oregontrack's super quick 2013 pac-12 predictions

[oregontrack]

1.) oregon state. this is easily osu's best team since 2006. i say 2006, as opposed to 2007, because that 2007 team actually finished middle-of-the-pack before catching fire in omaha and winning the beavs their second consecutive national title. their '06 team was loaded, though. and so is this bunch. their weekend rotation is so loaded -- wetzler, boyd, and child -- that jace frye, who might have had an even better freshman season than jake reed did for us last year, will probably be relegated to midweek/bullpen duty. they're stacked offensively. michael conforto leads a legitimate middle-of-the-order power display, but the beavs have speed, too. these guys are legit national title contenders.

2.) ucla. as always, the bruins will be led by their pitching, and they've got another all-american (adam plutko) leading the way. they've got outstanding depth behind him, which may have to carry the load while a young line-up matures at the plate. but ucla always recruits well. ucla will be ready if osu slips, and they're definitely contenders to reach omaha.

3.) stanford. my 2012 national champion didn't quite work out, but they've got mark appel back atop the rotation, so... who knows, maybe i was just a year premature. omaha is definitely within reach, and talent-wise, they're as good as anyone in the country. the trees have just lacked a killer instinct the last few years. if they rediscover that, watch out.

4.) arizona. the cats lose a lot off their national championship team, but what they do return is impressive and you don't win a title without bringing in pieces capable of keeping the momentum rolling. konnor wade and james farris had so-so regular seasons but caught fire in omaha, and now they'll be called upon to replace kurt heyer, who had an exceptional career. cf johnny field won the league batting title last year. the 'cats will still hit the ball as well as anyone; they've been an elite offensive team for years. a lot will just depend on if the pitching staff can keep up. another omaha contender.

5.) oregon. yeah, fifth. i know. the pac-12 is just that good, and we've still got a lot of questions. christian jones has always flashed great stuff, but he's also always been injury prone. can he take the ball every saturday? can the offense take another step? jake reed is really good, but is he mark appell/adam plutko/trevor williams good? we're still an omaha contender. the pac-12 has five teams with legit omaha aspirations. we're one of 'em.

6.) arizona state. the sun devils have survived ncaa hell, and have returned with a ballclub that will reach the tournament again after an ncaa-mandated year off. trevor williams is an aces' ace and should get asu off on the right note most fridays, the bullpen is stacked, and the line-up, while on paper not quite up to par with asu's incredible tradition of mashers, is hardly a weakness. i don't think they're contenders, but they aren't far from it.

7.) washington. they're firmly on the ncaa bubble, imo; they have a young staff that made big strides during summer leagues, and their bats has been knocking on the door of upper-echelon for awhile now. coach meggs has done a really good job of pumping talent back into this program, and making it relevant again. i think they make regionals, giving the pac 7 teams.

8.) washington state. the cougs get my 'best of the rest' award. the cougs have a trio of sophomores in the rotation who are uncommonly experienced, all getting thrown into the fire last year. i don't think they have a true ace in the bunch, but i also don't think they have a weak link, either. if the bats are popping, that could be good enough to steal a series from one of the teams projected much higher -- kind of like they did to us, last season.

9.) cal. the bears could not capitalize on their miracle run to omaha in 2011; but it's really hard to blame them, as an entire year of recruiting was wiped out when the program was nixed, only to be quickly resurrected. justin jones is a much better pitcher than is 2012 numbers would indicate, and c andrew knapp has wicked pro potential, but there are still a lot of questions the golden bears need to answer. cal is a "wait and see" team for me; i'm not saying they're going to be stuck in the bottom tier, but they have a lot of holes no one is really familiar with.

10.) southern cal. things have not gotten off to a good start for the struggling trojans, who will be without their coach, who was suspended while the school is investigating a potential major ncaa violation. what does their interim skipper have to work with? a surprisingly decent weekend rotation that will have to carry a team that lacks much pop.

11.) utah. the utes are going to struggle again. they've got a trio of seniors in the rotation that might be able to keep them in games, but the talent gap is still pretty wide.

[Phenom]

Great write up. Sucks that the River Rats are so good.

[uosportsguy01]

Good synopsis and write up, thanks!

Just FYI, Jace Fry had Tommy John surgery last summer and is most likely out this whole year.

[Coastal Duck]

Well-researched, well-writen - as always, ot - big thanks!

Of note - Stanford was the coach's choice to take the PAC-12 (How'd they DO that?!! lol ) - oh, kwap - that mighta been the sofball team - just caught it out of the corner of my eye on the KEZI news.

Anyway -

The thing this year is to beat (read, 'sweep') those teams you are supposed to beat and split the rest - okay - that presupposes other contending teams will drop one unexpectedly on a Sunday - hmmm - "I'll buy that for a dollar."

That said - potential upsets loom when warm-weather teams travel to 'cool-weather' environs such as Pullman or Salt Lake City.

This year is user-friendly for Utah opponents - the Ducks are the only contender to travel there and that will be in late-May in the last series of the regular season.

Wazzu, on the other hand, has a team that can be particularly pesky at home:

Stanford comes in March 28-30.

Arizona visits April 12-14.

UCLA - April 26-28.

Ducks go in May 3-5.


Anybody have a take on this?

[UOducksTK1]

Awesome, Pac-12 relaly is loaded. I also think this Fullerton series will give us a better idea of how good we really are.