The next installment of the biggest game of UVA’s season is in the hands, at least at the outset, of junior righthander Mike Vasil, a projected third- or fourth-round MLB draft pick who has struggled of late in the orange and blue.
Vasil (7-5, 4.82 ERA, 1.59 WHIP, 65K/17BB in 74.2 IP, .311 opponent BA) pitched himself into being a forgotten man on Brian O’Connor’s staff.
He’s gone more than four and a third innings just once since April 24, a stretch in which he has given up 18 earned runs in 18.1 innings (8.83 ERA) with a 2.62 WHIP and a 10/9 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Those aren’t draft-worthy numbers.
They haven’t even been give-him-the-ball-worthy numbers lately. In that stretch, Vasil has had three starts end with him coming off the mound in the third inning, including his disastrous effort in the first elimination game of the Columbia Regional, back on June 5, in which he was charged with five runs on seven hits in two-plus in what turned into a 13-8 win over Jacksonville.
Vasil gets draft love because of his fastball that touches 95, sits 91-93 most of the game, and his plus-changeup.
He was looked at as a possible future first-rounder back when he committed to Virginia in 2018.
Tonight might be his last real shot to show MLB execs that he’s the guy they thought he was.
Story by Chris Graham
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