One of the key marks of a good program is its ability to bounce back during adverse times.

See Kentucky baseball.

When MLB first-round pick James Paxton announced he was leaving the team because of his decision to not meet with the NCAA over a potential NCAA amateur issue, it left a potentially disastrous situation in Gary Henderson’s starting pitching rotation.

Instead of going on the defense, head coach Gary Henderson simply reloaded. Enter freshman pitcher Taylor Roger (3-0). Insert sophomore stud Alex Meyer (3-2).

And finally, enter junior pitcher Logan Darnell.

Darnell, a hard-throwing lefty, has cushioned the blow of Paxton and headed the Kentucky pitching rotation in the early season. The Joelton, Tenn., native is 3-0 with a 2.17 ERA and 23 strikeouts, including a complete-game shutout against San Diego.

Meyer, one of the top prospects in all of baseball, and Rogers, a potential first- or second-round pick, could be MLB stars one day, but Darnell is quickly making a name for himself as well.

According to one writer at SportingNews.com, Darnell is quickly moving up the draft boards and is looking like a potential second-round pick.

“The Darnell kid is strong as an ox,” one MLB scout told SportingNews.com. “He’s got an above-average fastball with good late life around 92-94, and a good slider and change-up. They have improved a lot since last year.”

The scout said he was impressed with the 6-foot-2, 210-pound Darnell’s ability to mix pitches and also remarked that Darnell has really started to gain confidence in his stuff. 

It’s hard to imagine the Cats (13-3) having such success without Paxton, but Henderson just keeps reloading with arms. With three future MLB pitchers still in the rotation, don’t think the loss of Paxton has derailed UK’s hopes quite yet.