When the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets started the season, I am sure that I was not the only Yellow Jackets fan that moaned and groaned when I found out about how much of a role that relief pitcher Mason Patel would have this season, but I think that he has without a doubt left little to wonder about for fans as to if he was up for the role.
Last season, Patel had an 8.25 ERA, so reasonably so, fans thought that it would be another long season for relief pitching, but Patel has been a pleasant surprise this season, and dare I say, even a historically great one.
Up until his appearance last weekend against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Patel had not given up a run. Then, over the weekend series against the No.6 ranked Clemson Tigers, Patel allowed four runs in four innings. It was his first lost of the season, but other than that performance, Patel has been a workhorse for the Yellow Jackets.
He was 7-0 until the loss to the Tigers, and his ERA is still among the best in baseball, as his .61 ERA is ranked second in the entire country, and even more impressive, Patel has done it in a lot of innings, pitching in a total of 29.2 innings this season.
His seven wins this season is tied with UTSA pitcher Robert Orloski for the most in division one baseball this season. Patel is tied with Brady Jones for the second-most strikeouts on the team with 28.