2015 CBD Season Preview: Pac-12

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It was another solid season in the Pac-12 in 2014. The conference saw fives teams reach the postseason.

Oregon State won the conference and swept the player awards. They were awarded with the Corvallis Regional, but were upset by UC Irvine.

The conference also had a surprise team in 2014; the Washington Huskies. Typically a team that finishes without a postseason, the Huskies finished second in the conference and headed to Oxford Mississippi. Although they lost to the top ranked Rebels, it was a great season in Seattle.

Stanford made another Regional, this time traveling to Bloomington, Indiana. The three seed Cardinal worked its way through the loser’s bracket to upset one seed Indiana. They would wind up losing to the 2014 National Champion, Vanderbilt.

Oregon continued to build their program by making another regional appearance in Nashville, Tennessee. The two seeded Ducks also lost to Vanderbilt, but it was a successful year if you take into account losing two top arms to Tommy John.

Arizona State played in San Luis Obispo, California as the number two seed. Although the Devils did not win a game, it was good to return to the postseason for a 14^th consecutive appearance in which the team is eligible (2012 postseason ban).

Although the NCWBA Poll has yet to be released, it’s safe to assume that the Pacific Conference could be headed for another year where the conference championship is up for grabs. Gone is the Pac-12 Player of the Year, in Oregon State’s first round pick Michael Conforto (10^th Mets). The Beavers also lost offensive standout Dylan Davis (Giants, 3^rd round), Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year Jace Fry (White Sox, 3^rd round), and starter Ben Wetzler (Marlins, 9^th round). Stanford lost their prize middle infielder, Alex Blandino, in the first round to the Reds. USC saw its Friday night starter, Wyatt Strahan, be selected in the third round by Cincinnati, while Oregon also lots its Friday night starter Tommy Thorpe in the 8th round.

Top teams in the conference also saw their championship potential delayed when impact players such as Brady Aiken, a UCLA commitment, and Alex Jackson, an Oregon commitment, were selected in the top rounds of the MLB draft.

Oregon also lost commitment Derek Hill in the first round to the Tigers. Arizona saw shortstop Cole Tucker be selected, one pick after Hill, by the Pirates. USC was not sparred either, watching Jacob Gatewood fall to the Brewers at the end of the Competitive Balance portion of the first round.

What remains are eleven teams (Colorado does not have baseball) all striving to reach the top of the standing, for an opportunity to reach the postseason, and possibly play their way to the College World Series.

The Favorites

Most predictions seem to favor both Oregon and UCLA as the conference favorites heading into the year. The Bruins bring back pre- season All- Americans Dave Berg and James Kaprielian. Berg finished 2014 with a team leading 1.50 ERA and had 11 saves, while Kaprielian led the conference in strikeouts (108) in 15 starts. UCLA returns 19 players from their 2013 National Championship squad, and finished with the seventh ranked recruiting class this fall. The Bruins will be challenged early with non conference matchups against North Carolina and Vanderbilt on the schedule.

The Ducks are deemed a favorite due to the talent they have returning on the mound. Last season Oregon lost starter Cole Irvin and Matt Krook to Tommy John. Irvin should be ready by pre-season, while Krook will look to contribute around the time conference play starts. These two additions, coupled with the return of Jeff Gold (10-3, 3.17), and Brando Tessar (4-2, 4.26), should make the Oregon squad dominant again from the hill. Again the question in Eugene will be, can Oregon score enough runs? The offense will be led by Mitchell Tollman (.315 BA, .438 OBP, 49 RBI) and Shaun Chase (.283 BA, 14 HR, 37 RBI). The wildcard to Oregon’s offense will be getting Scott Heineman back after missing 2014 with an injury. Heineman put up a .278 average with 38 RBI in 2013.

The Contenders

Arizona State returns arguably the best trio of pitchers in the conference. Junior starters Ryan Kellogg (8-3 3.76 ERA) and Brett Lilek (4-5. 2.68 ERA) will give the Devils the weekend advantage, while closer Ryan Burr (3.27, 12 SV) should solidify the back-end of the bullpen. All three pitchers were named 2015 pre-season All Americans. The Devils also return a number of players on the offensive. Players like Jake Peevyhouse (.290 BA, 374 OBP), Johnny Sewald (.305 BA, 410 OBP), R.J Ybarra (.273 BA, 47 RBI), and Dalton DiNatale (.294 BA, 36 RBI), all will have another year of maturity and should help the Devil offense be more consistent than they were last year. Can new head coach Tracy Smith get the Devils to the top of the conference? Or will 2015 be another year of inconsistency in the desert? Arizona State will host UCLA and Stanford, but has to head to Oregon during conference play. If all goes right, the Devils have the talent to challenge for the title.

Stanford is another team that has the talent to make a run to the top, but the Cardinal lost a lot of offense with the departure of Alex Blandino, Austin Slater, and Danny Diekroeger. They will bring back nice arms like John Hochstatter (10-3, 3.37 ERA), and Brett Hanewich (4-4, 3.16 ERA), but Stanford must shake off the constant aura of under-achieving. We should find out early what Stanford is made of with matchups against Cal State Fullerton, Rice, and Texas. Like Arizona State, Stanford is another team that needs a lot to go right in 2015 to overtake UCLA and Oregon.

The Question Mark Teams

It’s extremely difficult to put Oregon State into this category, but the Beavers lost a tremendous amount of talent in 2014. They do bring back experienced starter Andrew Moore (6-5, 2.77 ERA), but pitchers like Max Engelbrekt and Zack Reser will have to carry more of a load this season. Offensively, the Beavers have talent in the likes of Jeff Hendrix (.351 BA, .447 OBP, 32 RBI), and Gabe Clark (.280 BA, .374 OBP, 34 RBI). On paper it looks as if it’s a rebuilding year in Corvallis, but the games aren’t played on paper and Oregon State is not a program that rebuilds. The Beavers are a perennial conference championship contender, and they brought in a top 15 recruiting class, with a number of recruits slated to see significant time this season. When it comes to Oregon State, it’s hard to ignore the fact that since their 2005 postseason appearance, the Beavers have only missed the postseason once, in 2008. The talented head coach, Pat Casey, will make sure the Beavers don’t beat themselves this season, and don’t be surprised if when the season ends Oregon State is one of those regional 3 or 4 seeds.

Washington had one of their best seasons in program history last year finishing 41-17-1 overall and 21-9 in conference play. They earned a 2 seed and dropped a pair of heart-breaking one-run games in the Oxford Regional. Entering 2015, Washington will have to plug numerous holes from departed players like Brian Wolfe, Trevor Mitsui, Andrew Ely, and Robert Pehl. The Huskies also lost key starters Jeff Bingham and Trevor Dunlap. Veteran centerfielder Braden Bishop, the Pac-12 leader in steals last season, will be a major factor for the Huskies in 2015. If he can continue to consistently get on base and move his way around the bases, the Huskies will be able to manufacture enough runs to be stay in the upper half of the conference. The question for Washington will be the depth of the starting rotation. Starter Tyler Davis (11-2, 1.60 ERA) will most likely be the Friday starter but the rest is up in the air.