Left-handed pitcher Ryan Mullins, a key arm on coach Tim Corbin's first teams, makes our top 100 list at No. 67. Here is a complete list of our selections as we count down to No. 1.
NOTE: A previous version of this article incorrectly included a photo of Grayson Garvin instead of Ryan Mullins. We apologize for the error.
Honors and awards: 2004 SEBaseball.com second-team All-Southeastern Conference
2004 SEC Pitcher of the Week
2004 Team USA
2005 SEC Pitcher of the Week (April 18)
In the VU record book: Mullins does not place on any single-season or career charts
Before VU: Starred at Nashville's Father Ryan, going 4-1 with 54 strikeouts and a 1.38 ERA in 39 innings as a senior, when he was the team captain. Missed half his senior year with an injury but led the team to a state title and was named all-state anyway. Was MVP of the state tournament as a junior, and all-region his last two years. Went 9-3 with 108 strikeouts and a 1.14 ERA in 78 innings as a junior. Lettered three years in basketball.
Freshman (2003): Appeared 15 times, with 13 starts. Appeared 10 times in SEC play, starting nine, with a 2-6 record and a 3.94 ERA, with 45 strikeouts and 14 walks spanning 61 1/3 innings. Earned a win in his first appearance, striking out six in six innings while allowing two runs (one earned) vs. ETSU. Went a season-high eight innings, striking out seven while allowing two runs (both earned) vs. Jacksonville. Struck out six over seven innings, allowing one (earned) run vs. Florida. Started VU's 3-0 shutout of Auburn.
Sophomore (2004): Was the Saturday starter on VU's 45-19 team that went 16-14 in the league and made the school's first NCAA tournament appearance since 1980.Had the best SEC ERA (2.47) on the staff, as he went 5-2 in 65 2/3 innings, with 50 strikeouts and 18 walks. Led the team with a 2.58 ERA. Made it into the seventh inning in 11 of 17 starts, and won nine straight starts before losing to Texas in the Austin Super Regional. Allowed five runs, struck out 23 and walked two in 22 innings of three postseason games. That included a complete-game shutout of Princeton in the Charlottesville Regional and an eight-inning, 12-strikeout effort vs. Florida in the SEC tournament. Struck out 12 and faced just two hitters over the minimum while striking out 12 in a win over Southern Illinois. Part of a four-man no-hitter for Team USA against Canada that summer.
Junior (2005): Made 13 appearances (12 starts) for a 34-21 (13-17 SEC) team that missed the NCAA tournament. Made nine SEC appearances, with eight starts, and posted a 3-1 record with a 3.28 ERA in 46 2/3 innings, walking 20 and striking out 36. Picked up a win in 2-1 wins over South Carolina and Tennessee. Missed time with a suspension for a violation of team rules that was announced on March 10.
Post-VU: The Twins took Mullins in Round 3 of the 2005 MLB Draft. Mullins played in the Minors until 2011, reaching AAA but never the Majors.
Final thoughts, and why I ranked him where I did: Even with Vanderbilt's pitching talent over the past two decades, few Commodore arms have come in more polished and ready to compete on weekends than did Mullins. The lefty was always around the plate and consistently pitched deep into games. That's an exceptionally valuable commodity, and he did it for three years.
Two things go against Mullins. First, other than his sophomore year, he didn't have a hand in as much significant winning as a number of others on the list. Second, his junior-year suspension hurt the team. VU was 12-0 at the time of it, then, got swept by Baylor the first weekend without Mullins; that included a 16-5 rout when Jeff Sues took Mullins's spot in the rotation. The Commodores also lost Game 2 to Mississippi State without him the next weekend. VU barely missed the SEC and NCAA tournaments that year, and another win or two there may have made a difference.
If I erred on where I ranked Mullins, I think it's that I have him too low. There are only five pitchers ahead of him who threw more innings, and nine pitchers ahead of him whose ERAs (adjusted for run-scoring environment) are worse. But with the bigger picture in mind, this is where I settled.
