Penn State baseball loses projected starting pitcher for season

Penn State senior right-hander Frankie Sanchez, a projected rotation piece for the Nittany Lions, will miss the 2025 season to undergo Tommy John surgery on his injured throwing elbow.

Sanchez had a 2-3 record and a 7.65 earned run average last season for Penn State. He started in nine games and appeared in 13 for the Nittany Lions. He spent the previous two seasons with Division II Southern New Hampshire University, where he tallied an 8-1 record and a 2.44 earned run average in 2023 with the Penmen.

The news was announced earlier today on X, however the source is from head coach Mike Gambino in an interview with college baseball personality Noah Darling on the Truck Stop Baseball podcast on Spotify.

Sanchez's spot in the rotation looks to be filled by sophomore lefthander Matt Morash, who struck out 26 batters in 18 appearances last season. Morash pitched four scoreless innings in the Big Ten semifinal win over Michigan last season that propelled the Nittany Lions to the conference championship game.

Morash might not go long into games first, but he won't need to as the Penn State bullpen gained tons of depth in the offseason. Some of the newcomers include lefthanders Logan Olson and Zach Mizrahi as well as righthanders Skip Shenosky and Dimond Loosli.

The bullpen adds freshman righthanders Sean Williams, Riley Weatherwax, and Matthew VanOstenbridge. Lefthander Charles Mau is also joining the quartet of freshmen arms from North Allegheny High School in Pennsylvania.

The injury to Sanchez deals a blow to the Nittany Lions, however, Penn State has no shortage of depth. With 13 pitchers coming in from the transfer portal and the Class of 2024, Penn State will have some good options to be the next man up.

The Nittany Lions open their 2025 campaign in Puerto Rico against Missouri, Stetson, and UConn this weekend.