A growing pitch palette puts Pallette in rotation

Peyton Pallette threw the final pitch of Arkansas' 2020 season.

He will be one of the first to throw for the Razorbacks' this season.

Pallette, a right hander, has positioned himself as a weekend starter in his second season and will be on the mound tonight when No. 8 Arkansas is scheduled to play No. 10 Texas at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. The game is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.

Pallette pitched well for the Razorbacks in his last outing, the day before the 2020 season was canceled last March due to the covid-19 outbreak. He threw two scoreless innings to earn a save against Grand Canyon.

With two runners on base, Pallette induced a game-ending double play in the Razorbacks' 10-9 victory.

"He did a really good job getting through some big jams," Arkansas pitching coach Matt Hobbs said. "I think if that ball ends up getting through, they probably tie the game.

"We kind of thought we were onto something with him ... and I think he was on the verge of doing something pretty good last year as a freshman."

Pallette allowed 1 earned run in 4 appearances in 5 2/3 innings last season. After a couple of months off, he returned to Northwest Arkansas to pitch in the Perfect Timing League at Springdale and then finished the summer in the California Collegiate League.

He worked to develop a changeup last summer and continued a months-long trend of increased velocity. Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said Pallette was hitting 97-98 mph on the radar gun during the first couple of weeks of preseason scrimmages.

The velocity increase has been expected since Pallette became a full-time pitcher. He was mostly an infielder until the summer before his senior year at Benton High School.

He is also young for his class, which can result in delayed development. Pallette won't turn 20 until May, whereas some players turn 21 during their second college season.

Hobbs said the 6-1 Pallette is still growing. He has gained 10 pounds to 175 since last season.

"I feel like he's getting taller, too," Hobbs said.

Pallette committed to Arkansas in July 2018, three days after the Razorbacks returned home from a runner-up finish at the College World Series. Hobbs credits Van Horn, hitting coach Nate Thompson and former pitching coach Wes Johnson for seeing potential in Pallette, who was only 155 pounds at the time and didn't hit 90 mph on the radar gun until about a month before he committed.

"He was a younger kid who was under-recruited by a lot of people," Hobbs said. "Wes and Nate and Coach Van Horn did a good job of identifying him as as prospect. A lot of people didn't.

"His athleticism stands out to me. He was a shortstop and third baseman in high school, and he still goes out and takes ground balls with our infield. He does not look out of place. Usually when you see an athlete like that, you're going to end up with a pretty good pitcher."

Hobbs compares Pallette to Brett Graves, who pitched for Hobbs at Missouri from 2012-14 and briefly made the Miami Marlins' roster in 2018. He said both have "loose, athletic" bodies and similar life to their pitches."

"Peyton is way more advanced than where Brett was at the same time," Hobbs said.

When Pallette returned to campus in the fall, Hobbs said he thought he would be a relief pitcher. But Pallette expressed an interest in starting and did everything his coaches told him was needed to get his body prepared for longer work.

"We looked at it and built him up as one, and he's done a really good job holding his stuff and handling the workload, which is really something you worry about with a guy who's new to starting," Hobbs said. "He's done a really good job getting his body prepared."

He is also doing more than throwing heat. Hobbs said Pallette's curveball is "a really good pitch" and his changeup has become "serviceable" to the point that he now has a trusted three-pitch arsenal. He has also become more consistent throwing his off-speed pitches, particularly to left handers.

"It's mainly been consistency inside the zone, and those things have gotten better," Hobbs said. "He's a better strike thrower now than he was a year ago."

Robert Moore, a Freshman All-America second baseman a year ago, said he sees better mound presence from Pallette.

"I would say just his demeanor on the mound is different," Moore said. "You can tell with some guys when they get on the mound that they're ready to get you, and some guys are timid. As a hitter, over the past year you can just see the confidence build up in him. Whenever you look out there and see him on the mound, you know it's go time because he's going to bring it, and if you don't match his intensity or his focus, you're going to get dominated.

"Obviously his stuff has gotten a lot better But you can tell just by the way Peyton walks around, he's very confident, believes in what he has and he's not afraid to throw his fastball in any count, which is a big trademark to being a great pitcher."

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