusual position of being behind Orlan and Parrish as lefty options out of the bullpen, but he's allowed just one walk and zero hits in five appearances since April 17.
Mason McCullough: In a different year, or maybe on a different team, McCullough might be one of the most relied-upon arms in the bullpen. His fastball touches the upper-90s and he's a possible heir apparent to Morin as the Carolina closer.
Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly. He is also the author or co-author of six books on Carolina basketball, including the official chronicle of the first 100 years of Tar Heel hoops, A Century of Excellence, which is available now. Get real-time UNC sports updates from the THM staff on Twitter and Facebook.
