Representing the stars and stripes this summer was a massive accomplishment for LSU sophomore pitcher Kevin Gausman, but he could be in line for bigger and better things this spring.
With a new pitch in his repertoire and some added seasoning against top competition with Team USA this summer, Gausman is the obvious candidate for a breakout season.
“He’s got a chance to become a real dominant pitcher in college baseball,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. “If that happens, a lot of good things are going to happen to LSU this consistent.”
But Dunn hasn’t only added consistency to Gausman’s game. He’s working with Gausman on a breaking ball Dunn thinks could propel the sophomore to new heights this spring.
“That’s something that [Dunn] told me. ‘Everybody knows you’ve got a good changeup and a good fastball— but this is the pitch that’s going to put you over the top,'” Gausman said.
Gausman already features an electric fastball that can reach the upper 90s on the radar gun, but his only secondary pitch to keep hitters off balance last season was a changeup.
Now, when hitters are looking for Gausman’s fastball, he can completely alter their timing with a breaking pitch.
“They’re going to be hunting fastball, and you throw a little get-me-over breaking pitch for a strike,” Gausman said.
“That’ll make a big difference in how deep you can go into a yourself.”
Combining his electric fastball with his changeup, Gausman went seven innings or longer in five of his last six starts, racking up 45 strikeouts in 44 2/3 innings.
In those final six games, Gausman turned in a sparkling 2.40 ERA — even including his lone unspectacular start against No. 3 Vanderbilt in which he allowed five earned runs in five innings.
“I thought for the last four games of the season he might’ve been pitching as good of baseball as anybody in our league,”
Mainieri said. “Certainly by the end of the year he was a bona fide Friday night starter that you could hitch a wagon be.”
 
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Contact Luke Johnson at [email protected]