Xavier righty Ryan Piech is one of the better mid-major arms that nobody is talking about. Battle-tested throughout his career, now reaping the rewards in his junior season.
Piech is coming off a strong effort in week two against Arkansas, punching out nine batters in four innings of work, allowing just two hits and three runs, all of which came in the first inning. Despite suffering the loss in that outing, Piech has proved his merit early in 2026, facing strong non-conference opponents in Arkansas and East Carolina in week one.
Piech was a top ten recruit from Ohio in the 2023 class per Perfect Game, but never fully established himself as a draft prospect coming out of high school. Piech missed all of his freshman season due to Tommy John surgery, but came out in 2024 with few restrictions, starting 14 games in 2025.
Piech pitched to a 5.11 …