Brian O’Connor’s Cavaliers started the 2014 baseball campaign with the expectation that they would be a better defensive club than the 2013 edition with a deep and talented, though somewhat undefined, pitching staff.

Now 37 games into the season, the Hoos are one of the top defensive clubs in the nation and pitching roles have been defined. The feeling around Davenport Field is that the offense will come around but for many observers, the pitching already has turned some heads.

In a January preseason interview with UVa pitching coach Karl Kuhn, he told me the most interesting thing for him this season was to see if the rotation that started the season was the same when it concluded.

“I think our rotation will be unique in that there is so much talent and depth that guys are going to have to learn to step up and earn it. What’s going to be really interesting is to watch how we open the season and see if it’s the same way we end the season,” Kuhn said. “I’m willing to bet that it’s not as these guys play and define how they’re going to get this team where we want to go.”

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