Texas baseball pitcher Dylan Volantis said he didn’t change his mentality as he transitioned from reliever to starter over the offseason. But he did alter his arsenal. 

Volantis rode a uniquely dynamic sinker and borderline unhittable slider to a remarkable freshman season pitching out of the bullpen. Now the Longhorns’ Sunday starter, the 6-foot-6 Californian added a changeup to give him a third option that can help him manage multiple trips through the opposition’s lineup. 

He broke it out for the first time in Sunday’s 9-1 victory over UC Davis. Nine of the 78 pitches he threw were changeups. Four of those missed the zone, three generated swings and misses and one was taken for a strike. The only hit Volantis surrendered in seven sparkling innings came on a changeup that Aggies leftfielder Zach Story tagged for a double. 

“It felt really good,” Volantis said afterward. “Threw it in the strike zone. So really happy with where it’s at.” 

The pitch, Volantis said, is meant to generate weak contact. Fading down and away from righthanded batters, the diminished velocity can keep hitters honest and help keep them off his sinker. 

“Get the hitters out in front, make them roll over, swing and miss kind of deal,” he said. 

Sometimes, adding an extra ingredient can throw the recipe out of balance. Volantis’ changeup, at least on Sunday, acted like a bit of whipped cream atop a mug of hot chocolate or a dab of ketchup on french fries. 

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Volantis allowed one unearned run in seven innings. He gave up just one hit and a walk while striking out eight Aggies. If there were any concerns about how his profile might play as a starting pitcher after he pitched to a 1.92 ERA out of the bullpen last year, Sunday’s outing calmed them. 

“He had full control of the game,” Texas coach Jim Schlossnagle said. “Felt like once he kind of found himself there in the second inning, found his breaking ball, he really looked like himself from the last year.”

The true difference maker, as usual, was Volantis’ sinking fastball. 

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Because of Volantis’ height, hitters say, the sinking action on the pitch appears more dramatic. Volantis missed plenty of bats, but he also generated loads of soft contact as hitters failed to lift his sinker. Ten of the 21 outs Volantis secured came from ground balls. 

“It’s deception,” Texas shortstop Adrian Rodriguez said. “He’s so over the top. He’s just one of a kind. He’s one of the best pitchers in the country.”

One of the best pitchers in the country, using Rodriguez’s words, is starting on Sundays, where many programs often find themselves short of viable options after exhausting them on Fridays and Saturdays. Just ask No. 23 Vanderbilt and No. 2 LSU, who gave up 11 and 7 runs, respectively, to unranked teams Sunday. 

Factoring in strong outings by Ruger Riojas on Friday and Luke Harrison on Saturday, Texas’ starting pitchers allowed three earned runs in 17⅓ innings of work on the weekend. 

“We got three really good starts,” Schlossnagle said. “Luke had to pitch around some traffic, as did Ruger in the first game. Dylan was obviously awesome. So I feel really good about that.”