T-Rat Talk: Tyson Hardin

On a typical weekend day at this time last year pitcher Tyson Hardin would be settling in to wait his turn in the Mississippi State bullpen. This year, however, he’s playing a much more prominent role in the Midwest League with the Timber Rattlers.

🏆🏆🏆Pitcher of the Month for April: Tyson Hardin

In an incredible start to his professional career, Hardin threw 18.2 innings and allowed just 2 runs and 4 walks while striking out 20 batters with the High-A @TimberRattlers#ThisIsMyCrew pic.twitter.com/SxoYZvEKX5

— Brewers Player Development (@BrewersPD) May 7, 2025

Hardin had a 3.22 earned run average across 25 outings, mostly in relief, in his final college season in 2024 and struck out almost a batter per inning, but he was also on one of the most talented pitching staffs in the nation: Eight of Mississippi State’s eleven draftees from last season were pitchers, including first round pick Jurrangelo Cijntje (Mariners), second round pick Khal Stephen (Blue Jays) and third round pick Nate Dohm (Mets). When the Brewers took Hardin with the 365th overall pick he was the sixth pitcher from his own team to come off the board.

Hardin said spending his college career surrounded by so many talented prospects helped his development “a ton.”

“You’re constantly having conversations with all of the guys. We had a first rounder, a second rounder, a third rounder, so you know we’ve got a lot of guys that are really talented. So talking shop with them, picking their brain, everyone was just helping each other out,” Hardin said.

Having so many highly regarded teammates may have helped Hardin develop, but they also limited his opportunities. He started just two games across a pair of seasons in the SEC and logged just 36 ⅓ innings in his junior season, fifth-most on the team. Despite having to wait his turn behind his teammates, however, Hardin said he’s happy with his decision to attend Mississippi State.

“I wouldn’t change it. I had the time of my life there. I was perfectly ok with my role, I just wanted to play and give my team the best chance,” Hardin said.

Starkvegas,
Thank you for letting a kid live out his dreams. It has Been an honor to represent the M over S. #hailstateforever🐶 pic.twitter.com/zz3P2qSRQ8

— Tyson hardin (@Tysonhardin02) July 18, 2024

In the year since his final collegiate game, however, nearly everything has changed for Hardin. While he only pitched two regular season games with Carolina in his professional debut season, there was much more work behind the scenes to prepare him for his first full year of affiliated baseball.

“I mean, it was a lot of development down in Arizona. I got out there four, five days after the draft and then just got to work with pitching coaches, redefining my stuff and getting after it,” Hardin said.

Part of Hardin’s adjustment to professional ball involved a major change to his pitching repertoire. While he primarily threw a two-seam sinking fastball at Mississippi State, he now throws a four seamer that is slightly faster but doesn’t have the same vertical movement. Also, after pitching out of the bullpen for two years in college he started making preparations to work out of a starting rotation.

“So it’s been an adjustment, and it’s been a lot of fun,” Hardin said.

With Wisconsin those adjustments have paid major dividends. Hardin has allowed just two runs over 25 ⅔ innings in his first five starts, striking out 29 and walking just four. On Saturday he pitched seven shutout innings in the Timber Rattlers’ game against West Michigan and after the game he told the Timber Rattlers Review podcast that he didn’t remember the last time he had worked that deep into a game.

“That might be my first time. I think I’ve gone 6 ⅔ during my sophomore summer (when he pitched for Seminole County in the Florida Collegiate Summer League), something like that. It’s been a while, maybe the first time ever,” Hardin said.

Hardin is able to work deep into games early in his pro career at least in part because he’s been highly efficient on the mound. He needed just 85 pitches to record 21 outs on Saturday, and 64 of those pitches were strikes. Two starts earlier he also got through 5 ⅔ innings on just 75 pitches, including 53 strikes, and in his first outing of the year he threw just 53 pitches (33 strikes) across five no-hit innings.

“I’m just attacking more, trusting my strengths, throwing the ball where I want to and trusting that my stuff’s good enough. If they hit it it’s not squared up and one of my guys will make a play for me,” Hardin said.

This fastball shape plus velo might make Tyson Hardin’s heater one of the best pitches in the Brewers system. https://t.co/0yW1ZLxkbB pic.twitter.com/rvgFOBIcZ8

— Curt Hogg (@CyrtHogg) May 3, 2025

Timber Rattlers pitching coach Michael O’Neal said that Hardin’s strike-throwing approach mirrors a Brewers organizational philosophy.

“You can never throw too many strikes before two strikes in the count,” O’Neal said. “So something that we preach to the guys is to attack. You almost want to suffocate the zone with strikes and make the hitters feel you. He does a great job with that.”

Hardin’s new arsenal and increased aggressiveness in the strike zone also play up in professional baseball’s offensive environment. Last year in the SEC teams scored 7.36 runs and hit almost 1.7 home runs per game. In the Midwest League in 2025 teams are scoring 4.67 runs and hitting almost 0.6 home runs per game.

“I think it’s got a lot to do with the metal bats,” Hardin said. “The metal bats, that’s probably the reason I threw sinkers. You throw four-seam here, they’ve got to square it up to hit one out of here. In the SEC they just touch it and those guys are just as strong as these guys here, so they just touch it and it’s going. It’s just a whole different ballgame.”

Playing in the SEC also gave Hardin lots of experience working in front of large crowds and hostile environments.

“My first year at State it was kind of a shock. You get out there and your heart’s beating through your chest, you can’t think, it’s just a lot of people. And even on the road, everyone hates you. You’re the most hated guy out there. But it’s definitely helped me adapt to great crowds here,” Hardin said.

That experience is likely part of the reason why O’Neal praised Hardin’s mindset as one of his strongest attributes.

“He's cool and collected on the mound,” O’Neal said. “You never see him get too emotional about a pitch or when a base hit happens. He's the same guy whether he executes or doesn't execute, and that's a great quality to have.”

Making the adjustment from working as a reliever in college to starting over a full professional season also creates some extra challenges and scrutiny for Hardin, who is already more than halfway to the 40 combined innings he pitched with Mississippi State and Carolina last season. O’Neal credited Hardin for working diligently to stay ready for his new workload.

“He's on top of it, whether it's the weight room or the training room, he's very professional with how he takes care of his week, does a good job with his throwing program and he knows what he's doing throughout the week,” O’Neal said.

The Brewers also have some experience and recent success bringing SEC relievers into professional starting rotations: In 2023 Hardin was teammates with K.C. Hunt at Mississippi State, where he mostly pitched in relief before blossoming as a starter with Wisconsin and reaching AA in his first full professional season in 2024.

Professional baseball has spread Hardin’s former Mississippi State teammates out across several organizations and levels, although he did get to see reliever and former teammate Tyler Davis when the Rattlers faced Quad Cities in April and could pitch against Brooks Auger when the Rattlers visit Great Lakes in June. Even when they’re not in the same league, however, Hardin said he’s stayed close and is in touch often with his college friends.

“We were a pretty close-knit team. We had eleven guys total, eight pitchers drafted. We could really pitch last year. We were a pretty tight knit group, starters and relievers, so staying in touch with those guys is big,” Hardin said.

🔟Pro Dawgs set to play in the second annual edition of the @MLB Spring Breakout! #StateToTheShow | #HailState🐶 pic.twitter.com/k0FN32RPCX

— Mississippi State Baseball (@HailStateBB) March 6, 2025