Well, the Sun Devils Baseball team came into the season with Omaha on everyone's mind.
I'll do my best to be honest while giving out a few grades here.
A = Omaha caliber
B = Super Regional Caliber
C = Regional Caliber
F = Incomplete or huge hole
Weekend Starters: C
When I think of an A here I think of 2009 when we had Mike Leake, Josh Spence, and Seth Blair. A dominating trio who were basically all Friday night caliber. Or 2012 where we had Williams and Rodgers who were both Friday night guys. Esmay had some fantastic weekend rotations.
There is a lot to like about Benson, Thornton, and Fall. They will pitch well but I haven't seen them as a front line that is going to dominate line ups.
Midweek Starters: A
Tolman and BVK are really strong mid week guys. Most programs are trying to patch together a mid week outing with anyone and everyone, but our 2 guys here are studs. I think I like Tolman and BVK better than I like our weekend guys to be honest.
Bullpen: A
The Nebraska game was a black eye, but our bullpen is deep and good. The Fresno State game on Sunday we saw Tomczak in the 7th, BVK in the 8th, and Dabo in the 9th. That's probably the best 3 man set to close out a game at ASU that I can remember in the last 20 years. We've seen a few stud closers like Ryan Burr and Jake Barrett, but we've never had a 7th and 8th inning guy this good.
The pen also has a handful of guys that aren't as dominating as BVK, but provide depth and are guys you can feel decent about throwing with a 3 or 4 run lead. Guys like Boldovich, Barnett, Levine, Dennie etc.
Infield: C
Teams have pitched around Tork so his damage has been limited. Williams and Workman have struggled most of the year with unproductive AB's. Swift is having a great season so far compared to what we expected, but a lot of singles. If Sunday against Fresno is any indication of what Workman will give us in the second half of the season then this grade can improve a lot quickly.
Outfield B:
Jump and Hauver have been really solid in the corner outfield spots. Jump's emergence at the plate has come at a great time and in a big way. CF is keeping this from being an A, but even there I trust Garcia's glove and he does a good job grinding out AB's in the 9 spot in the order. Our opening night outfield had me a little bit worried to be honest. That has stabilized a bit though.
DH/C: C
I think Cheema is a good story and I love Baez upside, but, this is probably a pretty fair grade
Bench: F
Some of these guys have some major upside and are really young. They haven't been given much of a chance let alone a routine. Taking that into account, we've seen nothing from our bench this season. Having said that, I'm glad that we have several of these guys on the bench and in the program. They are adjusting to college life, the weight training (which is rare for HS kids), and they get to watch an extremely talented group of upper classmen do it right. Take care of their bodies. Approach AB's. Put in the work. I think that matters looking down the line into next year and beyond.
So where does that leave us?
My guess right now is we are looking at a Super Regional team right now.
In order for us to be a legitimate Omaha threat we need Williams and Workman to get going and we need a legitimate Friday night guy. I also wouldn't be surprised to see Baez settle in and help elevate our line up.
Anyway. That's how I see it. Would love to hear your opinions.
I'll do my best to be honest while giving out a few grades here.
A = Omaha caliber
B = Super Regional Caliber
C = Regional Caliber
F = Incomplete or huge hole
Weekend Starters: C
When I think of an A here I think of 2009 when we had Mike Leake, Josh Spence, and Seth Blair. A dominating trio who were basically all Friday night caliber. Or 2012 where we had Williams and Rodgers who were both Friday night guys. Esmay had some fantastic weekend rotations.
There is a lot to like about Benson, Thornton, and Fall. They will pitch well but I haven't seen them as a front line that is going to dominate line ups.
Midweek Starters: A
Tolman and BVK are really strong mid week guys. Most programs are trying to patch together a mid week outing with anyone and everyone, but our 2 guys here are studs. I think I like Tolman and BVK better than I like our weekend guys to be honest.
Bullpen: A
The Nebraska game was a black eye, but our bullpen is deep and good. The Fresno State game on Sunday we saw Tomczak in the 7th, BVK in the 8th, and Dabo in the 9th. That's probably the best 3 man set to close out a game at ASU that I can remember in the last 20 years. We've seen a few stud closers like Ryan Burr and Jake Barrett, but we've never had a 7th and 8th inning guy this good.
The pen also has a handful of guys that aren't as dominating as BVK, but provide depth and are guys you can feel decent about throwing with a 3 or 4 run lead. Guys like Boldovich, Barnett, Levine, Dennie etc.
Infield: C
Teams have pitched around Tork so his damage has been limited. Williams and Workman have struggled most of the year with unproductive AB's. Swift is having a great season so far compared to what we expected, but a lot of singles. If Sunday against Fresno is any indication of what Workman will give us in the second half of the season then this grade can improve a lot quickly.
Outfield B:
Jump and Hauver have been really solid in the corner outfield spots. Jump's emergence at the plate has come at a great time and in a big way. CF is keeping this from being an A, but even there I trust Garcia's glove and he does a good job grinding out AB's in the 9 spot in the order. Our opening night outfield had me a little bit worried to be honest. That has stabilized a bit though.
DH/C: C
I think Cheema is a good story and I love Baez upside, but, this is probably a pretty fair grade
Bench: F
Some of these guys have some major upside and are really young. They haven't been given much of a chance let alone a routine. Taking that into account, we've seen nothing from our bench this season. Having said that, I'm glad that we have several of these guys on the bench and in the program. They are adjusting to college life, the weight training (which is rare for HS kids), and they get to watch an extremely talented group of upper classmen do it right. Take care of their bodies. Approach AB's. Put in the work. I think that matters looking down the line into next year and beyond.
So where does that leave us?
My guess right now is we are looking at a Super Regional team right now.
In order for us to be a legitimate Omaha threat we need Williams and Workman to get going and we need a legitimate Friday night guy. I also wouldn't be surprised to see Baez settle in and help elevate our line up.
Anyway. That's how I see it. Would love to hear your opinions.
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