Freshman Bailey displays stuff, poise, confidence in hot start for UA baseball

By his estimation, Arizona freshman Smith Bailey is two weeks behind his fellow pitchers.

One can only imagine how he’ll perform once he catches up.

Despite missing time because of bouts with the flu and norovirus, Bailey is off to a sensational start with the Wildcats. The right-hander from Glendale Mountain Ridge High School has yet to allow a run in nine innings.

Chip Hale and his staff knew Bailey had high-end potential; along with fellow in-state hurler Mason Russell, Bailey was on the radar for MLB teams in last summer’s draft.

But to be this effective this soon?

“I gotta stay humble and say I'm a little bit surprised,” Bailey said. “But all the work’s paid off.”

Bailey has settled into the No. 3 starting job, at least for now. He’s scheduled to face No. 3 Tennessee on Sunday, Arizona’s final game in the Astros Foundation College Classic in Houston. UA faces No. 1 Texas A&M on Friday and No. 18 Mississippi State on Saturday.

Bailey has impressed his older teammates not only with his stuff — including a mid-90s fastball and multiple breaking pitches he can land for strikes — but his composure.

“One of the biggest things is his poise, especially as a freshman,” said senior Tommy Splaine, who has caught both of Bailey’s starts. “His body language up there is one of the best on our team, and he's just filling up the strike zone with three to four pitches on a consistent basis.

“He's just showing up every day, giving us a chance and doing it with conviction.”

Bailey made his collegiate debut against Louisville on Feb. 16 in Arlington, Texas. He allowed three hits, didn’t walk a batter and struck out five in four scoreless innings.

His workload increased this past Sunday against San Diego. He threw five innings, again allowing only three hits. Bailey walked one and struck out three. His pitch count increased from 53 to 66.

Bailey has thrown 66.4% of his pitches for strikes.

“Honestly ... the only thing I really think about is controlling my breath,” Bailey said. “If I do that, then everything else kind of plays out.

“I try to play offense on the mound. I try to just attack hitters with everything I got, no matter the pitch, throw it in the zone. I trust all eight guys out here that they'll play defense behind me.”

Bailey wears a pink glove. His nickname, “Big Seeds,” is embroidered on one of the fingers.

Regarding its color, Bailey said: “I started doing it in high school. It helps me be myself. It’s a reminder of, ‘Do you.’ No one else has a pink glove. But I do. So just be myself, go out there and pitch how I know how to pitch.”

And the nickname?

“My nickname was ‘Seeds’ when I was younger because I’d walk around with pockets full of seeds at my brother’s games,” Bailey said. “I was like 7 or 8. Then I hit a growth spurt, and people put ‘Big’ in front of it.”

As he grew into a big-time prospect, Bailey had the opportunity to turn pro out of high school. He elected to attend Arizona, where he could work with pitching coaches Kevin Vance and John DeRouin.

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“They're just ... really good with development,” Bailey said. “I knew that being here ... I would leave a better player and a better person.”

It would be hard for Bailey to pitch better than he has so far. He could pitch longer, and that should come with time.

Bailey also is bound to hit some rough patches. Tennessee will present a significant challenge. The Volunteers lead the nation in home runs and slugging percentage.

“Every time he's been at practice, and every time he's been on the mound, there's just an air of confidence,” UA coach Chip Hale said. “I'll be very interested to see when he has one of those games where someone knocks him around a little bit, see how he handles it. It'll be a time for him to grow up a little bit.”

Trust in Tommy

Arizona defeated Rice 11-8 Wednesday, scoring five runs in the seventh inning to overcome a 7-5 deficit. Catcher Adonys Guzman put the Wildcats ahead with a three-RBI double. Guzman earlier hit a two-run homer.

In the midst of a career night at the plate, Guzman was involved in a play that won’t make any highlight reels.

Rice’s Tobias Motley led off the bottom of the ninth with a popup toward pitcher Julian Tonghini. Guzman aggressively pursued the popup, which ended up landing a few feet in front of the mound for a single.

Hale said first baseman Andrew Cain should have called off Guzman. If not Cain, then third baseman Maddox Mihalakis. Or even Tonghini.

“That's the first baseman’s ball, first or third, and where it was, it should have been Andrew’s ball all the way,” Hale said.

Cain, a sophomore, is still learning how to play first base after playing on the left side of the infield at Ironwood Ridge High School.

“He's got to earn that trust for me, that he can take over and come in and be a leader and take that ball,” Hale said.

Splaine has earned Hale’s trust. That’s why the senior is getting most of the starts at first base (with the occasional start at catcher).

At the plate, Splaine went 4 for 10 with three doubles against USD. He also has drawn five walks in 24 plate appearances after drawing only nine in 208 plate appearances last season.

“This year I'm definitely a lot more comfortable,” said Splaine, who hit a career-worst .230 last season. “I feel like I ... kind of figured out what I want to do in terms of my approach.

“There's still a lot to work on and improve. ... But at this point, I feel like I’ve got this good, solid foundation that I'm building off of and just sticking with right now.”

Inside pitch

– Arizona is sticking with same rotation as the first two weekends, with right-handers Collin McKinney and Owen Kramkowski preceding Bailey. McKinney was pulled after three innings against USD because of a drop in velocity, which was deemed a mechanical issue. He’s from Nassau Bay, Texas, a suburb of Houston.

– Texas A&M has lost two in a row after a 5-0 start. The Aggies also have lost sophomore third baseman Gavin Grahovac to a season-ending shoulder injury. Grahovac was the SEC Freshman of the Year in 2024 after hitting .298 with 23 home runs and 66 RBIs.

– Texas A&M and Tennessee faced each other in the finals of last year’s College World Series. The Vols won in three games. Did it cross Hale’s mind that his team would face both the following season? “It did, and we were excited about it,” Hale said. “We talked about it (Wednesday) night after the game. Obviously we didn't fare well in (Arlington). I think we played better than 0-3. (But) it doesn't matter, because wins are what matters in college baseball. We need to beat some of these teams and prove that we're at that level.”