thoughts on 2018

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oregontrack
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thoughts on 2018

Post by oregontrack »

junior matt mercer (6-7, 3.16, 88.1 IP) is the most logical choice to move into the friday role. he doesn't have david peterson-level stuff, but he's good and working with coach dietrich for a second year should be very beneficial. it remains to be seen if he can match up with other aces around the conference.

after that, the rotation seems totally up in the air. junior cole stringer (4-3, 3.80, 66.1 IP) is the next most experienced arm. there's been talk of moving sophomore kenyon yovan, who was dynamite as the closer last year, to the rotation. horton is big-time on his closers so for this to happen someone else is going to have to step up and prove they can close games. i know the coaches are high on sophomore ryne nelson, who battled injuries for most of last year. among the incoming freshmen, hillsboro native kolby somers seems like the most highly decorated and best candidate to potentially start.

anyway, there are several candidates, there's also several question marks.

if they keep yovan as closer the bullpen should be magnificent. it sounds like parker kelly had a huge summer/fall and is shaping up to be a legit set-up man. i liked what james acuna brought last year. isaiah carranza is still around. there's always a freshman or two that nobody has ever heard of that comes in and lights it up. the bullpen should be a strength this year.

as always, the offense is a huge question mark. we lost two everyday players to transfer, matthew dyer and morgan mccullough. both hurt, but dyer really stings. the infield seems fairly set:

1B should go to sophomore gabe matthews. he hit well last year (.282/.381) and showed some nice power. 2B senior kyle kasser was our best hitter last year (.352/.435). i assume senior daniel patzlaff will continue on at SS? unless someone beats him out, anyway. he did not hit well last year. 3B sophomore spencer steer actually led the team in RBI last season. at catcher, losing dyer is a big blow but sophomore braden stutzman is back and they brought in a pair of JC guys for competition.

in the outfield, i dunno. RF jakob goldfarb is back. he had a good freshman year, slumped as a sophomore, missed all of last season, and is now healthy again. taylor travess, from springfield high, was a pinch runner and defensive specialist who actually look over in LF at one point last year and made 26 starts. speed is his best attribute. we have a few JC guys and several freshmen to battle for the open spots, and DH.

i am not super optimistic about our chances of getting back to the postseason, but i'm hoping to be surprised. i don't think the schedule is too difficult but that means we're going to have to win most of those non-con games to make up for a potential RPI hit.
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UOducksTK1
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Re: thoughts on 2018

Post by UOducksTK1 »

Gonna be weird not to have at least one Friday option. We’ve had some aces come through here regularly. Hopefully Mercer or someone else steps it up.

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shoparound
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Re: thoughts on 2018

Post by shoparound »

Soooo another pretty rough season for the team then?
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