2/15/2021 baseball Edit

NC State Wolfpack baseball 2021 preview: Starting pitching

Matt Carter • TheWolfpackCentral

Editor

This Friday, weather and COVID-19 permitting, will be the first pitch of NC State Wolfpack baseball’s 2021 season.

Head coach Elliott Avent’s squad is a consensus top-20 team entering the year with some believing it is top 10. It was recently selected by the league’s coaches to finish second in the ACC’s Atlantic Division.

With that in mind, we begin our preview of the season by looking at some of the top candidates to be starting pitchers this spring.

Reid Johnston

In his first two seasons, Johnston went 13-3 in 38 appearances, including 24 starts, with a 3.41 ERA over 142 1/3 innings for the Pack. The summer following his sophomore campaign, Johnston made the All-Star Game in the prestigious Cape Cod League after he went 2-0 with a 1.82 ERA in six starts and 24 2/3 innings against some of the best prospects in college baseball.

The 6-foot-3, 218-pounder from Rocky Mount, N.C., was off to a slow start before last season was canceled, but he still flashed at times what made him so effective early in his career. Against Iowa, Johnston threw five innings of two-hit baseball, allowing just one earned run while striking out six and walking none.

Odds are a fresh Johnston is expected to be counted upon to return to reliable form on a consistent basis in 2021.

Chris Villaman

Coming out of Ledford High School, the native of High Point, N.C., was considered one of the premier prospects in the state in the 2019 class. He had five career no-hitters in high school and was expected to be a potentially high MLB Draft pick had demands not been too high.

Villaman, a 6-foot-2, 210-pound lefty, started three of five games he pitched in 2020. He tossed 11 2/3 innings, allowing five earned runs on eight hits and striking out 14 while walking four.

Evan Justice

In terms of pure stuff, the 6-foot-4, 205-pound left-hander from Richmond, Va., may be at the top of the Pack staff. That explains why he was picked in the 39th round as a draft-eligible sophomore by the Miami Marlins in the 2019 draft following a season when he led the Pack with 29 bullpen appearances.

In his last four appearances of the 2020 season, Justice threw 4 2/3 innings and allowed just one hit and one earned run, but also gave up four walks and struck out four.

If he can harness his control and throw strikes, Justice could get a crack at starting.

Sam Highfill

Highfill quickly earned the trust of Avent and his staff for the Pack, making six relief appearances as a rookie during last season’s abbreviated season. In that time, he had a 3.21 ERA and 3-1 record, showing impressive command of his pitches to allow only two walks over 14 innings while striking out 15. He was third on the team and tops among relievers in innings pitched.

Has the 6-foot-3, 211-pounder from Apex, N.C., earned the trust of the staff to take the next step and become a starter?

David Harrison

Harrison always seemed to be a mainstay in the starting rotation mix since his freshman year, when he made nine starts. Over his three years in Raleigh, Harrison has made 40 appearances, with 15 of them being starts.

Harrison, a 6-foot-3, 190-pound lefty from Rocky Mount, N.C., started last season tremendously well, pitching 16 2/3 innings in his first three appearances while allowing nine hits and one earned run. He walked just three and struck out 12 before a rough outing at Virginia.

Can he carry that form forward in 2021?

Matt Willadsen

As to be expected for a freshman, Willadsen was up and down as a rookie. However, like Villaman, the 6-foot-3, 179-pound right-hander from Holly Springs, N.C., was a highly touted rookie who at times flashed.

In appearances against typically strong regional foes UNC Wilmington and Coastal Carolina, Willadsen threw 2 2/3 scoreless innings, giving up just one hit and striking out four without a walk.

Austin Pace

Pace joined Villaman and Willadsen in being rated among the top five overall prospects in the state of North Carolina’s 2019 class by Prep Baseball Report (a fourth — Blake Walston— also signed with NC State but went pro after being drafted in the first round by the Arizona Diamondbacks).

Pace, a native of Barco, is a huge presence on the mound at 6-foot-10, 237 pounds. Like the other rookies, Pace flashed his potential in 2020. He threw three perfect innings against Coastal Carolina in his second career appearance while striking out five batters.