SEC Starting Pitcher Power Rankings
Week 1
There are a lot of ways to rank pitchers.
This isn’t a stat-sheet ranking. It isn’t a draft-board ranking. And it’s not a preseason projection list.
This is filtered through the lens of someone who knows what it feels like to take the ball on Friday night in the SEC.
There’s a different edge to that role. A different expectation. A different weight. When you’re the Friday night starter, you’re setting the tone for your entire weekend. You’re absorbing the pressure before anyone else does. That is really important, in my opinion.
So when I see traits that translate to being a true Friday night guy — composure, tempo control, making pitches under duress, presence after adversity — I’m going to give those things weight. They’ll carry more value in these rankings.
You’ll see mostly Friday night starters near the top for that reason. But as the season unfolds, Saturday arms, Sunday arms, and even midweek starters will climb if they show traits that translate. Performance still drives movement.
My rankings are built on three things:
Performance from the previous week/weekend
Quality of stuff and pitch combination(s)
Next-level upside
Performance matters — especially in this league. But stuff matters too. Fastball shape. Pitch mix. Combo quality. How a guy sequences. And finally, I look at projection. If I’m thinking like a Friday night SEC starter, I’m also thinking like a pro scout.
That blend is how this list gets built.
Let’s start at the top.
1. LJ Mercurius, Oklahoma
Opening Weekend Grade: A+
Mercurius wins the top spot this week — and honestly, he probably wouldn’t have been in my preseason top ten, but only because I didn’t know too much about him (he transferred in from UNLV). But what he did on Saturday was special.
At Globe Life during the Shriners Classic, he went six innings with 12 strikeouts, averaged 94.6 mph (got up to 97.2) and generated 31 swings and misses. That’s not noise — that’s dominance. The changeup flashed as a true plus pitch, and when you combine that with swing-and-miss ability at that level, you move up quickly.
This was a statement start. And Oklahoma looked scary this weekend.
2. Ruger Riojas, Texas
Opening Weekend Grade: A
Riojas looked like a big leaguer on Opening Night. After a shaky first inning, he settled in very nicely.
He sat 95–97 (95.9 average), showed a true gyro slider at 88–90, mixed in a power split, and backed it up with a plus curveball. Four legitimate weapons. When you’re flashing four plus pitches in the SEC, your ceiling changes.
I’m sure the metrics will support what the eye test already showed — electric stuff, real presence. If that continues, he won’t leave this top tier.
3. Dylan Volantis, Texas
Opening Weekend Grade: A
Volantis entered the year with as much buzz as anyone after winning Freshman of the Year as a reliever. The question wasn’t talent — it was translation to a starter’s workload.
On Sunday, he answered that.
Seven innings. Eight strikeouts. Controlled the game. The reason he sits just behind the top two is simple: the raw stuff doesn’t match theirs. He’s more 91–92 with a little more effort in the delivery. But he competes, and he executes pitches with a big frame, making it a tough AB.
He didn’t lose ground — others just showed a little more.
4. Cam Johnson, Oklahoma
Opening Weekend Grade: A+
Johnson might have made the biggest jump of the weekend.
He looked like a true ace. Eleven strikeouts in six innings and complete control of tempo. The fastball/changeup combination is real, and it plays. The FB averaged 94.5 and was up to 96.9. Cam had struggled with command in the past but he answered a lot of questions for me against good competition. I was happy for the kid, and I cannot wait until this weekend to see him go out and follow it up. Skip Johnson loves the kid, and he showed why this weekend.
He looked comfortable being “the guy.”
5. Jake Marciano, Auburn
Opening Weekend Grade: A+
Five innings, 12 strikeouts — that jumps off the page.
Marciano is answering the early question mark as Auburn’s Friday night starter. The swing-and-miss is legitimate. The next step is sustaining that into deeper outings as pitch counts build.
The stuff plays. Now it’s about durability.
6. Jaxon Jelkin, Kentucky
Opening Weekend Grade: A-
There were preseason reports he might close. Instead, he took the ball on Friday.
Jelkin is a high-upside arm who has flashed triple digits with his fastball. He had double-digit strikeouts in his four innings. As he stretches out and builds pitch count, the upside is enormous. The question isn’t stuff — it’s workload sustainability and injury prevention.
But if he keeps missing bats like that, this is just the beginning.
7. Gabe Gaeckle, Arkansas
Opening Weekend Grade: A
Gaeckle may have had some of the best raw metrics from SEC starters at the Shriners Classic.
Fastball averaged 94.5. Eight strikeouts in four innings. Consistent swing-and-miss up in the zone. The raw ingredients are there for him to climb this list quickly.
I’m excited to see him grow into a true Friday night role.
8. Teagan Kuhn, Tennessee
Opening Weekend Grade: A
Six and two-thirds innings — one of the deeper starts of the weekend.
More than a strikeout per inning and the kind of steadiness Tennessee needs at the top of its rotation. Sometimes it’s not about flash — it’s about reliability. Kuhn gave them that.
He looks like the ace they’ll lean on.
9. Casan Evans, LSU
Opening Weekend Grade: B-
If we had done a preseason list, Evans may have been one or two.
Instead, he drops to nine after getting hit around a bit by Milwaukee. Looked a little jittery early. That happens — especially when transitioning from bullpen to Friday night on a defending national championship team.
The stuff is elite. The ceiling hasn’t changed. Now it’s about settling into the role.
10. Hunter Elliott, Ole Miss
Opening Weekend Grade: A
One of the more decorated and experienced arms entering the year — and he looked like it.
Against a good Nevada team, he did what experienced Friday night starters do: controlled the game. Nothing flashy. Nothing forced.
He’ll anchor that rotation all season.
11-20 (List):
11. Ryan McPherson
12. Austin Nye
13. Joey Volchko
14. Connor Fennell
15. Kenny Ishikawa
16. Aiden King
17. Nate Taylor
18. Ben Cleaver
19. Tomas Valincius
20. Liam Peterson
Glue Guy Starter of the Week
Kenny Ishikawa, Georgia
This dude is a two-way guy and transferred from Michigan. Ishikawa struck out eight in 4⅓ on the mound and also contributed big offensively while playing center field. That’s culture-shifting value. That’s glue.
I’m excited to watch him develop as a true two-way weapon.
Players to Watch
These are mostly Saturday arms who could climb quickly:
Cooper Moore, LSU – 11 strikeouts in six innings as LSU’s Saturday starter. Transfer from Kansas. Didn’t look phased by Alex Box. If there’s turbulence at the top, this development is huge for the Tigers.
Josh Gunther, South Carolina – True freshman starter on opening day for the Cocks. Electric arm, coming off injury, I believe, but a fun development to track.
Austin Nye, Vanderbilt – Looked like a big leaguer. He had a clean delivery and was composed at Globe Life. Wouldn’t be surprised if he takes the Friday spot at some point, purely from a stuff perspective.
Liam Peterson, Florida – High draft upside, but got hit around and struggled to command the zone. Development here will shape Florida’s season and his draft trajectory.
Next week, we’ll see who holds ground — and who climbs.
And this week inside the paid community, we’ll break down at least one specific moment from the weekend that shows what really separates a Friday night starter from everyone else.
— Anthony
I think Cooper Moore will zoom up based on what I saw. His location and command was wicked.
Out of curiosity did you accidentally leave off Alabama? Looking at their Sat Sun starters stats feel like they should be on it?