Tonight is Game One of arguably the most important non-conference three-game home series in a long, long time.
Quick reminder on ASU's updated national rankings:
Collegiate Baseball: 9
D1Baseball.com[/I]: 17
NCBWA: 17
Baseball America: 18
Perfect Game USA: 18
TCU's updated national rankings:
Collegiate Baseball: 1
NCBWA: 2
Perfect Game USA: 3
Baseball America: 7
D1Baseball.com: 8
It goes without saying that TCU is squarely in the mix for a National Seed come tournament time. ASU has gone 3-1 against other Big 12 teams to start the season. TCU is picked by many publications to win the Big 12. They swept Southern Illinois last weekend and defeated UTA earlier this week. They've outscored opponents 35-6 to start the season. They've given up 2 ER. Similar to ASU, their strength is on the mound. They led the country last year in ERA. TCU may have one of the best rotations in the country; and they have one of the better closers (and bullpens), too. Bullpen arms for the Horned Frogs may very well be starting weekend games at other programs. TCU may have the four of the top half-dozen 2015 MLB draft-eligible pitchers in Big 12 Conference (Ferrell, Young, Alexander, Traver) - and that doesn't include the reigning Big 12 Pitcher of the Year (Morrison). Going into the season, hitting/offense was a question mark (they lost five of their top hitters from last year's team)... but SSSo far, SSSo good. Club doesn't have a ton of power, but lineup will make contact - and they've got speed. They have a very athletic outfield (not many balls drop), and they're smart and aggressive on the basepaths. Well-coached and disciplined. Won't beat themselves on defense, won't walk many from mound, and with an excellent pen they can shorten games. They'll have a lot of roster turnover (plenty of Senior leaders and draft-eligible arms) after this year, so this club's window is now. A national title contender coming to Muni this weekend.
In terms of previews... it's always worth reading ASU's Game Notes.
The TCU/ASU series is one of a handful of really good matchups this weekend. Kendall Rogers of D1Baseball.com will be here to cover the series. The D1Baseball.com writers were pretty split on which club they thought would win the series (4 writers picked TCU; 3 picked ASU). Regarding tonight's pitching matchup (subscription required, and highly recommended), Rogers writes, "It's the relative ying and yang of pitchers with Morrison a crafty righthander and Lilek a power-armed, rising prospect lefthander."
Morrison had a pretty easy and effective start last week against Southern Illinois (K'd 3, allowed 3 hits, 0 runs in 7 IP). Sidearm delivery and multiple arm angles that can be deceptive. Fastball typically has a good sink to it, but doesn't touch the 90's. Also features a change-up and a slider. Like many veteran college pitchers - he's best when his location is there and he's got total command of an average repertoire. All of his pitches have movement, though... so everything plays up. Regarding Lilek, who in Kendall's estimation, "has a legitimate chance to be a first-round pick when the dust settles in June" - we know the drill: Electric fastball, but can battle some control issues. Solid changeup and slider. Rogers mentions Lilek's drop in velocity last week in the 5th (when Lilek was eventually pulled after allowing a couple runs). Jeff Metcalfe over at AZCentral has some additional comments from Tracy Smith regarding Lilek (and Smith's expectations for tonight).
TCU Players to Watch:
Junior RHP (Closer) Riley Ferrell - One of the country's most dominant closers. K'd 70 last year in 45 innings. He's on every publication's preseason All-American team. Big fastball, nasty slider. Similar a bit to Andrew Cashner of the Padres when he was at TCU (but may be even better at same age)... could actually be their Friday night starter, but they use him as a closer. Very likely an MLB 1st rounder in June.
Senior RHP (Friday Night Starter) Preston Morrison - One of the country's better Senior pitchers when everything is locating and clicking. Savvy, sidearm delivery; not overpowering. Mixes in all sorts of arm angles when he throws. Wins a lot and he doesn't walk many. Pretty much most publication's pick for Preseason Big 12 Pitcher of the Year after winning the Big 12 Pitcher of the Year last year. Went undrafted after his Junior year despite all of his success because he doesn't light up the gun. Sidearm starters in the 80's with their fastball just aren't in too high a demand in the MLB. He's a helluva college pitcher, though. Great command. Awesome changeup. Deceptive delivery.
Junior LHP (Sunday Starter) Alex Young - May actually have the best raw stuff (and MLB potential) in their weekend rotation. If he becomes more consistent and reliable, he may move up a day or two in the rotation by the end of the season. Pitched out of the pen last year, but had a good summer in the Cape Cod League (was Baseball America's #11 prospect from the 2014 Cape). Located his secondary stuff better than his fastball last year; now seems to have fixed the command of the FB... so everything is looking good. Was a two-pitch guy, but his changeup has improved a lot since last year... so now he's working with 3-4 good pitches. As an MLB prospect - seen in a similar class as Brett Lilek. Was drafted out of HS by the Texas Rangers in the 32nd round.
Sophomore LHP (Saturday Starter) Tyler Alexander - Location, location, location. Not overpowering, but has command of a decent FB and his offspeed stuff has improved. Seen as a Top-100 college player for the MLB draft in June (he's eligible due to age). Was drafted out of HS by the Tigers in the 23rd round.
RS Senior RHP (Bridge to Ferrell) Trey Teakell - Decent low-90's FB, good slurve. Can throw multiple innings and gets big outs. Veteran.
RS Sophomore RHP Mitchell Traver - A bit of an X-Factor of their pitching staff. Not super polished, has battled some injury issues over the years... but when he's on, he can light up the gun in the mid-90's. Did great in the Northwoods League over last summer. Midweek role to start the season. Classic big Texas arm - 6'7", 245 lb monster. Made his first collegiate start on Tuesday night (K'd 5 in 6 shutout innings). Pitched in relief last weekend against Southern Illinois. He is 2015 Draft eligible. Was drafted out of HS in the 39th round by the Houston Astros.
RHP Brian Howard - Midweek/bullpen guy for now. Doesn't have the same upside of Traver; but a bit more reliable/polished. 6'9" with nice fastball/slider combo. One of the Big 12's better prospects for the 2016 MLB Draft.
RS Freshman LHP Ryan Burnett - Gritty, competitive pitcher with great command of decent fastball/offspeed combo.
Freshman C/DH Evan Skoug - One of the better Freshman in the Big 12 (and probably top 20ish in the country). Could end up being Big 12 Newcomer of the Year. Will be counted on immediately to produce offensively (good power potential, and veteran approach at plate despite being a Freshman). Will split time between C and DH. Stocky (5'11", 205 lbs). Drafted out of HS in the 34th round by the Washington Nationals.
Should be a fantastic test for the Devils and another huge opportunity to move up into the Host and National Seed conversation early in the 2015 season. A series win here will produce instant swagger before we even hit March and have the Sun Devils getting a lot of national recognition.
As was the case last weekend, ASU has some Alums coming out to throw 1st pitches.
Friday - Willie Bloomquist
Saturday - Jason Kipnis
Sunday - Ike Davis
ASU was only one of a dozen or so schools to draw over 10,000 fans during opening weekend. Hoping for similar (if not better) turnout this weekend! Weather should be a touch cooler/nicer this weekend. If you're looking for something to do - come watch ASU/TCU!
Go Devils
This post was edited on 2/20 3:39 PM by MDeuce8
Quick reminder on ASU's updated national rankings:
Collegiate Baseball: 9
D1Baseball.com[/I]: 17
NCBWA: 17
Baseball America: 18
Perfect Game USA: 18
TCU's updated national rankings:
Collegiate Baseball: 1
NCBWA: 2
Perfect Game USA: 3
Baseball America: 7
D1Baseball.com: 8
It goes without saying that TCU is squarely in the mix for a National Seed come tournament time. ASU has gone 3-1 against other Big 12 teams to start the season. TCU is picked by many publications to win the Big 12. They swept Southern Illinois last weekend and defeated UTA earlier this week. They've outscored opponents 35-6 to start the season. They've given up 2 ER. Similar to ASU, their strength is on the mound. They led the country last year in ERA. TCU may have one of the best rotations in the country; and they have one of the better closers (and bullpens), too. Bullpen arms for the Horned Frogs may very well be starting weekend games at other programs. TCU may have the four of the top half-dozen 2015 MLB draft-eligible pitchers in Big 12 Conference (Ferrell, Young, Alexander, Traver) - and that doesn't include the reigning Big 12 Pitcher of the Year (Morrison). Going into the season, hitting/offense was a question mark (they lost five of their top hitters from last year's team)... but SSSo far, SSSo good. Club doesn't have a ton of power, but lineup will make contact - and they've got speed. They have a very athletic outfield (not many balls drop), and they're smart and aggressive on the basepaths. Well-coached and disciplined. Won't beat themselves on defense, won't walk many from mound, and with an excellent pen they can shorten games. They'll have a lot of roster turnover (plenty of Senior leaders and draft-eligible arms) after this year, so this club's window is now. A national title contender coming to Muni this weekend.
In terms of previews... it's always worth reading ASU's Game Notes.
The TCU/ASU series is one of a handful of really good matchups this weekend. Kendall Rogers of D1Baseball.com will be here to cover the series. The D1Baseball.com writers were pretty split on which club they thought would win the series (4 writers picked TCU; 3 picked ASU). Regarding tonight's pitching matchup (subscription required, and highly recommended), Rogers writes, "It's the relative ying and yang of pitchers with Morrison a crafty righthander and Lilek a power-armed, rising prospect lefthander."
Morrison had a pretty easy and effective start last week against Southern Illinois (K'd 3, allowed 3 hits, 0 runs in 7 IP). Sidearm delivery and multiple arm angles that can be deceptive. Fastball typically has a good sink to it, but doesn't touch the 90's. Also features a change-up and a slider. Like many veteran college pitchers - he's best when his location is there and he's got total command of an average repertoire. All of his pitches have movement, though... so everything plays up. Regarding Lilek, who in Kendall's estimation, "has a legitimate chance to be a first-round pick when the dust settles in June" - we know the drill: Electric fastball, but can battle some control issues. Solid changeup and slider. Rogers mentions Lilek's drop in velocity last week in the 5th (when Lilek was eventually pulled after allowing a couple runs). Jeff Metcalfe over at AZCentral has some additional comments from Tracy Smith regarding Lilek (and Smith's expectations for tonight).
TCU Players to Watch:
Junior RHP (Closer) Riley Ferrell - One of the country's most dominant closers. K'd 70 last year in 45 innings. He's on every publication's preseason All-American team. Big fastball, nasty slider. Similar a bit to Andrew Cashner of the Padres when he was at TCU (but may be even better at same age)... could actually be their Friday night starter, but they use him as a closer. Very likely an MLB 1st rounder in June.
Senior RHP (Friday Night Starter) Preston Morrison - One of the country's better Senior pitchers when everything is locating and clicking. Savvy, sidearm delivery; not overpowering. Mixes in all sorts of arm angles when he throws. Wins a lot and he doesn't walk many. Pretty much most publication's pick for Preseason Big 12 Pitcher of the Year after winning the Big 12 Pitcher of the Year last year. Went undrafted after his Junior year despite all of his success because he doesn't light up the gun. Sidearm starters in the 80's with their fastball just aren't in too high a demand in the MLB. He's a helluva college pitcher, though. Great command. Awesome changeup. Deceptive delivery.
Junior LHP (Sunday Starter) Alex Young - May actually have the best raw stuff (and MLB potential) in their weekend rotation. If he becomes more consistent and reliable, he may move up a day or two in the rotation by the end of the season. Pitched out of the pen last year, but had a good summer in the Cape Cod League (was Baseball America's #11 prospect from the 2014 Cape). Located his secondary stuff better than his fastball last year; now seems to have fixed the command of the FB... so everything is looking good. Was a two-pitch guy, but his changeup has improved a lot since last year... so now he's working with 3-4 good pitches. As an MLB prospect - seen in a similar class as Brett Lilek. Was drafted out of HS by the Texas Rangers in the 32nd round.
Sophomore LHP (Saturday Starter) Tyler Alexander - Location, location, location. Not overpowering, but has command of a decent FB and his offspeed stuff has improved. Seen as a Top-100 college player for the MLB draft in June (he's eligible due to age). Was drafted out of HS by the Tigers in the 23rd round.
RS Senior RHP (Bridge to Ferrell) Trey Teakell - Decent low-90's FB, good slurve. Can throw multiple innings and gets big outs. Veteran.
RS Sophomore RHP Mitchell Traver - A bit of an X-Factor of their pitching staff. Not super polished, has battled some injury issues over the years... but when he's on, he can light up the gun in the mid-90's. Did great in the Northwoods League over last summer. Midweek role to start the season. Classic big Texas arm - 6'7", 245 lb monster. Made his first collegiate start on Tuesday night (K'd 5 in 6 shutout innings). Pitched in relief last weekend against Southern Illinois. He is 2015 Draft eligible. Was drafted out of HS in the 39th round by the Houston Astros.
RHP Brian Howard - Midweek/bullpen guy for now. Doesn't have the same upside of Traver; but a bit more reliable/polished. 6'9" with nice fastball/slider combo. One of the Big 12's better prospects for the 2016 MLB Draft.
RS Freshman LHP Ryan Burnett - Gritty, competitive pitcher with great command of decent fastball/offspeed combo.
Freshman C/DH Evan Skoug - One of the better Freshman in the Big 12 (and probably top 20ish in the country). Could end up being Big 12 Newcomer of the Year. Will be counted on immediately to produce offensively (good power potential, and veteran approach at plate despite being a Freshman). Will split time between C and DH. Stocky (5'11", 205 lbs). Drafted out of HS in the 34th round by the Washington Nationals.
Should be a fantastic test for the Devils and another huge opportunity to move up into the Host and National Seed conversation early in the 2015 season. A series win here will produce instant swagger before we even hit March and have the Sun Devils getting a lot of national recognition.
As was the case last weekend, ASU has some Alums coming out to throw 1st pitches.
Friday - Willie Bloomquist
Saturday - Jason Kipnis
Sunday - Ike Davis
ASU was only one of a dozen or so schools to draw over 10,000 fans during opening weekend. Hoping for similar (if not better) turnout this weekend! Weather should be a touch cooler/nicer this weekend. If you're looking for something to do - come watch ASU/TCU!
Go Devils
This post was edited on 2/20 3:39 PM by MDeuce8
