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University of Minnesota Athletics
2009 Baseball Preview
2/19/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
The Minnesota baseball program enters the season with a fresh attitude ready to adapt and learn from the tough lessons of the 2008 campaign.
After losing 26 players in the past two seasons (18 from graduation and four through the draft), Minnesota has a hungry group of talented young players ready to put their stamp on a program that has advanced to 28 NCAA Regionals and won 23 Big Ten titles throughout its history. That group includes 13 redshirt and true freshman ready to make an impact on the program. Those freshman combined with the 12 returning pitchers from 2008, and a group of accomplished returning position players look to lead Minnesota back to the top of the Big Ten standings this season.
“Our program definitely saw the world from a different place last year,” said Minnesota Head Coach John Anderson. “We had a disappointing season last year, especially by the standards of the past that this program has set. We lost a number of close games at the end of last year, which was a direct result of the inexperience in last year’s pitching staff. We also had some struggles consistenly executing the fundamentals which has been a strength in the past for this program.”
Minnesota returns two-time First-Team All-Big Ten centerfielder Matt Nohelty, who was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 18th round of the Major League Baseball Draft, but elected to return to the program for his senior season. Nohelty had the most hits of any Gopher player since 1999 and the highest single-season batting average at Minnesota since 2001 last season.
The Golden Gophers also return several other key position players in junior second baseman Derek McCallum, junior outfielder Eric Decker, junior catcher Kyle Knudson and sophomore outfielder Michael Kvasnicka. This year’s pitching staff is primarily made of the seniors (Tom Buske, Chauncy Handran and Tyler Oakes), along with seven sophomores (Scott Fern, Phil Isaksson, Dustin Klabunde, Scott Matyas, Luke Rasmussen, Seth Rosin and Cullen Sexton).
“I think the juniors and seniors did a good job this off-season of taking ownership of this team,” said Anderson. “They are very determined to turn the fortunes of the team around after last season, and they demonstrated that through strong leadership in the off-season. I also expect the sophomore pitchers to make a big jump in their production this year. That group learned a lot of tough lessons last year, but I was impressed with how hard they worked from the moment last season was done until now to make the proper adjustments to become quality pitchers at this level. I also think that this group of redshirt freshmen gained valuable experience over the last year and a half, and are ready to step in and play at a high level this year. I don’t even look at that group as freshmen at this point.”
PITCHERS
Last year, 111 of the 172 appearances made by Golden Gopher pitchers were done so by freshmen and newcomers. The flip side of that equation is that 12 Minnesota pitchers return to the staff this year, giving the Golden Gophers a solid group of pitchers who learned some important lessons during the 2008 season. Heading into the 2009 season, the major question is what roles will those pitchers play. Minnesota lost two of its starting pitchers from last season in Dustin Brabender (graduated) and Kyle Carr (drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 12th round of the MLB Draft), and will need a couple of pitchers to step up and fill those roles.
Heading into the season, the Golden Gophers are leaning towards using seniors Tom Buske and Chauncy Handran in the starting rotation. Buske has been Minnesota’s Friday starter for the past season and a half, and started a team-high 13 games last year. He also led the team in innings pitched (75.0), wins and had the best ERA of any Golden Gopher starting pitcher last year. Handran made the 13 appearances out of the bullpen last year for Minnesota, but the coaching staff feels he may be better suited as a starting pitcher because of his three-pitch arsenal and the good sinking movement he possesses.
Minnesota has also decided to put Tyler Oakes into the bullpen heading into the year. Last year, Oakes made 11 appearances for the Golden Gophers. During his career at Minnesota, he has made 40 appearances, which is the most of any returning pitcher on this year’s roster.
The Golden Gopher also need to sort out what roles to use their returning sophomore pitchers in. It appears as though Scott Matyas, Luke Rasmussen and Cullen Sexton will continue to pitch out of the bullpen for Minnesota. Last year, Matyas became the first Golden Gopher since 2005 to win Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honors twice in a season. He finished the season 3-4 with two saves, a 4.45 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 32.1 innings.
Rasmussen made the most appearances (tied with Matyas) by a Gopher freshman in a season since 2003 with 18. He also was 2-0 with a 5.87 ERA and walked only five batters in 23.0 innings of work. Sexton tied for the team lead in saves (2), and was 2-3 with a 5.09 ERA and a .226 opposing batter averaging his first season.
Phil Isaksson, Dustin Klabunde and Seth Rosin are also part of the sophomore class that will figure heavily into this year’s rotation. All three of those pitchers could get an opportunity to start at some point this season. Rosin, who made five starts in Big Ten play, finished last year 1-1 with a team-best 4.34 ERA, struck out 32 batters in 47.2 innings and only walked 11 on the season. His 47.2 innings pitched were the most by a Gopher freshman pitcher since 2001.
Isaksson was 0-1, with a 5.09 ERA, one save and struck out 16 batters in 17.2 innings. In his first season with the Golden Gophers, he led the team in opposing batting average at .172. However, he also struggled with his control as he yield over a walk per inning (20 walks on the season). Klabunde also made five starts and 10 appearances for the Golden Gophers in his first season as a Golden Gopher.
Scott Fern will be viewed as a swing-type of pitcher who can play different roles for the Golden Gophers. In his redshirt-freshman season he went 1-1 with a 6.87 ERA and struck out 13 batters in 18.1 innings. His win came in relief against No. 29 Pepperdine in the game that helped Minnesota clinch the Dairy Queen Classic championship.
Minnesota also returns Tim Ryan and Allen Bechstein to the pitching staff. Bechstein made eight appearances for the Golden Gophers in his sophomore season, while Ryan pitched in three games in a season where he developed a new sidearm delivery.
The Golden Gophers also expect to get an instant impact from freshman Austin Lubinsky. Lubinsky finished his senior season 10-1 with a 1.24 ERA at Logan High School in LaCrosse, Wis. The coaching staff views him as a pitcher who could contribute right away.
“When we sat down and looked at the pitching numbers from the 2008 season we realized that we threw way too many pitchers last year,” said Anderson. “Heading into this season, we would like to focus on developing more consistency for 8 to 10 pitchers on our staff, rather than throwing 13 or 14 arms out there. We feel like this is a talented group of pitchers. The main thing we need to do is use the first month of the season to determine who will be in the group of 8 to 10 pitchers that will pitch consistently for us this season.”
INFIELD
Minnesota lost three of its four starting infielders from last year, however the coaching staff is excited about the group of players who are slated to start in 2009. Heading into the season, the Golden Gophers are projecting a starting group that would include three resdhirt freshmen and McCallum in the infield. Three of those four starting infielders are looking to build off strong summer campaigns in the Northwoods League, a trend that has usual spelled success in the past for Gopher hitters.
The Golden Gophers plan to move McCallum back to second base where he started his career in 2007. Last year, McCallum batted .291 with 28 runs and 32 RBI. In his first two seasons, he is a career .311 hitter for Minnesota. In his freshman season, when he played second base, McCallum batted .340 for the Golden Gophers.
Moving over to shortstop will be freshman AJ Pettersen. Pettersen had a strong campaign in the Northwoods League this past summer. He is a smooth-fielding shortstop who the coaching staff thinks can quickly make the adjustment to the college level after a year of seasoning as a redshirt and a quality experience in the Northwoods League.
One of the toughest decisions for last year’s coaching staff was redshirting Nick O’Shea. They felt that O’Shea had a bat that might have been able to help the team last year, but decided instead to let him gain experience and enter this season as the odds on starter at first base. O’Shea is coming off a strong season in the Northwoods League that saw him bat .279 with six home runs and 39 RBI. He also participated in the Northwoods League All-Star game with McCallum.
Kyle Geason will enter the season as the projected starter at the hot corner for Minnesota. Geason gained a valuable year of seasoning as a redshirt freshman for the Golden Gophers in 2008. He also played in the New England Collegiate Summer League, which was a valuable experience heading into this season.
Minnesota also brings in a talented pair of true freshman middle infielders in Troy Larson and Matt Puhl. Puhl is a steady All-Metro infielder out of North St. Paul High School who stands at 6’5, while Larson is a smooth fielding All-Metro infielder out of Hill-Murray who will could see time at shortstop, second base and third base in a utility role.
The Golden Gophers will also give Trip Schultz time at first base and in the outfield. Schultz, an Honorable-Mention All-State honoree out of Forest Lake in 2007, gained valuable experience as a redshirt freshman and can back up O’Shea or provide offense as designated hitter.
Drew Hanish is also a middle infielder that has been in the program for three seasons, and produced in limited at-bats last season when he filled in for an injured Jeremy Chlan at second base.
The Golden Gophers will also use Sam Ryan at third base, and could possibly use Kvasnicka there. Either of those players could wind up there if there is a need to raise the offensive production from that position. Robert Stevenson also can play first base for Minnesota.
“This group is a young talented group of infielders that I think can provide us with both the defensive and offensive skill sets that we need to be successful this season,” said Anderson. “It is somewhat deceiving when you look at the projected starters in terms of experience. People will look at the fact that we have three redshirt freshmen projected to start and think there is a lot of inexperience there. While it is true that they are freshman on paper, we do not view them as inexperienced. Between their redshirt seasons, summer experiences and what they did in the fall we feel they are ready and capable to play at a high level for us this season. We also are excited about the prospect of moving Derek (McCallum) back to second. At times last year his defensive struggles carried over to offense. It will be good to have him back at second base where he had a very strong season as a freshman. We also feel like there is a lot of depth talent-wise in our infield with some of the young players we have brought into the program. We expect this group to fix some of the fielding struggles that we had at times during the 2008 season.”
CATCHER
Heading into the season, the coaching staff feels as if the catching position is one of its strongest depth wise. The Golden Gophers enter the season with Knudson slated to start, and have a trio of options behind him at the catcher’s spot.
After playing behind Kevin Carlson and Jeff DeSmidt the last two seasons, Knudson enters the season as the most experienced catcher and the logical choice to start behind the plate. Last season, Knudson had 19 RBI and scored 16 runs. This past summer, he had a strong showing in the Northwoods League batting .275 with 22 runs and 22 RBI.
Knudson’s primary backup is set to be true freshman Kurt Schlangen, who was named the 2A Area Player of the Year at Albany High School. The coaching staff feels as if Schlangen is ready both offensively and defensively to play catcher at the Division I level. Schlangen could also be used as a designated hitter this year as well.
Kvasnicka and O’Shea both provide solid options for the Golden Gophers at catcher as well. O’Shea was a catcher at Tartan High School throughout his career, while Kvasnicka saw some time behind the plate in his freshman season.
“I feel very good about our catching situation heading into this season,” said Anderson. “Kyle (Knudson) has really stepped up and become one of the primary leaders on this team. I also really like the way Kurt (Schlangen) played in the fall for us. He is big athletic kid who plays very well behind the plate. He has a good chance to be a factor for us as a freshman. Michael (Kvasnicka) and Nick (O’Shea) will also be used as experienced options at catcher as well.”
OUTFIELD
Entering the 2009 season, one of the most experienced spots for the Golden Gophers is their outfield. Minnesota returns all three starting outfielders from last year in Nohelty, Decker and Kvasnicka. The Golden Gophers also have several talented options to go to including senior Jon Hummel, Schultz, sophomore Brooks Albrecht, and a pair of freshmen in Justin Gominsky and Sam Ryan. Freshmen JT Canakes and Ethan Liederman will also provide depth to a talented group of athletic outfielders.
Nohelty brings back the most experience as he enters his senior season fourth on the school’s career batting average list at .377. However, due to off-season surgery he will probably start the year as a designated hitter. Albrecht, who is a talented sophomore outfielder out of Hutchinson who missed the 2008 season after having shoulder surgery, will get the first shot at playing in center field for the Golden Gophers until Nohelty returns.
Heading into last season, Albrecht was part of a group that was competing for a starting spot in the outfield before his injury. Gominsky and Ryan are the two freshmen outfielders that are the most ready to play this point, and could be in the mix for playing time at center field as well. Gominsky is an All-Metro performer out of Mahtomedi High School, while Ryan was named All-State out of Tartan High School and was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 35th round of the Major League Baseball Draft.
Decker will start the season in left field after batting .329 with 42 runs, 28 RBI and nine stolen bases in his first year with the Golden Gophers. Last year, Decker became the first Golden Gopher to receive a letter in football and baseball since 1999 when Andy Persby did it. Decker also enters the 2009 season as No. 91 among the top draft prospects in college baseball according to Baseball America.
Kvasnicka will start in right field for the Golden Gophers after finishing third on the team in extra-base hits and starting 49 games as a true freshmen. He also was named to the Dairy Queen Classic All-Tournament team after hitting a pair of homers in the tournament, and finished strong leading the team in doubles in the month of May and batting .318 during that span as well.
Hummel will also battle for a spot in the outfield after knocking in 12 runs and starting in 25 games as a junior. For the first time in his career, he will be slated to play exclusively in the outfield.
“We have an extremely talented group of outfielders heading into the 2009 season,” said Anderson. “Matt (Nohelty) is a prototypical leadoff hitter who does a great job of setting the table for our offense. He has done a good job of leading the team this off-season, and should continue to produce at a similar level this year. Eric (Decker) did a great job of coming in last year, and quickly adjusting to some of the things opposing pitchers were trying to do to him. He is an extremely gifted athlete who should only get better as he plays more. Michael (Kvasnicka) worked hard on improving his overall approach to the game, and is more comfortable heading into this year after getting a year of experience under his belt. Brooks will get the first shot to start in center field for us while Matt is recovering from his surgery. He is an extremely quick and athletic centerfielder who we feel can step and play well for us in the spot. Jon (Hummel), Justin (Gominsky), Sam (Ryan) and Trip (Schultz) also give us some very good options going forward this year.”
SCHEDULE
As usual the Golden Gophers will start the season with a challenging non-conference season to prepare for Big Ten play. Another wrinkle in the schedule is the fact that the Big Ten will switch from four-game series to a three-game series.
“I think the rule change to go to a three-game series is really going to help the overall quality of play in the Big Ten,” said Anderson. “I think there’s going to be more separation in the standings since one team has to win a series now as opposed to the way it was in a four-game series. It also will give everyone a chance to set a three-man rotation and have more quality arms available in the bullpen throughout a weekend. I think it is one of many good steps taken by our league to get better as a whole.”
Another step forward for the league is the season-opening Big East-Big Ten Challenge that will run from Feb. 20-22. The Golden Gophers will open the season against Seton Hall, West Virginia and Michigan State as part of a new event created by the Big East and Big Ten. The event will feature all of the Big Ten teams and part of the Big East taking part in a three-day event in the St. Petersburg/Clearwater area.
After the Big East-Big Ten Challenge, Minnesota will host Hawai’i, UC Santa Barbara and Washington in the Dairy Queen Classic on Feb. 27-Mar. 1. It will be the first meeting between Minnesota and Hawai’i since the two teams split a pair of games in Los Angeles in the 1991 NCAA Tournament.
The Golden Gophers will also welcome Illinois State, South Dakota State and Western Michigan to the Metrodome the following weekend (Mar. 6-8). Following the Metrodome Tournament, Minnesota will head to Texas for an eight-game nine-day trip. The Golden Gophers will face 2008 NCAA Regional participant TCU (Mar. 13-15), Texas-Arlington (Mar. 17-18) and 2008 NCAA Regional participant Dallas Baptist (Mar. 19-21).
Minnesota will face 2008 NCAA Regional participant Missouri on the road on Apr. 7-8. The Golden Gophers’ other non-conference contests will come against Northern Iowa (Mar. 4 and Apr. 1 at the Metrodome), North Dakota State (Apr. 22 on the road and at Siebert Field on May 5), South Dakota State (Apr. 15 at Siebert Field and at Brookings on Apr. 29), Wisconsin-Milwaukee (Apr. 14) and against St. Thomas (Apr. 28).
“Once again we have tried to line up a strong non-conference schedule that features matchups against teams from different regions that have different styles of play,” said Anderson. “I think this schedule will get us ready to compete in Big Ten play. I always believe that you have to challenge yourself to figure out what are your strengths and weaknesses as a team and we are doing that once again this year.”
Minnesota will open up Big Ten play at Indiana on Mar. 27-29, and will host its first Big Ten series against Ohio State (at the Metrodome on Apr. 3-4 and at Siebert Field on Apr. 5).
The Golden Gophers will also host home series against Northwestern (Apr. 10-12 at the Metrodome), Purdue (Apr. 24-26 at Siebert Field) and Iowa (May 1-3 at Siebert Field). Minnesota’s remaining Big Ten road series will be against Illinois (Apr. 17-19), defending Big Ten champion Michigan (May 8-10) and Penn State (May 14-16).
“I think from top to bottom this conference continues to get better,” said Anderson. “With some of the new coaches that have come in and the commitment schools have put towards their programs this conference is continuing to move forward. I also feel like some of things we have done such as the neutral-site conference tournament, the Big East-Big Ten Challenge and the move to three-game series are adjustments that will only help the conference as a whole.”
