Baseball First Look: The Offense

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Fresh off a fantastic basketball win over Duke, I thought now would be perfect timing to heap on the positive news. Baseball is right around the corner, so it’s time to begin the preview of the upcoming Wolfpack season and I’ll start with the offense.  Last season was a disappointment to many, although I warned that youth on offense would be a bit of a problem.  Replacing key seniors from our NCAA superregional appearance with freshmen was expected to result in a corresponding drop in W-L record, although it wasn’t as bad as it appeared.  Frankly, the Achilles heel for the team proved to be a bullpen that cost some games early, and then struggled to regain any confidence as the season wore on.  In the seventh inning and beyond, the Wolfpack pitchers yielded 123 runs, but this will be focused on in more depth later.  The offense was good in spurts, but really too inconsistent. The 6+ runs per game scored was a tad low for college baseball, and that number was a bit inflated by some monster games against not-so-good competition.

I’m particularly excited about the offensive potential of this year’s squad.  There are a lot of weapons returning, and it starts at the top of the order with Kyle Wilson.  Wilson reached base at a .422 clip last season and was successful on 30 of 35 SB attempts.  Drew and Dallas Poulk return, with the former a middle of the order type (36 RBI) and the latter a reliable table setter (.364 OBP).  Big things should be expected from a trio of sophomores: Harold Riggins, Andrew Ciencin and Pratt Maynard.  All three had excellent summer campaigns, with Maynard hitting to the tune of .318 with 4 homers and 38 RBI.  Riggins displayed a nice power stroke over the summer, hitting 9 homers to go along with 13 doubles.  Riggins, playing for the Madison Mallards (a great baseball experience for any who ever make their way to the Madison, WI area over a summer) was the league leader in both HR and RBI.

That core group alone is reason for excitement for the upcoming season, and we haven’t even discussed Russell Wilson.  This will be a big year for Wilson if he has pro baseball aspirations.  He had a difficult season last year, part of which can be attributed to his bowl game knee injury.  I don’t think he was ever able to really lock his timing down.  With a full offseason to prepare this time around, I think we will see an improvement, and markedly so.  Wilson has the ‘it’ factor that shouldn’t allow last season’s troubles to carry into the next one.

Another player to keep an eye on is OF Cameron Conner.  Conner put up a .342/.435/.658 (AVG/OPB/SLG) line in limited action last season.  A very highly touted recruit out of high school, Coach Holiday (who, by the way, continues to pile on the nice recruiting classes) has commented on his versatility and limitless offensive potential.  Chris Schaefer and John Gianis return to provide added offensive depth.  Then, you throw in a mix of talented newcomers (highlighted by Danny Canela and Tarran Senay)  and you have an offense that is deep and talented in all facets of the game.  One might look at last year’s stats and see a lack of power, but you can expect a boost in the power numbers from a maturity standpoint alone; Riggins in fact began to show monster power in the summer leagues.  How important is the extra year between the freshman and sophomore years?  Consider that 1 freshman made the all ACC first of second team, and 12 sophomores made the cut (along with 16 juniors and 3 seniors).  Freshmen just typically don’t come in and dominate (heck, a lot of them don’t play much).  A freshman’s job is even more difficult when the lineup lacks veteran offensive presence. One benefit of last year’s “throwaway season” is we have experienced sophomore players.  Youth shouldn’t be a problem this year and, unlike last season, this years freshman class won’t be asked to carry the load; they’ll contribute when and where they can, and without nearly as much pressure as was thrust upon last year’s group (who, I might add, did an admirable job).

In short, there is a lot of offensive potential on this year’s team.  We’ll get our first look on February 19, when the season opens with a 3 game weekend set against LaSalle.

Coming up next: a look at the Wolfpack pitching staff.

For complete stats, look here.

About Dr. BadgerPack

NCSU Class of 99 and PhD University of Wisconsin, 2006... Which should adequately explain the screen name I chose at 2am one Saturday...

Baseball

12 Responses to Baseball First Look: The Offense

  1. TheCOWDOG 01/22/2010 at 12:29 PM #

    It’ll be interesting to see how Avent handles the not as famous Wilson this year. Does he do right by the Sr. and let him showcase for the draft, or let the youngins take away playing time?

    I like that kid. If he stays above .300 this yr. I can see him going between 10th and 12th Rnd.

    Seminal season for the more famous Wilson. With no spring football, we get to truly evaluate his game. Scouts as well, of course. As you know DBP, I’m not a believer yet. Love the kid, but not takin’ the wolfcookies that have been tossed out there.

  2. Dr. BadgerPack 01/22/2010 at 12:51 PM #

    I knew a baseball post would get you chatting COW… As for the “less famous” Wilson, his versatility may allow him to get his ABs AND allow the kids to get some as well. He finished in CF last year, but started the year at SS. If he hits .300 he’ll be a monster; he was in the 260s I think last year, and still had a .400 + OBP. Nice plate discipline…

  3. Classof89 01/22/2010 at 2:02 PM #

    How strong does the rest of the league look? I was embarassed by the failure to even MAKE the ACC tourney last year. I really hate the new format, but you still have to play the cards dealt you.

  4. tulsapack 01/22/2010 at 2:08 PM #

    Looking forward to this year’s team and to your write-ups, Doctor.

  5. 61Packer 01/22/2010 at 2:32 PM #

    I found this year’s application for baseball tickets in my mailbox this week, and noted the following.

    Of our 34 home games, only 15, less than half, are against ACC teams. There are no home games (or road games) vs teams from the SEC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, or Pac 10. Of the 19 home OOC games, 9 of them are against LaSalle, Towson, and Quinnipiac. Two more are vs Coppin State, and the schedule even lists a home game against NC AT&T. I didn’t know the phone company had a baseball team.

    There are no home games against UNC, Wake Forest, Clemson, Florida State or ECU.

    With this level of competition, is it any wonder that we have problems even quailfying for our own league tourney?

  6. Dr. BadgerPack 01/22/2010 at 4:18 PM #

    61Packer- Be careful with assessing baseball schedules. You can find good competition all over the place; it’s a lot different than basketball or football. Baseball is a tough animal to schedule. Yes, the conference games we have at home aren’t as good as one might like, but that is the luck of the draw. Still, Miami, Georgia Tech and Virginia all come to town, which is nice. The most unfortunate thing about the schedule is 4 of the 5 divisional series are on the road. Barf. As for “only 15” games against ACC teams at home… each team plays 30 conference games. Fifteen would be exactly half.

    The schedule still is a good one, and there is certainly good competition there. You won’t find very many programs from “BCS” conferences that play series against other BCS foes. Some traditional rivalries occur, such as Florida/Florida St. but that’s more of an exception to the rule. Incidentally, Florida saw it fit to have a 3 game series against LaSalle as well. The 1-game midweek matchups, well, I like playing “no-names” during these. You have a better chance of facing a top-notch pitcher, hence better competition. Big conference schools are certain to be saving their aces for weekend conference series; smaller schools have more incentive to pick up a good win. UNC, for example, has Michigan on the schedule for 3 and fills out the OOC with the likes of George Washington, Maine, Elon, Davidson, Princeton and Richmond, among others. They didn’t even see fit to play any games against ECU, an in-state top 25 program. What’s this mean? Names on the schedule don’t matter. One of the hardest things to do in sports is win 3 games in 3 days; sweep your series and you’re in good shape– doesn’t matter who the opponent is.

    Your last sentence, rather question, is a bit baffling. NC State has not made the conference tourney once (last year) in recent history, and usually has been seeded rather well (i.e. under the new format they would not have been left out in previous years). The names may not be sexy on the schedule, but we play quality teams each year, and we’re in perfect shape for postseason if business is taken care of between the foul lines.

  7. TOBtime 01/22/2010 at 5:40 PM #

    Dr., I agree on 2 counts. Schedule can be very misleading in baseball. One of the better programs in NC is at UNC-G. Their coach built the program from nothing and makes the most of his talent. Now he has an awesome stadium to play in as well. However, you won’t see them in the Final 4 or a BCS bowl.
    2nd count is the difference between freshman and sophomore years. My first year out of high school was spent in the Army. I grew 2 inches and went from 145 to 170. It was genetic as my Dad did the same. I have often wondered what would have happened had the spurt happened prior to my senior year in high school. I was faster and could really tell I had better power playing softball in the Army. A kid who had the gift of hand-eye and an arm would be a much better baseball player. I am excited to see these guys play this year. I have some high hopes for these guys that Coach Holliday is bringing in.

  8. 61Packer 01/22/2010 at 6:02 PM #

    My post wasn’t an assessment of the baseball schedule but an assessment of our overall scheduling in major sports.

    I don’t think the reason for this particular baseball schedule is simply luck of the draw. I’ve sat through too many “garbage” home football and basketball games for the past 15 years to think that it’s just bad luck that few if any marquee OOC opponents ever show up at CFS or the RBC. I don’t follow baseball that closely, but I do know that the Wake Forest game here was once an Easter Monday tradition, that UNC and ECU are our biggest in-state baseball rivals, and Clemson and FSU are two of our biggest conference rivals. At least one of them should come here every season. Why not? And why not play at least one SEC opponent every season?

    I understand that most all major schools play many of the smaller ones, but what I don’t understand is why we play so many of them all the time. It seems illogical to build some of the finest football and basketball facilities in the country and showcase them against mainly small schools that many of us have never heard of. Sports is a business that needs to sell tickets, and in this regard I believe names do matter.

    I’m just saying that whoever makes our major sports schedules is doing a lousy job. I don’t know about baseball, but basketball has way too many empty seats in the RBC, and a big reason for that is the cupcake schedule. I’d just like to know who’s responsible for our athletic schedules.

  9. TNPackFan 01/22/2010 at 7:45 PM #

    Thanks for the baseball post, I look forward to many more through the season.

  10. packpowerfan 01/22/2010 at 9:57 PM #

    DBP I have been waiting for a baseball writeup, and I knew you would deliver. I will save more comments for when you preview the pitching staff, but I am pleased with the offense, considering how many games were tossed away by the pen. Great post, and I am looking forward to some more analysis!

  11. Dr. BadgerPack 01/22/2010 at 11:35 PM #

    61Packer- I agree 110% on the basketball/football scheduling.

    One of the big “tricky” things about baseball scheduling is how the beginning of the season pans out. You get tournaments, and you get smaller northern schools that go south for a 3 game set; it’s pretty standard. So, we could possibly get a Big East or Big Ten school early, but probably not another major conference team.

    packpowerfan- Pitching is coming up next weekend!

  12. TOBtime 01/23/2010 at 8:06 AM #

    Looking forward to the pitching analysis Dr. BP. I felt like that was an area that really let us down last year (at least the middle relievers) and am hoping it improves this year.

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