Crack of the Bat

By David Rawnsley

 

COLLEGE FRESHMAN UPDATE

 

There seems to be an unusual number of freshmen contributing to the success of some of the top college teams around the country this spring.  Some nationally ranked schools feature at least three or four freshman who are making regular contributions.

 

It would be interesting to see if there is a trend towards freshman playing more at the start of their college baseball careers.  The mantra “Don’t expect to play as a Freshman!” has been repeated here many times and with good reason.

 

The reason that one could suspect that freshman playing time has increased over the past few years is twofold.

 

First, the top players at the high school level are simply playing more than ever before.  It’s not uncommon for Perfect Game to talk to 15-17 year olds at our events and hear that they are playing 120-140 games and sometimes even more during the course of the calendar year.  And high school baseball makes up only a small percentage of that.  The formula might be 30 games during the spring, 90-100 games during the summer and fall.

 

More playing time equals better skills, which makes 18-19 year olds more capable of competing against what before were much more experienced juniors and seniors for playing time.

 

The other factor is the more advanced weight training and nutritional plans that serious athletes are adopting at younger ages today.  There has always been a huge physical difference between an 18 year old and a 22 year old and if the two are competing for the same playing time on the same team, the older player has an obvious advantage.  That gap, one suspects, has been significantly narrowed in the last 5-10 years.  Younger players are stronger now than they’ve ever been.

 

Here is an update on how some of the top freshman are doing through the third weekend in March, with an emphasis on a couple teams where freshman are making an especially strong impact.

 

 

Virginia is one of the up and coming powers in college baseball, with a top young coach in Brian O’Connor and plenty of funding courtesy of author John Grisham.  The Cavaliers have five freshman making serious contributions to a 19-4 team.

 

RHP Jacob Thompson is 5-0, 2.11 with only 25 hits allowed in 38 innings pitching behind All-American candidate Sean Doolittle.  2005 PG All-American David Adams is hitting .371, 3, 20 with a team leading 12 walks.  Jeremy Farrell missed the first few weeks with an injury, but in 16 starts is hitting .472, 1, 14.  Another freshman infielder, Greg Miclat, has been starting at shortstop and is hitting .320, 0, 11 and has made only 2 errors.  RHP-C Shooter Hunt throwing in middle relief and has a 3.24 ERA in 16.2 innings while also seeing some time in the field.

 

Winthrop has been one of the early season surprises, with some big wins and a 17-5 overall record.  Their freshman pitchers, led by Alex Wilson, are a combined 9-1, accounting for over half the team victories.  Wilson is 5-0, 3.16.  Freshman reliever Jason Franzblau is 1-0, 1.72 with a save in 8 games.

 

Some eyebrows were raised when Miami got off to a slow start but those have been lowered as the Hurricanes have moved back to a more familiar 21-6 record.  A slow start might have been expected with 4 freshmen in the line up on some days.  DH Yonder Alfonso has been the team’s leading hitter at .361, 4, 37, while 2B Jemile Weeks has been getting better and better every week and is now at .327, 2, 16 with 29 runs scored.  Blake Tekotte and Dennis Raben have also contributed as freshman.

 

Central Florida has played 6 freshmen early en route to a 13-10 start.  OF David DiNatale leads the team in batting average at .365.  C Steve Stropp, despite starting only 11 of the teams 23 games, is hitting .347 with a team leading 4 HR’s and 19 Rbi’s.  OF Chadd Hartman, IF Vinny Cucci, IF Eric Kallstrom and C Shane Ynclan have also played roles in the first third of the season.

 

UCLA, despite a brutal schedule, looks to have their best team in many years (15-11) and is in the process of revitalizing the program.  IF Brandon Crawford has been a key, hitting .363, 2, 16 and leading the team in walks, steals and triples while being second in runs scored.  C Ryan Babineau has started 24 of the team’s 26 games and while his bat hasn’t kicked in yet (.192, 2, 10), he is handling the Bruins veteran pitching staff well.

 

While defending National Champion Texas hasn’t started off well at 15-10, it isn’t because of their freshman.  LHP Austin Wood has emerged as the team’s most consistent pitcher and is now 3-0, 0.87 with a save in 20 innings out of the bullpen.  OF Kyle Russell is still hot at .397, 2, 21, while fellow OF and Aflac All-American Jordan Danks (.317, 0, 15) and 3B Brad Suttle (.278, 0, 19) are providing consistent production.

 

RHP Mike Cisco and 1B Justin Smoak are still among the leaders for 17-3 South Carolina.  Cisco allowed his first runs of the season this past week and is now 2-0, 1.29 and has been part of three shutouts.  Smoak is hitting .284, 3, 17 with 14 walks.

 

Other Freshmen performing well include:

 

Washington State’s Jared Prince has thrown his name solidly into any conversations about Freshman of the Year by excelling both on the mound and at the plate.  Prince hasn’t allowed an earned run in 18 innings while going 3-0, 0.00.  He hasn’t allowed a walk while striking out 14.  Offensively, Prince is hitting .449, 1, 26 with 11 walks for the 18-6 Cougars.

 

Arizona State’s Ike Davis another Aflac All-American continues to post some of the top offensive numbers in the country, hitting .327, 3, 34. 

 

Florida State’s Buster Posey, yet another Aflac All-American, is on the same type of pace as Davis, starting every day for the Seminoles at shortstop and hitting .337, 1, 22.

 

Wake Forest 1B Allan Dykstra is proving to be a polished hitter at his young age.  He has walked 21 times in 22 games for the 17-5 Blue Demons while hitting .320, 5, 17 with 8 doubles.  Power + Patience = Production.

 

David Cales excelled both on the mound and at the plate at PG and WWBA events, but has been primarily a pitcher as a freshman at Missouri.  He’s 1-0 with a save in 16.1 innings working out of the bullpen, with only 8 hits allowed and 18 K’s.  We’re betting that Cales’ nasty slider has something to do with his success.

 

RHP Matt Daly has been Hawaii’s top pitcher during the team’s 18-8 start to the season.  Daly is 3-0, 1.40 working mostly out of the bullpen.  Daly’s catcher on the ABD Bulldog’s, Landon Hernandez, is starting to get more work behind the plate and is hitting .333, 0, 4 in 7 starts.

 

While Ian Kennedy of USC, a pre-season All-American, has lost a number of tough decisions in starting the season 2-4, 2.83, freshman RHP Tommy Milone has found things easier pitching down in the rotation, going 5-0, 4.17 for the Trojans.

 

Note: Not many of these freshman listed above come as a big surprise.  Nearly every one of them have played in Perfect Game Showcases and/or PG WWBA events while in High School.

 

This column represents the thoughts and opinions of the author and are not necessarily those of Perfect Game.