Texas Tech baseball top 10 players: No. 8 Ryan Shetter

No player may be more responsible for keeping the Red Raiders season on track last year than Ryan Shetter. He might not have been the best pitcher on staff or have the most dominant stuff on staff but he provided needed consistency. When Davis Martin went down with an injury early in conference play it looked like the Red Raiders had one dominant starter and would have to plug holes until Martin returned.

This turned out to be totally untrue because Shetter had a career year and solidified the Sunday starting pitcher role. The pitching staff went from having to piece together two games to having to do that for only one game. He started 15 games last season and had a 3.71 ERA.

He was particularly good starting at home, with an ERA of 2.95 in 36 innings of work. In the majority of the games he started, he allowed the Tech offense to stay in games and most times wear down an opposing pitching staff that was heavily taxed by Sunday afternoon. This season he will need to continue to improve on the road where his ERA jumps 5.79.

There have been rumors that Shetter is being challenged for the Sunday starting role this season by the likes of John McMillon. This seems to be a win-win for the Red Raiders. If McMillon beats Shetter out for the Sunday starting role then Shetter would either move into the mid-week starter role or into a bullpen role. If Shetter remains the Sunday starter then you will have a weekend rotation that has depth, experience, and incredible talent.