One of the biggest reasons Georgia finally got over the hump and back to the College World Series was its pitching.

The Bulldogs finished with a 4.85 team ERA, second in the nation with 700 strikeouts, and a 1.41 WHIP. It all led to six pitchers being drafted in this most recent MLB Draft.

To replace those outgoing arms, Georgia added 10 pitchers from the portal to pair with the seven returning pitchers from last year.

The most notable returnees are Zach Brown and Joe Nottingham, the latter of whom should see an increased role out of the bullpen.

Some of the more noteworthy portal acquisitions were SEC pitchers Jason Flores (Texas), Riley Goodman (South Carolina), Marcos Paz (LSU). Georgia added Long Beach State transfer Luke Howe and Arizona State transfer Finn Edwards as well.

Johnson says Edwards is “worth the price of admission.”

Johnson compared Flores to what they did with Joey Volchko when he transferred to Georgia last fall. The goal here is to get the “shapes right” on some of Flores’ pitches.

“You wish they were robots and you could just put a screwdriver in and turn a cue and their hands get ready. It’s just not that easy,” Johnson said. “But early work with Jason’s been phenomenal. Couldn’t be prouder. Fastball is really good. Now we’re going to continue to really get his off-speed where we need it to be.”

A month into fall practices, Johnson is pleased with all his pitchers’ command of the zone.

But the most notable arm is Paz, as he makes a case to be a weekend starter.

Paz announced his commitment to UGA back on July 15 after spending his freshman year at LSU. It was an up-and-down first season for Paz, who battled the adjustment period of high school to college ball.

In 17 appearances, Paz posted a 9.20 ERA in 29.1 innings pitched. He struck out 40 and walked 27. If there’s a silver lining, he did hold opponents to a .227 average.

The 6-foot-2 right-hander carries an upper-90s fastball that tops out at 98 miles per hour, a wipeout slider sitting in the mid-80s, and a low-80s curveball that can be thrown at any point during an at-bat.

This past Sunday, Georgia beat Clemson 16-4 in an 18-inning exhibition. The offense did its thing, but the story was Georgia’s effort on the mound.

Paz got the front-nine innings start on the mound for the Bulldogs, allowing one run on as many hits in two innings and striking out three.

“Marcos is doing really well. He’s 98 (mph) in the first; the sweeper’s real … the slider’s good. His curveball’s his pitch. “He was a little jumpy, trying to chase the strikeout. But he’s had a phenomenal fall,” Johnson said. “We’re really excited. I think he can do some special things.”

Going into that start, Johnson said Paz had tossed nine innings and struck out a team-high 17 batters.

For his first start, Paz fought some nerves but was excited just to be facing a different lineup.

“It was great. We’ve been playing each other for a long time now,” Paz said. “Just getting to compete against somebody else and see where we stack up, even though we have another three or four months. But it was really fun to compete.”

As for the rest of the team, across 18 innings, Georgia used 12 pitchers, punching out 22 Tigers and walking three.

“We attacked the strike zone. I need some guys to be a little sharper, though, on the mound,” Johnson said. “But it was fine, it was fine. It was good for them to get out the first time.”