West Virginia has had to cobble together a pitching staff for much of this season, and just enough parts of the offense have slipped at once from time to time to give the lineup a collective limp. Braden Zarbnisky, the sophomore who ought to have a better explanation than anyone else for irregular performances, has been the team’s most reliable and likely most valuable player … on offense and as a pitcher.

He’s a speedy contact hitter who finds holes in the defense and does not strike out. He gives manager Randy Mazey options and confidence to play the aggressive, make-them-make-a-play style that sees runners and bats in motion throughout the game. He also leads the pitching staff in wins and saves and throws a fastball in the low 90s and some breaking stuff that riddles good hitters.

As such, the same player who doesn’t have enough at-bats to qualify for stat rankings was first-team all-Big 12 as a utility player. And now he’s recognized as one of the best two-way players in the country.

“It’s pretty rare that you can find a guy that’s equally as valuable as an offensive player as he is a pitcher,” WVU coach Randy Mazey said. “He’s hitting .339 with six wins and six saves. I can’t imagine anybody on any team being more valuable than Braden is to us. He’s just had a tremendous year, and will continue to have a tremendous career as a hitter and a pitcher.”

Zarbnisky is the only Big 12 player to be named a finalist for the award. He is joined on the list by Brendan McKay from Louisville, Adam Haseley from Virginia, Alex Troop from Michigan State and Jake Meyers from Nebraska.

On the mound, Zarbnisky has appeared in 22 games, second-most on the team. In 37.2 innings pitched, he owns a 2.63 ERA, second-best on the team amongst pitchers with at least 15 innings pitched. Zarbnisky has 44 strikeouts and has allowed 11 earned runs on 31 hits.

Along with his .339 batting average, Zarbnisky has 37 hits in 109 at-bats, with 10 RBIs, 42 total bases and a .430 on-base percentage. He is a perfect 12-for-12 on the basepaths.

Zarbnisky had one of my favorite weekends of season earlier his month. WVU played host to Gardner-Webb, and Mazey used the non-conference series as a chance to give guys a break. That included freshman center fielder Brandon White, who was struggling. Zarbnisky, ordinarily the designated hitter so he can pitch later in the same game, started in center field for the third time all year.

He was 0-for-0 with three walks, two sacrifice bunts, two runs scored and a stolen base in the 15-5 win. He also did this:

A day later, he entered in the ninth inning to hold a 4-3 lead. Zarbnisky allowed a leadoff double and struck out the next three batters on three, three and five pitches.