Despite the rumors and speculation surrounding Kevin Gausman’s future, LSU coach Paul Mainieri saw it as a foregone conclusion.
But it never hurt to hope.
“I was holding a spot on the roster for him,” Mainieri said. “Just in case.”
Ever since June 4, when the Baltimore Orioles selected the Centennial, Colo. native with the No. 4 overall pick, Mainieri had dismissed any thought of his prized pitcher returning to school for his junior season.
After reports surfaced last week that Gausman was strongly considering a return to LSU, Mainieri brushed it off as a misconstruing of words.
“I thought it would only be a possibility if something very bizarre took place,” Mainieri said. “I thought all along he was going to sign.”
Now faced with replacing a Friday night ace and a lockdown closer – Nick Goody signed with the New York Yankees on June 16 – Mainieri said his bevy of returning pitchers is up to the challenge.
Mainieri mentioned seniors Brent Bonvillain and Chris Cotton and junior Kurt McCune as potential starters to join sophomore Aaron Nola and junior Ryan Eades in the weekend rotation.
Cotton, who made three starts in the Northwoods League this summer, carried an impressive 0.56 earned run average through 16 innings.
A reliable, consistent middle reliever last season, Cotton’s transition to a starting job would only carry one drawback, according to Mainieri.
“The only negative is that if you use him as a starting pitcher, you can’t use him out of the bullpen,” Mainieri joked.
McCune got off to a rocky start in the Cape Cod League after a mix-up between the catcher and the coach, resulting in the wrong pitches being called for the first seven batters during his first start.
He settled down to throw six no-hit innings in his third start, picking up the win after giving up only three runs on three hits in seven innings.
“[Pitching] Coach [Alan] Dunn and Kurt were working on a new pitch at the end of the season,” Mainieri said. “Honestly, I think that will be something to help him out.”
The Norco, La., native started last season in the weekend rotation before being replaced by Nola after a string of inconsistent starts.
While he stopped short of officially naming anyone to a certain position, Mainieri lauded the work of junior Nick Rumbelow out of the bullpen in the Cape Cod League, saying he’s solidified himself as a candidate to replace Goody as the closer.
Rumbelow, appearing in relief during 10 games this summer, has 28 strikeouts in 16.2 innings, while only surrendering 13 hits.
“He’s averaging about one and a half strikeouts per inning,” Mainieri said. “He can be very dominating.”
Mainieri also pointed to incoming pitchers Hunter Newman, Mitchell Sewald and Jaime McClure as potential impact hurlers in 2013.
McClure, a Baton Rouge native who pitched at Catholic High School, has fought through numerous injuries to transfer to LSU from Panola Junior College, where he was a First Team All-Conference selection.
Newman, a true freshman from Bloomingdale, Ga., was named a Perfect Game Underclass Honorable Mention and Savannah Morning News Player of the Year after posting a 6-2 record with a 1.51 earned run average and 114 strikeouts in 73.2 innings.
Joining Newman as a true freshman, Sewald was named First Team All State and All District in his senior year for Archbishop Rummel in Metairie. He boasted a 0.98 earned run average while opponents hit .120 against him.
“These are all kids that are coming to us with stellar credentials,” Mainieri said. “It’ll be interesting to see how they develop.”
 
____ Contact Chandler Rome at [email protected]