Good Baseball America article

[oregontrack]

http://www.collegebaseballdaily.com/201 ... ge-horton/

[oregontrack]

I think the article made some assumptions I'm not entirely sure I agree with.

Tyler Anderson will obviously be the ace again, that's a given. I think the rest of the starting rotation is entirely open to debate. The article mentioned Madison Boer and Alex Kuedall as the given Saturday/Sunday starters, but I'm not sure I agree. Kuedall's got the most experience (11 starts/23 appearances last year), but he was uneven and seems (to me) to work better in relief. He started games well enough, but those second/third times through the lineup could be adventurous. He lost his starter's job midway through the Pac-10 season, getting supplanted by Zach Thornton. 19 of Boer's 23 appearances came in relief last year, but on a team full of sophomores who got a LOT better last year, he was my personal Most Improved Player. His ERA was reaching 7 as a freshman, but he became a dominant long reliever, throwing 51.8 innings with a 2.44 ERA. I think he can win the Saturday job; but my darkhorse pick to win the #3 job is sophomore LHP Christian Jones, who actually won the #2 job out of camp last Spring (as a true freshman!), but got hurt in his first start and worked exclusively out of the 'pen when he got back (20 appearances). He's got GREAT stuff. I'll take a lefty/righty/lefty 1-2-3 any day of the week. Kuedall is my 4th starter; he should start the OOC season, when all those series go four games, but I think he hits the 'pen when Pac-10 season starts up.

The 'pen itself is stacked, and is easily the strength of this team (IMO). How often do teams lose their closer to the MLB draft and not skip a beat? Junior Scott McGough is actually another candidate to start (and has in the past), but he's so awesome as a late-inning relief guy I think he'll take over the closer duties. He can work multiple innings if needed. RHP Joey Housey really came on last year, with a 1.88 ERA in 28.1 IP (23 appearances). I believe he started against Oregon State in the PK meeting, throwing 3 innings, too? LHP Porter Clayton graduated HS early in order to enroll and gain eligibility for this season. He's supposed to win a regular job in the 'pen rotation, at least in a specialist role. Once Pac-10 play starts, I believe we'll see Alex Kuedall out of the 'pen. That's as legit of a 7-8-9 inning relief crew as you'll find in college baseball, and we have FIVE freshman NOT named Porter Clayton who can potentially gain a spot; and SS KC Serna and 1B Ryan Hambright have both pitched in relief in the past. Serna's actually got a save under his belt. RHP Kellen Moen is back, too. He had a couple appearances last season, and was always effective. If Kuedall actually wins a weekend starting job and Boer comes back to the bullpen, this crew will officially blow my mind.

Offensively, 2B Danny Pulfer and SS KC Serna, both juniors, again anchor the middle of the infield. Senior Marcus Piazzisi is back in left. The rest appears up in the air, if you believe the article. Jack Marder made 57 starts, primarily at first, but according to the article he's going to lose 1B to freshman Tyler Kuresa. Sophomore JJ Altobelli is apparently going to lose his job to freshman Stefan Sabol. Marder wasn't always consistent at the plate, but he was probably the Ducks most clutch player. Altobelli was very good; honestly, I expected them to make the same leap as sophomores that Pulfer and Serna did. Sophomore Andrew Mendenhall should take over in center; he hit .318 in 13 starts in center and left last year. In right, we lost Steven Packard to a Mormon mission, sadly; he hit .333 in 45 starts in right. He was by far our best freshman hitter. If Marder's going to lose his job at 1B, I think he'll take over in right, where he made some starts last year. At catcher, Paul Eshleman, last year's primary DH, is going to take over for E-Rod, according to the article; he's got good power. Marder's also in the mix to catch, as is Sabol, and some of the other freshman; senior Mitch Karaker has been the primary back-up there the last two years, and will certainly see time. With an opening at DH, I think we'll probably have Altobelli start out there and rotate guys in as Horton sees fight. Hambright, who struggled as a freshman but has loads of power potential, will be given every chance to get as many plate appearances as possible, including at DH.

Last year's lineup:

SS Serna
LF Piazzisi
2B Pulfer
C Rodriguez
1B Marder
RF Packard
DH Eshleman
3B Altobelli
CF Raulinatis

My complete guess at this year's lineup:

SS Serna
LF Piazzisi
2B Pulfer
1B Kuresa/Hambright
RF Marder
C Eshleman
3B Sabol
DH Altobelli/Hambright
CF Mendenhall

[oregontrack]

C'mon, people, the season starts in 23 days. Get excited.

[greenyellow]

C'mon, people, the season starts in 23 days. Get excited.

Just seems early for baseball, but that could be that we're still getting used to having a baseball team.

[oregontrack]

Can't disagree, there's something odd about baseball in mid-February. It's also weird following a Northwest program because we usually start on the road for the first two weeks (or so) of games, so we don't actually see our own guys until we're 8 or 9 games into the season.

Also, of note above: we've got another really great recruiting class, but baseball recruiting is harder to keep up with than football/basketball, where we pretty much "know" the extent of the contributions of the incoming freshman. I don't think anyone really saw the amazing impact provided by Steven Packard, Jack Marder, and JJ Altobelli coming last spring; I'm sure we're in for more surprises this year, I just don't know what those will be. My take on the upcoming season above is more based around what we "know".

[Coastal Duck]

What juniors do you think will will by-pass their senior year to enter the Major League draft?

I'm thinking Tyler and K.C., for starters - Pulfer?.

[oregontrack]

That's hard to say. A lot depends on what the individual players deem is acceptable money, and how much they think they could make if they return for their senior years.

I think Serna would need to really work on his glove if he wants to get a big paycheck after this year.

Out of our three starters last year I actually thought Anderson had the worst "stuff", he just knows how to pitch... if that makes any sense. I'm not entirely sure how that will translate to the professional game. He knows how to work a count, he knows how to go after hitters, he does a lot of things that are tough to teach very well, but I'm not sure how his actual arsenal transcends to the next level. I could see him coming back for his senior year as to continue working on particular pitches in order to get into one of the top four or five rounds. Or maybe he's had a productive offseason and is already there. I dunno. Anderson's always fascinated me because when you really break down his throws, I'm actually kind of surprised he's as dominant as he is. Then again, there's guys like that making big money in the big leagues.

I don't see Pulfer going. He's a light hitting infielder, his stock isn't exactly through the roof. I don't know if he'd have any power with a wooden bat.

I think McGough would certainly be a candidate. He's got a lot of pitches, and he throws them all well.

[thomas time]

I'm excited already for this season, see how this team keeps up the momentum from last year's improvement. Also getting excited for my red sox to see my favorite Carl Crawford and mvp candiate in Adrian Gonzalez, one more week for pitchers and catchers to report.

[oregontrack]

Yeah, Boston really out-Yankee'd everyone this year.

[greenyellow]

Yeah, Boston really out-Yankee'd everyone this year.

And watch neither one will win the World Series this year after outspending a lot of teams combined.