There’s a New Sunday Starter in Town… His Name is BJ Bailey

BJ Bailey (Photo Credit: Clemson Athletics)

Coming into the season, many experts around college baseball questioned the back end of the Clemson rotation and their bullpen. Those concerns became a reality when Clemson's first loss of the season was a 15-5 beating against Ole Miss. Ever since that game, the concerns have only grown about Justin LeGuernic and the rest of the Clemson pitching staff. On Saturday, March 29, against Georgia Tech, Erik Bakich decided to make a change to his weekend rotation and use BJ Bailey as his third starter instead of the struggling Justin LeGuernic. The graduate senior, pitching in just his second season with the Tigers, showed precisely why Bakich made the change. 

BJ Bailey's Strong Senior Season

After a solid 2023 season with the Tigers, sporting a 4.02 ERA, Bailey unfortunately missed all of last season due to an injury sustained in the fall. The Woodruff, South Carolina native has bounced back from his season-long injury in the best way possible. Coming into the Georgia Tech game, Bailey had a 0.43 ERA, allowing just one earned run in 21 innings pitched out of the bullpen. He continued his dominance as a starting pitcher, going 6.2 innings, allowing just four hits and one run. The one run allowed by Bailey was off of a two-out balk, which allowed the runner to score from third after Bailey flinched before going into his windup. Although Bailey was terrific, he struggled with his command at times, walking three batters and throwing a wild pitch in his six-plus innings of work. Erik Bakich's decision to start BJ Bailey in the second game of the Tigers' doubleheader could end up being the difference between this team finding their way back to Omaha or not.

What's Next for Justin LeGuernic?

Erik Bakich and the Clemson staff had a lot of hope for Justin LeGuernic as the team's Sunday starter coming into the season, but unfortunately, it didn't work out. LeGuernic has struggled mightily this season with an 0-2 record and a 7.58 ERA in six starts and eight appearances. The sophomore left-hander could never get going this season as his first start was against a strong Ole Miss team that put up seven runs in 1.2 innings against LeGuernic. After the Ole Miss game, it seemed LeGuernic had settled down, shutting out NC A&T and South Carolina in 10 innings of work. But after struggling against Davidson and Notre Dame, the Tigers realized they needed to make a change. Clemson gave LeGuernic's Sunday spot to BJ Bailey and moved LeGuernic into the bullpen. Although he only pitched 6.2 innings, LeGuernic spent eight of his nine outings coming out of the bullpen last season, which could help the sophomore get back on track. The Dix Hills, New York native could potentially get some high-leverage situations out of the bullpen if he can prove what the Tigers know he can do.