2017 Lobo Baseball Season Preview: Part 2

In Part 1 of our preview, we broke down the schedule and gave our bold predictions for the 2017 Lobo Baseball team. In Part 2, we will look at the roster in depth, including returning players, newcomers, and positional breakdown.

Returning Players:

Notes: Triple slash line is batting average/on-base %/slugging %. At bats are not the same as plate appearances, so it doesn’t include walks, hit by pitches, or sacrifices.

Junior Third Baseman Carl Stajduhar: The reigning Mountain West Player of the Year returns for his junior season, having started 108 straight games. Stajduhar comes into the season in better shape in hopes of not only impressing Major League scouts, but also allowing him to have an even greater impact on this year’s team. Last year, Stajduhar started all 62 games for the Lobos at a couple of different positions and put up a triple slash line of .331/.411/.623, which is outstanding in each category. He had 85 hits in 257 at bats, drew 29 walks (and 9 HBP), while striking out 44 times. Stajduhar scored 51 runs and drove in 66 runs, mostly thanks to his 37 extra base hits (17 doubles, 2 triples, 18 home runs).

Junior Center Fielder and Pitcher Luis Gonzalez: The ultra-talented junior from Arizona may be the most complete player in a Lobo uniform since Jordan Pacheco in the mid-2000s. Gonzalez has so many tools that that he should have the Inspector Gadget theme song as his walk-up song. The biggest question that I have about Gonzalez is about how much he will end up pitching this season and how that affects his production. Last season, Gonzalez made six starts on the mound during midweek games. Gonzalez has been up to 94 mph on the mound this fall, so he could potentially be a force in the field, at the plate, and on the mound. Last season, Gonzalez played in 60 games and had a triple slash line of .381/.470/.575 to lead the Lobo offense at the top of the order. Gonzalez had 96 hits in 252 at bats and had 43 walks (and 2 HBP) against only 26 strikeouts. Gonzalez scored 63 runs, drove in 48 runs, had 32 extra base hits (21 doubles, 5 triples, 6 home runs), and on top of all that, he was 18 for 18 on stolen base attempts. On the mound last season, Gonzalez made 9 appearances (6 starts) had a record of 3-1 with an ERA of 5.51 in 32.2 innings. Gonzalez allow 46 hits, 22 runs (20 earned), 10 walks (1 HP), with 18 strikeouts. Opponents had a batting average against of .333.

Senior First Baseman Jack Zoellner: Zoellner trimmed down for his final season as a Lobo, which has all the makings to be his best in the cherry and silver. Zoellner is a very good left-handed hitter that will provide protection to both Gonzalez and Stajduhar. He is a very good first baseman and should anchor the Lobo infield defense. Last season, he played in 59 games, and had a triple slash line of .307/.378/.489, with 71 hits in 231 at bats. Zoellner walked 27 times (and 3 HBP), struck out 54 times, while scoring 49 runs and driving in 47 with 25 extra base hits (16 doubles, 1 triple, 8 home runs).

Sophomore Outfielder Austin Bell: Bell had a very good freshman season as a part-time outfielder for the Lobos. This season, his role will likely be the same and we could see very similar results, which is not a bad thing at all. Bell has very good contact skills and should be a key part to this year’s team. Last season, he played in 41 games and had a triple slash line of .342/.478/.384, had 25 hits in 73 at bats. He drew 16 walks (and 3 HBP) and struck out 9 times, scored 19 runs, drove in 12 runs, and had 2 extra base hits (1 double, 1 triple). One area Bell needs to improve on is stealing bases, as last year he was 0 for 5 on stolen base attempts.

Sophomore Catcher Andrew Pratt: Pratt, who was named to Freshman All-American teams last season, looks to build off his freshman season with a big sophomore year. Pratt really took off at the end of last season, when Chris DeVito was unable to catch at the end of the season. If the last couple of weeks of last season are any indication of what is to come this season, we could be looking at a First-Team Conference catcher. There are a lot of similarities to fellow La Cueva alum and Lobo Catcher Mitch Garver, and I expect to see him drafted when his Lobo career is finished. Last season in his 32 games, Pratt had a triple slash line of .326/.369/.565, with 30 hits in 92 at bats. He drew 6 walks (and 2 HBP) and struck out 28 times, scoring 19 runs, driving in 16 runs, and picking up 12 extra base hits (7 double, 5 home runs).

Sophomore Outfielder Jared Mang: Jared Mang had a very solid freshman season last year, and this year we could see a breakout season from the Los Alamos native. In my mind, he has the potential to become the next great power hitter to play for the Lobos. In 59 games last season, he had a triple slash line of .291/.383/.423, with 51 hits in 175 at bats. He drew 25 walks (4 HBP) and 28 strike outs, scoring 37 runs, driving in 30 runs, and hitting 15 extra base hits (10 doubles, 2 triples, 3 home runs). He was also 3 of 4 on stolen base attempts.

Senior Outfielder Andre Vigil: Vigil is a key part to the Lobo outfield last season and could see an expanded role on this year’s team. Last season in 54 games, Vigil had a triple slash line of .262/.333/.357, with 33 hits in 126 at bats. He drew 11 walks (and 3 HBP) while striking out 21 times, scoring 20 runs, driving in 11 runs, and picking up 9 extra base hits (7 doubles, 1 triple, 1 home run).

Junior Outfielder/DH Danny Collier: Collier enters his 4th year playing for the Lobos, even though he’s still a junior. That’s because his season was cut short last year after playing in only 12 games, qualifying him for a medical redshirt. Collier looks to stay healthy and be a key cog to the Lobo lineup like he was as a freshman and sophomore. Last season in his 12 games, he had a triple slash line of .405/.436/.432, with 15 hits in 37 at bats, 1 walk (1 HBP) and 5 strikeouts. He also scored 6 runs, drove in 9 runs, had a double, and was 4-4 on stolen base attempts.

Sophomore Outfielder Jacob Westerman: Last season, Westerman became a key pinch-runner for the Lobos and could see the same role this season. There is also a chance he could play some centerfield when Gonzalez pitches, depending on what Coach Birmingham wants to do. In 19 games last season, Westerman had a triple slash line of .222/.462/.222, with 2 hits in 9 at bats. He drew 3 walks (1 HBP) while striking out 3 times, and he scored 6 runs and had 2 RBIs.

Junior Pitcher Tyler Stevens: Stevens will anchor the pitching staff this season and will be the Friday night starter. He will give the Lobos a lot of innings and should be able to win a bunch of games this season. I would expect to see him on the short list of Conference Pitcher of the Year candidates. I look for Stevens to build off his last start against Texas Tech in the regional, where he only allowed 1 earned run in 7.1 innings. Last season, Stevens made 16 starts and finished with an 8-4 record, an ERA of 4.11, and 100.2 innings of work. He allowed 115 hits, 58 runs (46 earned), 42 walks (3 HP), 78 strikeouts, and opponents had a batting average of .295.

Senior Pitcher Carson Schneider: Last season, Schneider had mixed results, but for the most part was a very stable pitcher for the Lobos. He started last season as the Friday night starter and ended up as the Sunday starter at the end of the year. Schneider is going to attack hitters and will give his defense a chance to make plays behind him, rarely giving out free passes. Last season, he made 15 starts and finished with a 9-4 record and a 4.68 ERA in 100 innings. He allowed 127 hits, 64 runs (52 earned), had only 20 walks (8 HP), 44 strikeouts, and opponents had a batting average of .316.

Junior Pitcher James Harrington: Harrington was the main midweek starter for the Lobos last season, and will either be the Sunday starter or a midweek starter again this season. Last year, he made 10 starts and finished with a 7-2 record with a 6.04 ERA in 56.2 innings of work. He allowed 77 hits, 45 runs (38 earned), 18 walks (5 HP), 27 strikeouts, and opponents had a batting average of .329.

Sophomore Pitcher Jacob Nelson: Nelson had a good freshman season for the Lobos last year and could see an expanded role this season. Last year, he made 13 appearance with a 3.00 ERA in 9 innings. He allowed 13 hits, 7 runs (3 earned), 6 walks, and 4 strikeouts.

Sophomore Pitcher Christian Tripp: Christian Tripp had a very good freshman season and will be the anchor of the Lobo bullpen this season. Tripp will be counted on as the closer of the team from the beginning this year, as he saw his role expand as the season went on last year. I have a feeling that we could see a special sophomore season for him. Last season, he made 27 appearances and finished with a 2-2 record with 4 saves, while putting up a 4.54 ERA in 35.2 innings. He allowed 36 hits, 19 runs (18 earned), 15 walks (4 HP), 25 strikeouts, and opponents had a batting average of .275.

Sophomore Pitcher Austin Isenhart: Isenhart will be looking to make an impact on the team, after making just 3 appearances as a freshman. Last year, he threw 5.1 innings with a 13.50 ERA and a save.

Senior Pitcher Fernando Fernandez: Fernandez should see an expanded role on this year’s team, where he could end up being the key left-handed reliever. Last season, Fernandez made 19 appearances and had a 5.79 ERA in 23.1 innings. He allowed 29 hits, 17 runs (15 earned), 9 walks (2 HP), striking out 8, and opponents had a batting average of .319.

Senior Infielder Matt Villalobos: Villalobos will make the transition to a hitter for his senior season and should provide some depth in the infield.

Sophomore Infielder and Pitcher Hayden Schilling: After redshirting last season, Schilling returns to the fold and will see time in the infield, and could also end up as a key cog to the Lobos bullpen.

Newcomers (19):

Hitters (9):

  • Freshman Infielder Justin Watari
  • Freshman Infielder Beau Capanna
  • Junior Outfielder Jeff Deimling
  • Junior Infielder Andre Gregory
  • Junior Infielder Chris Smutny
  • Freshman Infielder Connor Mang
  • Freshman Outfielder Chris Dunn
  • Junior Catcher Daniel Herrera
  • Freshman Catcher Robby Capillo

Pitchers (10):

  • Freshman Cody Dye
  • Freshman Drew Gillespie
  • Freshman Chandler Coates
  • Redshirt Sophomore Chad Smith
  • Freshman Justin Slaten
  • Redshirt Senior Johnathon Tripp
  • Freshman Brian Coffey
  • Freshman Austin Wendt
  • Freshman Nathaniel Garley
  • Junior Brandon Langan

Departures from Last Year:

Hitters: Chris DeVito, Jared Holley, Dalton Bowers, Michael Eaton, Erick Migueles, Scottie Graham, Reece Weber and Austin Treadwell.

Pitchers: Colton Thompson, Alex Estrella, Victor Sanchez, Drew Bridges, Taylor Duree and Preston Ryan.

Position Breakdown:

Catcher:

Starter: Sophomore Andrew Pratt. While Pratt won’t start every game behind the plate, I expect him to get 2 of 3 games during the weekend.

Backups: Junior Daniel Herrera and Freshman Robby Campillo are the other guys I’d expect to see catch this year. Herrera will likely get the starts that Pratt doesn’t have, and the Lobos will be more than fine behind the dish.

First Base:

Starter: Senior Jack Zoellner. No surprise here, Zoellner will be at first base when healthy and be a key part of the Lobo offense.

Backup: In the case of injury, odds are Carl Stajduhar would move to first.

Second Base:

Starter: The position that remains most in question, it will be either freshman Justin Watari or freshman Beau Capanna, and we could see split time between the two.

Shortstop:

Starter: Junior Andre Gregory. The Junior College transfer should take over for the graduated Bowers, and should see most of the action at short.

Backup: Hayden Schilling has experience playing infield for the Lobos two years ago and played shortstop during intrasquads.

Third Base:

Starter: Junior Carl Stajduhar. Was this even in question? Stajduhar will start and play every inning at the hot corner as long as he and Zoellner are healthy this season.

Backup: Junior Chris Smutny and Freshman Connor Mang.

Outfield:

Starters: Junior Luis Gonzalez, Sophomore Jared Mang and TBD

Possible starters besides Gonzalez and Mang are Sophomore Austin Bell, Senior Andre Vigil, Junior Danny Collier and Junior Jeff Deimling.

Backup Outfielder: Freshman Chris Dunn.

Possible Starting Pitchers (2 LHP):

  • Junior Tyler Stevens
  • Senior Carson Schneider (LHP)
  • Junior Luis Gonzalez (LHP)
  • Junior James Harrington
  • Freshman Justin Slaten
  • Redshirt Senior Johnathon Tripp

Relief Pitchers (7 LHP):

  • Sophomore Chrisitian Tripp
  • Sophomore Jacob Nelson (LHP)
  • Senior Fernando Fernandez (LHP)
  • Sophomore Hayden Schilling
  • Sophomore Austin Isenhart (LHP)
  • Freshman Cody Dye
  • Freshman Drew Gillespie
  • Freshman Chandler Coates (LHP)
  • Redshirt Sophomore Chad Smith
  • Freshman Brian Coffey (LHP)
  • Freshman Austin Wendt (LHP)
  • Freshman Nathaniel Garley
  • Junior Brandon Langan (LHP)

The Lobos have a lot of options in the pitching staff, and because there is a lot of young talent on the team, the pitching staff usage at the end of the year could look completely different than it does now. I am excited to see what the talented freshman can do this season.

Roster Thoughts:

I like the breakdown of this year’s roster, as there are star players at key positions and there is talent at every position. In my opinion, this is the most complete team the Lobos have had in a long time (maybe ever). The pitching staff is what I am most excited about, as the Lobos will be able to mix and match with 7 left handers in the bullpen, and have a handful of extremely talented freshman that could make a huge impact on the mound. It should be a fun season and I can’t wait to see what the coaching staff can do with this roster.

Final Preseason Thoughts:

This will be a very exciting season that I can’t wait to see how it unfolds. We could see a couple of All-American seasons and a few players drafted in the first 15 rounds of the MLB Draft. This team could take some bumps and bruises during the season, but I believe that those will help when playoff season comes around. I really believe that this is the year we break through in the NCAA Tournament. I hope that we show great support for this awesome Lobo program!