We are within two weeks of opening day for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and the rest of college baseball. We are previewing each projected starting position player and pitcher on the roster ahead of the Jackets season opener against Bowling Green on February 13th, so our preview of the arms continues with Mason Patel.
Following junior Tate McKee who is expected to handle the Friday night starting role for Georgia Tech, the rest of the weekend rotation is still not quite set in stone. A number of different arms could slot into those final two spots, and it could look completely different by season’s end, however, Mason Patel is projected to slot into the Saturday role at the moment.
A sixth year senior, Patel is ironically coming off of his first season in which he didn’t make a single start. Patel spent his first three seasons of college baseball across town at Georgia State where he made a combined 11 starts before making five starts for the Jackets in 2024. He made 23 appearances out of the bullpen a year ago for the Jackets, establishing himself as one of the top relievers in the ACC. Patel’s 2025 season earned him a selection to the NCBWA All-American second team and the All-ACC second team after posting a 3.47 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP across his 23 outings.
Regardless of the fact that he worked entirely out of the bullpen a year ago, Patel led the pitching staff in wins with 11 which can be contributed to the amount of multi-inning outings he made throughout the season. He logged 70 innings, a mark that ranked second on the team only behind McKee, as 17 of his 23 appearances were multi-inning outings. His longest outing on the season was a 6 and 2/3 inning appearance at Notre Dame on March 22nd where he allowed just one earned run while striking out seven.
There’s no doubt that Patel can handle the workload of a starter. He has the tools to be a successful one as well. It’s a three pitch mix for the 24 year old right-hander. He features a low-90s fastball, a low-80s slider, and a low-80s changeup. His changeup is the best pitch in his arsenal and was a big reason he was so successful out of the bullpen. It was a pitch he could drop in the zone for called and swinging strikes and was a pitch he could induce chase and soft contact with. Out of the bullpen, that was a pitch he could really lean on as it wasn’t an offering that was only effective against opposite-handed hitters which is typically the case across all levels of baseball.
It’s not elite stuff with eye-popping metrics by any means, but his command with all three of his offerings stand out and should give him a high floor as a starter. With solid mechanics and athleticism on the mound along with a polished pitch-mix, there’s reason to believe Patel has the potential to break out as one of the top starters in the ACC in 2026.
Georgia Tech Baseball Focus 
Leave a comment