The KU baseball team has been on a tear during the last decade—a tear that reached its climax last season when the Golden Bears were briefly voted the number-one team in the division II nation. Last year’s team won a school record 49 games en route to a PSAC Championship, North Atlantic Region title, and a trip to the Division II World Series. It was an unbelievable ride for the players, coaches, fans, students, and alumni, all who will be looking forward to an even better run in the near future.
With that said, in the sports world (much like in literature) it is often the case that a team will hit a downward slope for a while once they reach the climax. This year looks like that kind of season for the rebuilding Golden B
ears.
Head Coach Chris Blum (pictured, left) lost a significant amount of talent this past offseason, with five of the team’s top seven hitters and four of the top pitchers out the door.
Jeff Craig, Ryan Loper, Sean Bond, Mike McCardell, Nate Kranz, Dan Gavlick, Jason Mills, and Paul Cashin each had at least 83 at bats for KU last season and will not be back in 2008. Matt Dierolf started a team-high 25 games at catcher and notched 68 at bats, but has left the team for personal reasons early this season. On the mound, Jason Mills, Mike McCardell, Matt Keller, and Ryan Loper were lost, with all but Loper moving on to professional baseball following last season.
That is a significant amount of players to replace and Coach Blum is going to have his work cut out for him trying to find a suitable lineup and rotation with one of most inexperienced teams he has had to manage at KU.
Positional Players Analysis:
None, that’s right none, of the eight positions in the field will return it’s regular starter from last season. Mike Kacelowicz started a team-high 36 times at second base a season ago, but will move to shortstop this season. Chad Lightcap started 38 games last season at DH and left field and will see a similar workload in 2008.
Of the nine positions in the batting order, five of them appear to be in stone, while the other four are still not clear and will likely continue to be a platoon for the time being.
Projected Depth Chart by position:
(After the position will be the player projected to be first on the depth chart. In parentheses will be the players pushing them for significant time)
Catcher: Matt Kulbacki (Scott Kacelowicz/Dom Fantanarosa) – Kulbacki hit .366 (2nd best among regulars) in 2007 and will see a majority of the workload, especially with Dierolf calling it quits.
First Base: Jared Frey (Andy May) – Frey saw limited work as a rookie last season and hit .310 in 42 at bats. May redshirted and will push Frey for time. This could end up as a platoon with the righty May facing lefties and the lefty Frey taking on righties.
Second Base: Brett Wigder (Mark Renda) – Wigder is a true freshman who will see a lot of time at second. Renda is a redshirt freshman who will work from second and third base.
Shortstop: Mike Kacelowicz (None) – Kacelowicz hit .298 in 36 starts as last season’s regular second baseman.
Third Base: Michael Dugan (Mark Renda) – Dugan is another redshirt freshman who will see significant action in 2008. Utilityman Renda will be right on his tail.
Left Field: Corey Buletza (None) – True freshman Buletza could be catalyst for a team that will rely on speed.
Center Field: Garrison Rausch (None) – The senior will man centerfield where he started just five games in 2007. In 85 bats, he hit .329-2-14.
Right Field: Jeff Kistle (None) – Replacing the departed Jeff Craig, the freshman Kistle will have big shoes to fill. No pressure, right?
Designated Hitter:
The batting order for 2008 is not completely set, but the early season action has cleared up some of the questions:
Projected Batting Order:
1. Mike Kacelowicz (SS)
2.
3. Garrison Rausch (CF)
4. Matt Kulbacki (CA)
5. Corey Buletza (LF)
6. Jared Frey (1B)/Mike Dugan (3B)
7. Jeff Kistle (RF)
8. Jared Frey (1B)/Mike Dugan (3B)
9. Brett Wigder/Mark Renda (2B)
Bryan Riggins OF – Riggins saw a lot of work in center field last year and will see time there again in 2008. He hit .179 in 39 at bats.
James Quigley 3B – The freshman is currently injured, but could compete for time at third.
Nole Saylor OF – Yet another freshman who well see time in the outfield.
Pitching Analysis:
Phil Rummel – Coming off a 2007 season in which he went 8-1 with a 4.50 ERA, Rummel will be relied on to provide senior leadership as the team’s ace.
Darin Gorski – Only a sophomore, Gorski will be counted on to improve on his 4-0 record and 2.63 ERA in 14 appearances (6 starts) as a rookie.
Garrison Rausch – The senior southpaw went 4-0 and recorded a team best 1.53 ERA in 2007.
Steve Craig – Craig threw just 14 innings in 2007 and posted a 9.00 ERA.
Anthony Fegely – A redshirt freshman, Fegely could be counted on as a regular or spot starter.
Bullpen:
Justin Jachowicz – Now a senior, Jachowicz was one of the top setup men 
for KU a year ago, posting a 2.55 ERA in just under 25 innings of work.
Ryan Cassidy – A sophomore lefty, Cassidy (pictured, right) could be used as a spot starter in 2008. He was 2-0 with a 1.83 ERA in 19.2 innings of work in 2007.
Derick Reis – Reis tossed 27 innings in 2007, posting a 2-1 record and 5.33 ERA.
Kevin Morganti – Currently injured after redshirting as a junior last season, Morganti was 4-0 with a 2.86 ERA in 2006.
Trent Mertz – Mertz is a freshman from Kutztown who will be used out of the pen.
Jordan Smith – A freshman lefty who will see time on the hill in 2008.
Mike Moran – A freshman right-handed pitcher who could see time in the infield as well.
Jason Herr – Another freshman right-handed pitcher.
“We have more speed than we ever had and will be playing a lot of small ball,” said Coach Blum via an email earlier this month. “It was a lot of fun watching the kids play in
Even though this is clearly going to be rebuilding year, you can bet it’s going to be fun watching this exciting crop of young talent at work.
Posts
3 comments:
Mike, true, there will be alot of new faces in the lineup, but I don't see it as a rebuilding year.
The GB's will obviously go through some struggles trying to find their identity, but with the talent Blum has amassed and the kind of production that a few of these guys gave last year, i'm almost certain that the team will do well. Maybe not 49 wins well, but I think they could put up a good 30+.
Kulbacki should be nasty this year, same with Lightcap.
But the guy I see improving the most out of everyone this year is Riggins. Why the hell hasn't he broken out yet? Really? He has all the tools that are necessary, but he's never put up a great year. With the guys available for Blum, Riggins is due. Mike, you know as well as anyone that baseball is a numbers game. Percentages are what make baseball what it is. Odds of Riggins breaking out? Let's just say, eh, 75% (Although 60% might be more fair.)
Pitching wise, same can be said with Cassidy. Fall semester I saw that kid in the weight room nearly every day. Of course, he probably wanted to see his gf half the time, but mix in a little lifting during the time spent there and you've got yourself a good worker committed to getting better in '08.
And it's not like he had a bad year in '07. With so many guys in front of him in the rotatin, dude never had the opportunity to show the stuff he had on a consistent basis. Probably will get that this year.
Nice preview, though. I'm looking forward to baseball season in general--Phillies and Orioles.
But obviously, I have a soft spot for KU baseball.
I suppose they could be "reloading" rather than "rebuilding", but I think it too early to make that call. We're just going to have to see.
With that said, I think we both know enough about the game to know that you can't throw a bunch of new faces together and expect them to gel right away. I think 2008-09 will be a learning experience and the next few years will be the ones where they really excel.
Don't get me wrong-I agree there is talent here, but show me a baseball team that doesn't need chemistry and experience to succeed and I'll show you a tee ball team.
And as for Riggins, he's only had 145 at bats in 3 seasons, so it's tough to say. If KU contends and he is playing well, I'm sure he'll be relied upon more than the past few years. If not, coach Blum certainly will want to play the younger guys, leaving Riggins as the odd man out. At worst, he'll be counted on to pinch run in most games.
Post a Comment