Ole Miss will see Jacksonville State ace Garrett Farmer tonight in the first-day game of the Oxford Regional. Farmer has pitched 100.2 innings in 15 starts. He has 104 strikeouts and opponents bat just .221 against him. He's walked 12.
He's 5-foot-11, 185 pounds, and it's nothing stuff-wise to blow you away but he does a great job with what he has to work with. The fastball is 87-90, but he creates a really good downward angle for his height through his arm slot. It'll play up a little bit and can get in on hitters maybe more than it should.
Farmer is more curve ball than changeup and he flips it in during any count. You have to recognize it because he can throw it for a strike, and there's no pattern for it. It's not fall-off-the-table sharp but it loops in and changes bat speed and eye level. If there's frustration tonight it'll be from trying to do too much with that pitch and then letting the fastball get by them.
The changeup is there, but I'm not seeing much with it. He tries to save it for the second time through, but it'll surprise me if it's a something that's a major factor tonight.
Unless his command is just off, he's going to avoid three-ball counts and he's not big on wasting pitches. I think one key is to not make stupid decisions on the first pitch. If he's flipping that breaking ball in on first pitch, don't try to pull it just because something is floating up there on the first pitch. He's going to be around the plate, and he's going to throw fastballs. Hit those.
He's thrown at least six innings in 12 of 14 starts, and one of those was on a pitch count. Eastern Illinois is the only time he's given up four or more runs. They threw him in relief one week and he got shelled. No idea why they did that.
He's a good arm, but this is about Ole Miss. If the Rebels play well, this should be five runs or so on Farmer.
He's 5-foot-11, 185 pounds, and it's nothing stuff-wise to blow you away but he does a great job with what he has to work with. The fastball is 87-90, but he creates a really good downward angle for his height through his arm slot. It'll play up a little bit and can get in on hitters maybe more than it should.
Farmer is more curve ball than changeup and he flips it in during any count. You have to recognize it because he can throw it for a strike, and there's no pattern for it. It's not fall-off-the-table sharp but it loops in and changes bat speed and eye level. If there's frustration tonight it'll be from trying to do too much with that pitch and then letting the fastball get by them.
The changeup is there, but I'm not seeing much with it. He tries to save it for the second time through, but it'll surprise me if it's a something that's a major factor tonight.
Unless his command is just off, he's going to avoid three-ball counts and he's not big on wasting pitches. I think one key is to not make stupid decisions on the first pitch. If he's flipping that breaking ball in on first pitch, don't try to pull it just because something is floating up there on the first pitch. He's going to be around the plate, and he's going to throw fastballs. Hit those.
He's thrown at least six innings in 12 of 14 starts, and one of those was on a pitch count. Eastern Illinois is the only time he's given up four or more runs. They threw him in relief one week and he got shelled. No idea why they did that.
He's a good arm, but this is about Ole Miss. If the Rebels play well, this should be five runs or so on Farmer.
