University of Minnesota Athletics
Scout Series: March Non-Conference Rundown
12/30/2019 1:17:00 PM | Baseball
Only a pair of days remain in the 2019 calendar year, as the 2020 Gopher Baseball season is now less than 50 days away from the team's Feb. 14 opener. As the home stretch of the countdown progresses, we continue to preview Minnesota's upcoming schedule, continuing this week with the Maroon and Gold's March non-conference slate.
The Gophers will take on two returning NCAA Tournament teams in March in the form of Creighton and Texas Tech, with the latter ranked No. 3 in the nation by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. Utah and Air Force will also battle Minnesota during the first full month of the season.
Scouting the Utah Utes | March 6-8 | 6:30pm/6pm/1pm | U.S. Bank Stadium
Utah enters the 2020 campaign on the heels of a 16-33 (6-24) season in 2019 that placed them second-to-last in the Pac-12 Conference. Although the Utes did win four of their final five games to conclude the year, this stretch was preceded by an 11-game losing streak (0-9 PAC) in which they were outscored by fellow conference opponents by a 65-30 margin.
Since then, six players have departed the Utah program via graduation, with another leaving early to pursue professional baseball. After slashing .366/.450/.567 with three homers, 28 RBI and 45 runs last season, infielder Oliver Dunn was selected by the New York Yankees in the 11th round of the MLB Draft. In addition to Dunn, Utah will be without 2019 home run leader in Erick Migueles (.295/.383/.508) who launched eight big flies in his senior season.
In all, the Utes return 17 players with two-plus years of collegiate playing experience, equating to roughly 47% of their 2020 roster. There is some promising freshman talent in Salt Lake City, however, as five of the team's eight signees from their 2019 class were selected in the MLB Draft out of high school. Four of those five players elected to push back their pro careers and will be worth a watchful eye come March: Randon Hostert, Trey Clarkson, Kayler Yates and Brock Rudy.
Minnesota will aim to maintain an undefeated record against Utah in 2020, coming into the series with a 3-0 all-time record against the Utes. In the last meetings between these teams in 2016, the Gophers outscored the Utes, 15-4, across two February contests in Surprise, Ariz.
Scouting the Creighton Bluejays | March 10-11 | 6pm | U.S. Bank Stadium
A quite different narrative tells the tale of Creighton's 2019 season, as the Blue Jays are coming off a 41-13 (14-4) season that saw them win the Big East Conference and secure an NCAA Tournament berth. Creighton advanced all the way to the Corvallis Regional Finals before falling to the eventual NCAA Runner-up, Michigan.
As a result of the strong season, six Blue Jays heard their names called in the 2019 MLB Draft. This included three juniors to go along with three seniors, with four of the six being position players Creighton will need to replace in their 2020 lineup. Saturday starter Mitch Ragan's departure to the New York Mets will also create a void in the Blue Jay rotation.
Aside from the aforementioned six, Creighton also lost four seniors to graduation at the conclusion of 2019. Analyzing the composition of the team's 2020 roster, 18 of 37 Blue Jays boast at least two years of experience at the college level, so inexperience should not be an overwhelming deficiency.
Right-handed pitcher John Sakowski looks to be the leader of the staff entering 2020 after a year in which he went 7-1 with a 2.83 ERA across 47 2/3 innings. Meanwhile, the Gophers will need to harness outfielder Parker Upton (.324/.483/.603) at the plate, as the senior blasted 10 home runs last season.
Although Minnesota has not played Creighton since 2015, the Gophers snagged a pair of victories in Omaha the last time around (8-6, 9-0). In the second and final game of that series, Minnesota delivered a combined no-hitter of the Blue Jays, headlined by seven hitless innings from Dalton Sawyer. Overall, Minnesota holds the all-time series advantage with a 25-21 record against Creighton.
Scouting the Air Force Falcons | March 13-15 | 2pm | Colorado Springs, Colo.
After beginning with one opponent with a particular poor 2019 campaign and one with a relatively excellent one, our previewing of Air Force lands us somewhere in the middle. The Falcons ended last season with a .500 record, going 26-26 (12-14) and finishing fifth in the Mountain West Conference.
Senior Nic Ready was the lone Falcon to be drafted in 2019, as he became the fourth-highest pick in program history when he Miami Marlins selected him in the 23rd round. 10 other seniors also departed Air Force in the form of graduation, leaving a fair amount to rebuild for the Falcons. Nearly two-thirds of Air Force's 2020 roster is underclassmen.
In regard to this March's series, the primary concern for the Gophers is undoubtedly senior outfielder Ashton Easley (.327/.377/.545). Easley led the Falcons in batting average, hits, runs and stolen bases last season.
Having played some impressive baseball at home en route to a 13-10 record last year, Air Force is not a team to overlook as the Gophers travel west to Colorado Springs. Surprisingly, Minnesota has only ever played the Falcons once, having dropped their lone contest back in 1993.
If that does not speak to the limited history in this series, take into account that the Gophers have not played a single Mountain West team since 2010 and have only ever played seven total games against the conference dating back to 1956. In these seven games, Minnesota has a 5-2 record – a mark they will look to improve upon in this March's three-game set.
Scouting the Texas Tech Red Raiders | March 20-22 | 6:30pm/2pm/11am | Lubbock, Tex.
After winning the Big 12 Conference and reaching the College World Series in 2019, Texas Tech returns a team equally as talented on paper, as evidenced by their No. 3 preseason national ranking. The Red Raiders' 2019 season wrapped up with a 15-3 loss to Michigan in Omaha, leaving the team with a 46-20 (16-8) record on the year.
As mentioned above, the Red Raiders possess a talented roster on paper, but will need to replace six players who left for pro ball in 2019. This group is highlighted by No. 8 overall pick Josh Jung (.343/.474/.636), whose production at the plate would be difficult for anyone to replicate.
On the flip side, Texas Tech welcomes back right-handed pitcher John McMillon for his senior year after not reaching terms with the Detroit Tigers. McMillon pitched 62 2/3 innings of 4.02 ERA ball with 73 strikeouts for the Red Raiders in 2019. The senior projects to lead Texas Tech's 2020 rotation, meaning the Gophers are highly likely to face McMillon this upcoming March in Lubbock.
March's three-game series will mark the first-ever meetings between Minnesota and Texas Tech. The Gophers own a collective 136-140 (.493) record against the Big 12, a history of competition that dates all the way back to 1908. However, if Minnesota's 92 games against Texas are taken out of the equation, the Gophers then boast a 114-70 (.620) all-time record against the remainder of the Big 12.
The Gophers will take on two returning NCAA Tournament teams in March in the form of Creighton and Texas Tech, with the latter ranked No. 3 in the nation by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. Utah and Air Force will also battle Minnesota during the first full month of the season.
Scouting the Utah Utes | March 6-8 | 6:30pm/6pm/1pm | U.S. Bank Stadium
Utah enters the 2020 campaign on the heels of a 16-33 (6-24) season in 2019 that placed them second-to-last in the Pac-12 Conference. Although the Utes did win four of their final five games to conclude the year, this stretch was preceded by an 11-game losing streak (0-9 PAC) in which they were outscored by fellow conference opponents by a 65-30 margin.
Since then, six players have departed the Utah program via graduation, with another leaving early to pursue professional baseball. After slashing .366/.450/.567 with three homers, 28 RBI and 45 runs last season, infielder Oliver Dunn was selected by the New York Yankees in the 11th round of the MLB Draft. In addition to Dunn, Utah will be without 2019 home run leader in Erick Migueles (.295/.383/.508) who launched eight big flies in his senior season.
In all, the Utes return 17 players with two-plus years of collegiate playing experience, equating to roughly 47% of their 2020 roster. There is some promising freshman talent in Salt Lake City, however, as five of the team's eight signees from their 2019 class were selected in the MLB Draft out of high school. Four of those five players elected to push back their pro careers and will be worth a watchful eye come March: Randon Hostert, Trey Clarkson, Kayler Yates and Brock Rudy.
Minnesota will aim to maintain an undefeated record against Utah in 2020, coming into the series with a 3-0 all-time record against the Utes. In the last meetings between these teams in 2016, the Gophers outscored the Utes, 15-4, across two February contests in Surprise, Ariz.
Scouting the Creighton Bluejays | March 10-11 | 6pm | U.S. Bank Stadium
A quite different narrative tells the tale of Creighton's 2019 season, as the Blue Jays are coming off a 41-13 (14-4) season that saw them win the Big East Conference and secure an NCAA Tournament berth. Creighton advanced all the way to the Corvallis Regional Finals before falling to the eventual NCAA Runner-up, Michigan.
As a result of the strong season, six Blue Jays heard their names called in the 2019 MLB Draft. This included three juniors to go along with three seniors, with four of the six being position players Creighton will need to replace in their 2020 lineup. Saturday starter Mitch Ragan's departure to the New York Mets will also create a void in the Blue Jay rotation.
Aside from the aforementioned six, Creighton also lost four seniors to graduation at the conclusion of 2019. Analyzing the composition of the team's 2020 roster, 18 of 37 Blue Jays boast at least two years of experience at the college level, so inexperience should not be an overwhelming deficiency.
Right-handed pitcher John Sakowski looks to be the leader of the staff entering 2020 after a year in which he went 7-1 with a 2.83 ERA across 47 2/3 innings. Meanwhile, the Gophers will need to harness outfielder Parker Upton (.324/.483/.603) at the plate, as the senior blasted 10 home runs last season.
Although Minnesota has not played Creighton since 2015, the Gophers snagged a pair of victories in Omaha the last time around (8-6, 9-0). In the second and final game of that series, Minnesota delivered a combined no-hitter of the Blue Jays, headlined by seven hitless innings from Dalton Sawyer. Overall, Minnesota holds the all-time series advantage with a 25-21 record against Creighton.
Scouting the Air Force Falcons | March 13-15 | 2pm | Colorado Springs, Colo.
After beginning with one opponent with a particular poor 2019 campaign and one with a relatively excellent one, our previewing of Air Force lands us somewhere in the middle. The Falcons ended last season with a .500 record, going 26-26 (12-14) and finishing fifth in the Mountain West Conference.
Senior Nic Ready was the lone Falcon to be drafted in 2019, as he became the fourth-highest pick in program history when he Miami Marlins selected him in the 23rd round. 10 other seniors also departed Air Force in the form of graduation, leaving a fair amount to rebuild for the Falcons. Nearly two-thirds of Air Force's 2020 roster is underclassmen.
In regard to this March's series, the primary concern for the Gophers is undoubtedly senior outfielder Ashton Easley (.327/.377/.545). Easley led the Falcons in batting average, hits, runs and stolen bases last season.
Having played some impressive baseball at home en route to a 13-10 record last year, Air Force is not a team to overlook as the Gophers travel west to Colorado Springs. Surprisingly, Minnesota has only ever played the Falcons once, having dropped their lone contest back in 1993.
If that does not speak to the limited history in this series, take into account that the Gophers have not played a single Mountain West team since 2010 and have only ever played seven total games against the conference dating back to 1956. In these seven games, Minnesota has a 5-2 record – a mark they will look to improve upon in this March's three-game set.
Scouting the Texas Tech Red Raiders | March 20-22 | 6:30pm/2pm/11am | Lubbock, Tex.
After winning the Big 12 Conference and reaching the College World Series in 2019, Texas Tech returns a team equally as talented on paper, as evidenced by their No. 3 preseason national ranking. The Red Raiders' 2019 season wrapped up with a 15-3 loss to Michigan in Omaha, leaving the team with a 46-20 (16-8) record on the year.
As mentioned above, the Red Raiders possess a talented roster on paper, but will need to replace six players who left for pro ball in 2019. This group is highlighted by No. 8 overall pick Josh Jung (.343/.474/.636), whose production at the plate would be difficult for anyone to replicate.
On the flip side, Texas Tech welcomes back right-handed pitcher John McMillon for his senior year after not reaching terms with the Detroit Tigers. McMillon pitched 62 2/3 innings of 4.02 ERA ball with 73 strikeouts for the Red Raiders in 2019. The senior projects to lead Texas Tech's 2020 rotation, meaning the Gophers are highly likely to face McMillon this upcoming March in Lubbock.
March's three-game series will mark the first-ever meetings between Minnesota and Texas Tech. The Gophers own a collective 136-140 (.493) record against the Big 12, a history of competition that dates all the way back to 1908. However, if Minnesota's 92 games against Texas are taken out of the equation, the Gophers then boast a 114-70 (.620) all-time record against the remainder of the Big 12.
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