Baseball America picks YSU last in the Horizon League

[ysuindy]

Baseball America's Horizon League preview is up, YSU picked to finish last in the league 

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/season-preview/2012/2612948.html

Lets hope the Penguins prove this prediction wrong.  I admit to not knowing what we have back and coming in.

Sad to see CSU drop baseball.  This puts the league back at the NCAA minimum of 6 teams needed to earn their champion a bid in the NCAA tournament.


HORIZON LEAGUE
HOW THEY'LL FINISH

Conf.   Overall

W   L   W   L
*Wright State   16   7   36   17
Illinois-Chicago   16   7   28   26
Wisconsin-Milwaukee   15   10   28   28
Valparaiso   14   10   25   32
Butler   11   14   23   28
Youngstown State   7   16   14   41
Projected NCAA Teams (1): Wright State.
Conference Schedule: 30 games, begins March 16.
Conference Tournament: Six teams, May 23-26 at Illinois-Chicago.
Player of the Year: Jake Hibberd, 1b, Wright State.
Pitcher of the Year: Michael Schum, rhp, Wright State.
 
TOP PROSPECTS, 2012-13 DRAFTS
1. Josh Uhen, rhp, Wisconsin-Milwaukee (2013)
2. Sam Koenig, 3b, Wisconsin-Milwaukee (2013)
3. Tristan Moore, of, Wright State
4. Mike Hernandez, rhp, Butler
5. Jon Ryan, of, Illinois-Chicago (2013)
 
TOP NEWCOMERS
1. Kyle Wormington, rhp, Valparaiso (Tr.—Connors State, Okla., JC)
2. Will Fadness, c, Wisconsin-Milwaukee (Tr.—South Mountain, Ariz., CC)
3. Ryan Hinchley, lhp, Illinois-Chicago (HS—Elmhurst, Ill.)
 
QUICK HITS

• Defending Horizon League regular-season and tournament champion Wright State is the league favorite again and aiming for its third NCAA regional appearance in four years, thanks to a strong group of seniors. 1B Jake Hibberd (pictured at right, .407/.445/.610, 9 HR, 56 RBI) won the league triple crown and player of the year award in 2011. Sidearming RHP Michael Schum (9-2, 1.37, 53 IP/41 SO, 9 SV) was the Horizon reliever of the year after leading the league in wins and saves. 3B Zach Tanner (.375/.425/.551, 15 2B) finished second to Hibberd in the league batting race, while athletic OF Tristan Moore (.352/.432/.562, 17 2B) is the best prospect of the group.

• The Horizon's top pro prospect has just one-third of an inning of college experience and won't be draft-eligible until 2013. Wisconsin-Milwaukee RHP Josh Uhen, a redshirt freshman, got one out in 2011 before blowing out his elbow and having Tommy John surgery in April. Before he got hurt, his fastball sat at 93-94 mph and peaked at 96. The Panthers hope to have the 6-foot-4, 205-pounder back by midseason and perhaps earlier. They have two other intriguing prospects with size and raw ability in 6-foot-4, 210-pound So. 3B Sam Koenig (.247/.301/.317, 11 SB) and 6-foot-5, 215-pound Jr. RHP Jordan Guth (1-5, 6.06, 62 IP/55 SO).

• The league is down to six teams after Cleveland State dropped baseball following the 2011 season, citing budget cuts and the lack of an on-campus facility. The Vikings went 12-43 in both 2010 and 2011 and posted their last winning season in 1989.

[Wick250]

We have some transfers, including the son of a former major league player.  Expectations are higher than last place.  If this preview is correct, it will reinforce Strollo's expertise at picking bad head coaches, especially on the Olympic sport level.

[IAA Fan]

UWM is really establishing themselves. CSU dropping baseball will hurt the HL, but help YSU, Akron, and Kent.

Not many people realize this, but we live in a great baseball area. Heck, both Canfield and Poland have won national youth titles in the past 5-years. Kent is one of the most consistent programs in the NE. We can easily be that caliber of a program.

I am thinking that WATTS will have a major impact, and I hope it begins this season.

I am worried about our rotation. (pitching)

As many of you know, I am a big Craig Antush fan. With both assistants being rookies, I hope he has extra availability this season. This is part of the reason for the low rank...just too many "unknowns". We are going to be great ..or very poor.

I also feel that a good number of fans do not know the college game; it is so vastly different than any level of pro. Look at some specifics:

1. YSU had only a single batter above .300 last year. With aluminum bats, there are a lot of hits. We have a great team batting average, but a "so-so" college average.

2. ERA's hover closer to 7.0 ...than they do 1.0. However, only have one starter, and one reliever under 6, is not too impressive ...but aside from Klein and McCulloh (who are gone) ...Manuppelli, Svitka, and Aquadro and very good pitchers. Alex Frey returns to the line-up. I hope he is related to Glen Frey ...the old pitching coach for Canfield. They are both from Washington PA. Glen was with the Pirates for a spell. Any way ...Alexis not afraid to throw strikes. O'Brien is the transfer on the mound (BG). He went 17 scoreless innings as a freshman, had 6-saves, and is ranked in the top-25 players in the state. He can open, or close for us. The one I have the most interest in is Nick DiBartolomeo.He played for Hickory, and was an under-armor all-American just this past year. Hickory went to the post-season the past 5-straight years. I see a red-shirt coming ...but I am sure coach Antush is well-aware of him. Two promising CC transfers on the mound as well ...Gajda & Shedlock. Let's not forget that we have two utility players that can pitch as well)

3. Leon, Banks, Dosch, Lipari, and Williams all return to the infield. With a promising frosh that I think will play this year on 1st. Goubeaux, did play most every game last year at catcher ...I had some hesitation ...but I think he will step up. Expect to see CC transfer Kucek. He was a stud at Canfield, and his dad is Jack Kucek ...for all you Sox fans.

Well I am done with lunch ..more updates to come.

[ItalianPenguin]

McCulloh is still on the roster as a junior

[OleYSUfan]

YSU's baseball season will depend on starting pitching. Last season it was the next highest ERA in the Horizon. We need a good closer; last season we lost many games having the lead after the 7th. If we get two good starting pitchers and one good closer, it will be a far better season than last year.

Maybe we will get lucky and fine some good pitchers. I hope to see them early when they are in North Carolina.

[ysufan0505]

Former Boardman star Patrick O'Brien transferred from Bowling Green and will be eligible this year. Started and came out of the bullpen at BG

[IAA Fan]

Thanks IP, I thought McCullough was no longer there. I see he was named captain ...along with Banks.