ATHENS — Georgia baseball coach Wes Johnson is studying his team the way that his team studies his knowledge with the SEC season looming 10 days away.
Johnson is well-known for his statistical process in making coaching decisions, but his attention to detail expands further than that.
Johnson imported 27 newcomers this offseason and used a specific plan for his pre-conference schedule to understand his new roster.
It’s not just about who the Bulldogs (13-1) picked to play in the four weeks before SEC action. It’s also about how often they play, and it’s no coincidence that Johnson’s team has played more games than every high-major program in the country.
UGA will finish its final pre-SEC week with 19 games under its belt after playing five more between Tuesday and Sunday. Georgia hosts High Point and Georgia State at 3 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.
The Bulldogs get Thursday off before hosting a three-game series against Columbia that starts Friday.
“What you’re seeing with a lot of your mid-major teams now is they’re giving you a lot of different looks off the mound that you may or may not see in SEC play,” Johnson said. “I schedule so many games early to try to figure out a lot about our team, so I think we’re getting there.”
Georgia’s offense certainly does have a different look to it than it did last season, simply because it has different looks. The 2024 Bulldogs were known for their power, and rightfully so, considering they hit a program-record 151 homers.
To be clear, Georgia still flexes its muscles plenty. The Bulldogs have hit 27 homers, good for fifth most in the country.
But UGA has added another layer of finesse to its offense this season. Transfers Robbie Burnett, Nolan McCarthy and Daniel Jackson all have multiple homers, but they also all have at least a .400 on-base percentage and 16 combined stolen bases.
Georgia finished last season with 22 stolen bases in 25 attempts. The Bulldogs are 22 of 25 right now, with 41 more games on their regular-season schedule.
A pitching coach by trade, Johnson also learned what he wanted to know about his staff before starting conference play.
The former Minnesota Twins pitching coach indicated he has a plan for Georgia’s first week of SEC action. He’ll have to wait until next Monday to implement it, though, thanks to five more games this week.
“Now that we’ve got a feel for what I think I want to do pitching-wise, you can’t really make any changes,” Johnson said. “It’s not like you can just go, ‘We’ll put this guy here and start him on Friday,’ after you’ve done some things.
“But we’ll have it reset and completely ready to go for opening weekend against Kentucky in conference.”
Leighton Finley is Georgia’s only pitcher to play consistently a traditional starting role this season. He’s the only Bulldog starter to go five innings or more, largely because Georgia has used so many openers to start games.
Charlie Goldstein and JT Quinn, for example, have started the past few weekends for Georgia on a pitch count as they recover from injuries sustained in 2024.
Goldstein is Georgia’s only remaining 2020 recruiting class member and has been a weekend starter for most of his career when healthy. The Alpharetta native has pitched four no-hit innings in three times opening a game this season.
Quinn is one of two UGA portal pitchers to transfer from another SEC school. The Ole Miss transfer has opened three weekend games, surrendering two earned runs in five total innings.
“In the fall, he was really good, we had to slow him down a little bit,” Johnson said of Quinn. “Him and Goldstein are both coming where we’re able to throw them a little longer at times.”
Georgia’s starting pitching is messy right now, and it might stay that way even after the schedule calms down. But Johnson has a plan for his team’s starting rotation when the Bulldogs welcome Kentucky to Foley Field next weekend.
A 20-game pre-SEC schedule and a deep pitching staff offer plenty of flexibility until some of Johnson’s top arms completely heal.
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