Senior pitcher Chris Cullen watches the ball after delivering a pitch during the game against Eastern Michigan on March 26 at Kobs Field. Cullen leads the pitching staff with four wins and a 2.85 ERA.
Before this season, Chris Cullen bounced around the MSU baseball team’s pitching staff without any firm role.
But with a little help from pitching coach Tom Lipari and some offseason work, the senior right-hander has developed into arguably the team’s most dependable starting pitcher, a place head coach David Grewe plans to keep him.
“He’s kind of emerged more as a guy that excels a little bit better as a starting pitcher just because of his pitch repertoire,” Grewe said. “Every outing, he’s gone out there and really competed for us. That’s what I’ve challenged our guys to do — compete, compete with confidence and have fun and he’s done all three of those and that’s why he’s been so successful.”
Last season, Cullen had 18 appearances out of the bullpen, good for third-most on the team. He pitched 23.2 innings and struck out 12.
This season, he’s anchored the starting rotation and leads the staff in wins (4), ERA (2.85) and innings pitched (47.1). His ERA, third-lowest in the conference, dropped significantly thanks to a complete game shutout against Ohio State on April 13.
Cullen, who said he would rather fly under the radar than receive recognition, was named Big Ten Co-Pitcher of the Week.
“I give a lot of credit to the guys behind me for picking the ball up just as well as I’m pitching, so it’s a team thing,” Cullen said. “I’m finding myself pretty comfortable being a starter — pitching a set routine.”
Hailing from Ontario, Cullen set out for Coastal Carolina University after graduation, following in the footsteps of some of his high school teammates.
After spending time there, he headed north to be closer to home.
“I went to Coastal with plans on being there but some things didn’t work out,” he said. “There’s nothing bad to say about being there. It helped me realize how hard you have to work to be good and be consistent.”
Graduating next December, Cullen hasn’t been drafted to play professionally but said he hopes to continue playing baseball to avoid “looking into the real world just yet.”
But since he came to East Lansing, his numbers have continued to grow.
He’s spent time in the offseason working on his pitch arsenal and mechanics, and his teammates are reaping the benefits.
“He really worked on being more linear to the plate, mechanically, instead of rotating as much where the ball would go across the zone,” Grewe said.
“Because he’s going down the plane, he can establish both sides of the plate with his fastball. You put that all together and you’ve got a pretty darn good pitcher.”
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