Arizona State Sun Devils
Overall Rank: #38
Conference Rank: #5 Pac-12
Arizona State had a solid 2016 campaign, finishing the year with 36 victories. The season came to an end in the Regional Final against TCU and the Sun Devils will look to build off that success and make an even bigger impact in the 2017 NCAA Tournament. The pitching staff does need to replace workhorse Seth Martinez though. Eli Lingos returns, as does closer Eder Erives, but look for players like sophomore Zach Dixon and freshman southpaw Spencer Van Scoyoc to help turn this into a pretty dangerous rotation.
2016: 36-23, 16-14
2016 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: Tracy Smith
Key Departed Players:
Seth Martinez, P, 2.75 ERA, 111.1 IP, 94 SO
David Greer, .344 BA, 8 HR, 43 RBI
Brian Serven, .293 BA, 4 HR, 36 RBI
Colby Woodmansee, .265 BA, 8 HR, 44 RBI
Key Returning Players:
Eder Erives, P, 2.95 ERA, 76.1 IP, 73 SO, 10 SV
Eli Lingos, P, 4.50 ERA, 64.0 IP, 50 SO
Andrew Shaps, OF, .321 BA, 2 HR, 27 RBI
Andrew Snow, IF, .276 BA, 24 RBI
Gage Canning, OF, .269 BA, 3 HR, 26 RBI
Sebastian Zawada, OF, .250 BA, 8 HR, 21 RBI
Projection:
Last season this was a team that relied quite heavily on the long ball. David Greer and Colby Woodmansee hit eight homeruns each last season and were the key pieces to a dangerous offense. Now the Sun Devils will have to get by without them. Sebastian Zawada, who also hit eight homeruns in 2016, has plenty of pop in his bat and fellow outfielders Andrew Shaps and Gage Canning can drive in runs as well. For now, those three will provide most of the power for ASU. The key for this group may be finding a couple players who can get on base consistently. The team ranked ninth in the Pac-12 in on-base percentage and that could be a big problem without Greer, Woodmansee and Brian Serven in the lineup to produce their own offense.
Projected Postseason: NCAA Baseball Tournament
Madness 2017 Baseball Recruit Rankings:
#55 Carter Aldrete
