When Texas A&M head baseball coach Rob Childress tweets ‘Choo-Choo,’ it is typically in reference to gaining a new recruit.
Over the past two days, Childress has sent out a pair of those graphic tweets, but the ‘recruits’ are ones that are already familiar with playing for the Aggies’ skipper.
Who are they though? It is pitchers Kaylor Chafin and Cason Sherrod – who each turned down major league deals to return for their senior seasons.
Chafin’s return seemed more reasonable as a 32^nd Round pick by the New York Mets. After going through Senior Day festivities, however, added with his strong redshirt junior campaign, it appeared that Chafin’s final appearance in the maroon and white came during his 5.1 scoreless innings in the Aggies’ College World Series eliminating loss to TCU.
But as Chafin said in his tweet announcing his return on Thursday, “What hurt could one more year do?”
That hurt could come to opposing batting orders with A&M’s Pitcher of the Year back in the rotation, who was arguably the Aggies’ best player at times in 2017 and kept things a float when games seemed to be going downhill.
For the season, Chafin was 7-2 with a 2.33 ERA and recorded three saves in 31 appearances. In SEC play, Chafin was 5-0 with a 2.08 ERA with opponents batting .165 against the southpaw, which included a stretch of 28.1 scoreless innings over a span of 11 relief appearances.
The question remains whether or not Chafin will remain the go-to reliever or potentially slide into the weekend rotation.
For Sherrod, the decision to return may have been harder as a 13^th Round pick by the Kansas City Royals. And so came a surprise when the Dallas-native announced his decision Friday morning.
With his electric fastball, Sherrod could be a pencil-in to become the Aggies’ right-handed closer.
The potential starting rotation of Chafin-Mitchell Kilkenny-Stephen Kolek, added with John Doxakis in a possible starting role gives A&M an arsenal up front, one that is even from both sides as well.
A bullpen headed by Sherrod followed by Jason Ruffcorn, Landon Miner and Mason Cole, who returns from injury, from the right-side added with lefties Kyle Richardson and incoming freshman Asa Lacy from the left give the Aggies major depth on the back end, too.
A&M’s trip to Omaha may have given Chafin and Sherrod cold feet about testing the big league waters this year and their choice to come back to College Station for one final season could very well be a difference-maker in the Aggies returning to the greatest show on dirt come next June.