Reagan becoming dangerous threat out of bullpen
Josh Reagan has seen a lot of action this year for the Gamecocks this season. Not necessarily at the beginning of the game, not in the middle, but almost always at the end to shut down the opposing team.
Reagan’s been the go-to guy late in games this season, having 10 appearances. In just over 18 innings, he has allowed only nine hits while striking out 16. He also hasn’t allowed a run.
The junior left-hander also picked up his first win of the season Sunday in a 8-6 victory over Arkansas.
“I’m confident in the way I’m pitching right now,” he said. “My curveball needs to get a lot better but my changeup’s always been there. I’m throwing the ball a little harder than I have been and that’s definitely helping my pitches. Yeah, I’m pretty confident right now.”
But even Reagan, who has a SEC-leading seven saves, doesn’t see himself as the closer yet but just another option coming out of the bullpen.
“Coach (Jerry) Meyers hasn’t called me the closer yet, so I’m not the closer,” he said. “Whenever I need to pitch, I’m ready.”
The jump was a little unprecedented for Reagan, who had a 4.72 ERA and .289 batting average against last season.
This year, he’s added velocity to his fastball. He’s throwing in the high 80s to low 90s, which mixed with a healthy changeup and curveball, can be a lethal combination.
Now, he’s able to use both sides of the plate to get batters out.
“For him to have success, he has to have the ability to pitch inside. And to be able to pitch inside effectively you have to have some velocity. That’s what he has now,” head coach Chad Holbrook said. “They didn’t fear velocity inside; they didn’t worry about getting beat on the inside. They took that part of the plate away from him. Now they can’t. “
While he doesn’t see himself as a closer just yet, he’s being treated as such. Holbrook said Reagan spent extra time in the weight room adding muscle and learning how to change arm angles to throw to different hitters.
Holbrook said he’s liked the way Reagan’s thrown strikes, kept batters close to the base (when they get on base) and held late leads.
“He’s put a lot of hard work into becoming the pitcher that he is. He’s, obviously, through sixteen innings, has a heck of a line,” Holbrook said. “He does everything you want a guy late in the game to do.”
Holbrook said last season, when Reagan gave up 27 runs on 54 hits, the pitcher wasn’t “100-percent healthy,” and experienced some tenderness.
But now, Reagan is healthy.
And using last season’s frustrations to better himself, he’s become a dominant option coming out of the bullpen.
“He’s worked really, really hard to get to the point where he’s at,” Holbrook said. “He wasn’t a very happy camper last year the way he was throwing because he’s gotten people out his whole life. He rededicated himself to become the pitcher he can be in the offseason and it’s certainly performed for us to this point.”
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