{"id":558337,"date":"2026-02-06T19:25:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T19:25:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/558337\/"},"modified":"2026-02-06T19:25:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T19:25:17","slug":"3-pitchers-named-top-200-starting-pitchers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/558337\/","title":{"rendered":"3 pitchers named Top-200 Starting Pitchers"},"content":{"rendered":"

If the latest preseason accolades mean anything, Louisville baseball could have one of the most dynamic pitching staff\u2019s in America.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Well that was quick. D1 Baseball just dropped their list of the Top-200 Starting Pitchers for 2026<\/a>, and Sophomore lefty Ethan Eberle<\/a> is right in there at number 60, Incoming Kent State Transfer Jake Bean<\/a> is on the list at number 111, and Peter Michael<\/a> rounds out the Cardinals\u2019 showing at number 132.<\/p>\n

Ethan Eberle break out loading<\/p>\n

Eberle really turned it on toward the middle of the season last year, and became a very reliable starter all the way through the postseason. Eberle was honored as a 2025 NCAA Nashville Regional All-Tournament Team selection, was named to the 2025 ACC All-Freshman Team<\/a> as well as the Academic All-ACC Team. <\/p>\n

The staff and Coach Dan McDonnell are very high on the potential for him to break out as a sophomore, and when the Cards take the field against Michigan State next Friday, first pitch is all but assured to be thrown by Eberle to start the season.<\/p>\n

Jake Bean = instant impact<\/p>\n

Jake Bean wasted very little time in the portal in the offseason, leaving Kent State after being named to the All-MAC team and ending the year with the third-best ERA in the conference at 4.02. He had a decent strikeout total, but at Louisville, you definitely want to see that ERA number decrease into the 3s (or lower, why not!?). <\/p>\n

The weekend and midweek rotations are far from cemented, but I\u2019d say Bean could be a Saturday guy if everything goes right for him. His competition for that spot on Saturday is a guy who gave the Cards solid innings from a midweek role last year.<\/p>\n

Michael Seeks a return to starter form<\/p>\n

Peter Michael balled out in the Northwoods League after the 2024 season, leading to him committing to Louisville after leaving Northwestern University before last year. Michael was a reliable enough starter last season, notching 13 starts and a 4.83 ERA before other arms emerged and pushed him toward the bench, where he continued to be a vocal leader for the team. <\/p>\n

Michael got a shot to pitch in Omaha, albeit against Coastal in the bracket final \u2013 which ended up being Louisville\u2019s final game of the season. In that outing however, Michael gave Louisville 1.2 innings of work and struck out three Chanticleer batters. He earned 2025 College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team honors, as well as being named to the 2025 Academic All-ACC Team. His teammates recognize his leadership ability, naming him one of the two pitching staff Captains for this 2026 Cardinals team. <\/p>\n

A Return to a starting role and more comfort with ACC hitters should be a boost for Michael to lower his ERA and continue to give the staff quality starts whether it\u2019s on Sunday or against midweek foes.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Louisville\u2019s pitching is in a great spot<\/p>\n

Coach Mac has been very vocal about this pitching staff as a whole flying very much under the national radar. If the second half of the season and the postseason run were any indicators, we are all in for a fun ride. <\/p>\n

The Cardinals now have three position players, as well as three pitchers on D1 Baseball preseason Top Player lists, so it\u2019s very safe to say we are in for an exciting year where the expectation is another deep run into June and hopefully the seventh trip to Omaha.<\/p>\n

The season starts one week from tomorrow when the Cards take the field at Jim Patterson Stadium against Big Ten Foe Michigan State. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00pm.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If the latest preseason accolades mean anything, Louisville baseball could have one of the most dynamic pitching staff\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":558338,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2289],"tags":[12834,5,648,18891,1579,18890,5073,1694,2341],"class_list":{"0":"post-558337","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-college-baseball","8":"tag-acc-baseball","9":"tag-baseball","10":"tag-college-baseball","11":"tag-dan-mcdonnell","12":"tag-louisville","13":"tag-louisville-baseball","14":"tag-louisville-cardinals","15":"tag-ncaa","16":"tag-ncaa-baseball"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116025329822749982","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/558337","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=558337"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/558337\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/558338"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=558337"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=558337"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=558337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}