Rev’s rundown: April 2

Welcome to another edition of Rev's Rundown. Contributing writer Adam Revelette offers his thoughts from the week and previews upcoming opponents.

The elephant in the room

There’s no way to sugarcoat the fact that Kentucky has struggled on the mound lately, largely a result of the recent bullpen workload increase. Nate Harris has averaged about 4.5 IP per SEC start, and Ben Cleaver has yet to see the fifth frame in 2026, hovering around the 70 pitch mark all season (he was pulled after 52 pitches in the 3rd at LSU). Learning how to “clean up your own mess” is an important part of development for pitchers, and until lately, Cleaver simply hadn’t created many of his own messes in his career. That learning curve has been steep, but I’m betting on a “bow your neck” moment out of the southpaw soon. 

Staying ready > Getting ready

One good thing about a pitching slump is that a lot of different guys get touches in a lot of unexpected places in the game. The “next man up” mentality is probably on every dugout wall in the country at this point in the season, but it doesn’t truly set in until new arms actually get in the game. There are plenty of pitching staffs around the country who probably have 10+ guys that show up at the ballpark every day knowing they have no chance to pitch. Hard to get better that way.

Kentucky has 10 relievers who have all logged six or more appearances. Hopefully, they are embracing the feeling that their number may be called upon in any game as they log the experience to handle it. Those opportunities will dissipate over time as new guys emerge and kick in that proverbial door. I’m looking forward to seeing who takes advantage.