Iowa baseball: Three early predictions for 2020 roster

Cole McDonald was terrific in 2019 for the Hawkeyes pitching staff

The Iowa baseball team is going to have to find a way to replace Cole McDonald’s production. Luckily, they will likely have Grant Judkins back and he tossed 82.2 innings to the tune of a 2.24 ERA in 2019.

Cam Baumann figures to have a larger role in 2020 as the lefty threw 64.2 innings with a 5.29 ERA. His problem this past season was the walks. He allowed 38 free passes with a WHIP of 1.79, which he will definitely need to improve if he wants to stick in this rotation.

Duncan Davitt also appears to have a much larger role in 2020. He made just four starts this past season as a freshman but appeared in 17 games, throwing 39.2 innings with a 5.22 ERA. He has the potential to be a terrific strikeout pitcher but he too needs to figure out his command as he allowed 26 free passes.

Trenton Wallace might be the final guy to fill out this rotation for the Iowa baseball team. The Rock Island, Illinois native will be a junior next season and made just three starts but he appeared in 14 games. He threw 26.2 innings last year and struck out 31 batters but allowed 16 walks to the tune of a 6.41 ERA. Opponents batted 0.295 off Wallace last year, so that is something that Rick Heller and his coaching staff will need to consider.

Iowa’s 2019 recruiting class is ranked 60th in the nation and 6th overall in the Big Ten. They have five incoming pitchers who could all make a case for a spot in the rotation similar to Davitt. It will be interesting to see how this unfolds heading into next season, but there is definitely a lot of talent still on the roster to attain at least 30 wins.

Hopefully, the Iowa baseball team learned something from their five game losing streak to end the season and what could have been. Unfortunately, they will be stuck with this feeling until they get going again.