Youth movement in pitching begins

Auburn’s pitching rotation keeps getting younger.

AU will start three freshmen this weekend against Tennessee, with right-hander Bradley Hendrix joining fellow rookies Grant Dayton and Cory Luckie on the mound. But while some coaches would be alarmed by such a youth movement, Auburn’s Tom Slater is taking it in stride.

Thursday, during Slater’s weekly conference call, the coach was asked if the idea of three freshman starters in a Southeastern Conference series was “nerve-wracking.”

The short version of his response: Nope.

“What’s nerve-wracking is when you have players on the field that you don’t think are very good. That’s nerve-wracking,” Slater said.

“Age never bothers me. Our young pitchers throw strikes. I don’t get real nerve-wracked about that. I get nerve-wracked when guys don’t throw strikes.”

And the youngsters’ performance so far has justified their coach’s calm. Luckie is 3-2 with a 2.55 ERA — tops among Auburn’s starters — while Dayton is 2-1 with a 2.67 ERA.

Dayton will pitch today’s series opener, which begins at 6 p.m. Luckie will start Saturday’s game.

Dayton threw six shutout innings in last Friday’s 2-0 win against Kentucky; Luckie allowed five runs on Saturday but lasted eight innings and picked up the win.

“They’re Steady Eddies,” Slater said of the two. “They’re going to fill up the strike zone.”

Hendrix, this weekend’s Sunday starter, has been mostly a reliever this season: Eight of his nine appearances have come out of the bullpen. But Slater likes the freshman’s talent and his willingness to pound the strike zone with three pitches: A fastball, changeup and slider.

“He’s had a lot of good outings,” Slater said. “We like the way he’s been pitching and competing.”

Auburn’s pitching rotation might not be quite so young much longer. Junior Paul Burnside threw an inning of relief in Wednesday’s win against Samford, his first appearance of the season.

Burnside, who is recovering from a broken collarbone, won’t be back in the rotation for a few more weeks. But his experience — he was AU’s ace last season — could be invaluable down the stretch.

For now, Auburn will trust its all-rookie rotation and Slater’s steady nerves.

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