D1BASEBALL: Fall Report: Oregon (4 photos, article)
Assessing the recent history of Oregon baseball is… complicated. The Ducks took 27 years off from baseball (1982-2008) and then made a huge splash hiring Hall of Fame coach George Horton. The first year of the return in 2009 was predictably difficult (14-42). But then Horton got the Ducks rolling.
Year two in 2010 started a run of five regional appearances in six years. Oregon twice hosted those regionals. In 2012, it even hosted a Super Regional, only to fall in a dramatic walk-off game three loss to upstart Kent State. In summary, the Ducks went from not having baseball for nearly three decades to nationally relevant in short order.
Unfortunately, that early success was not sustained. The last four completed seasons (2016-2019) have been challenging, and especially so in conference play. Three eighth-place finishes and a ninth-place finish led to the end of Horton’s tenure and former Oregon assistant coach Mark Wasikowski was hired for the 2020 season.
Wasikowski makes a ton of sense for this program. He has history in Eugene and those were good times: four of his five Oregon seasons ended in postseason appearances. Wasikowski is also known as one of the nation’s most diligent recruiters. And finally, in his first stint as a head coach, he led Purdue back to both the Big Ten tournament and the NCAA tournament. In fact, Purdue’s 19-win improvement in 2017 led the nation.
Moving forward to 2021, there are three key themes that point to program optimism: Wasikowski’s recruiting expertise is already visible in a strong freshmen class and several key transfers, the Ducks return every single player who started a game in 2020, and the big three of Kenyon Yovan, Gabe Matthews, and Aaron Zavala project as a highly productive middle of the order. Let’s get to it.
The Pitching Staff
The rotation starts with fourth-year juniors Robert Ahlstrom and Cullen Kafka. The lefthanded Ahlstrom was off to an excellent start in 2020 minus one blow up in his final start at Hawaii. He operates in the upper-80s and it is more pitchability than out pitches. Kafka may have the biggest upside on the entire roster. His enormous arm strength has earned him 24 starts despite a career 5.83 ERA. Kafka and pitching coach Jake Angier have worked on morphing his fastball into a power sinker and the results have been extremely encouraging. The pitch has been up to 96 mph with plus life and Kafka is an intriguing pro prospect.
4YR JR Peyton Fuller was off to a good start in 2020 (2.84 ERA in 19 innings) and the lanky righthander can pitch to the scouting report. Fuller throws his fastball 88-91. 2YR FR Andrew Mosiello, who is the nephew of TCU assistant coach Bill Mosiello, was tracking to be the Ducks’ Sunday starter by the time Pac-12 play began in 2020. Unfortunately, we never got to see that play out but Mosiello is a highly pitchable righthander. He competes in the strike zone with three pitches and his fastball will work in the low-90s. 4YR JR Brett Walker was Oregon’s best performer last season (3-0, 0.84 with 10 strikeouts and 1 walk in 21.1 innings) and his fastball velocity has made a jump into the low-90s. Walker is a strike thrower and his trademark is a fastball with life.
Hawaiian righthander Hunter Breault is one of the more famous arms on this staff thanks to two excellent summer seasons with the Santa Barbara Foresters. Breault hasn’t successfully harnessed his 94-97 mph fastball as a Duck, but his strong fall performance is cause for optimism. Lefthander Kolby Somers also turned in an excellent fall and has been 88-92 with a plus curveball. 3YR SO Christian Ciuffetelli has an electric arm and he was the closer in 2020. His 93-97 fastball can overwhelm hitters but command has been a challenge.
One of the most interesting arms on this staff is TCU transfer Caleb Sloan. Sloan is another huge arm with a fastball up to 97 and a power slider at 88. Sloan required Tommy John surgery prior to the 2019 season but he made 20 appearances for the Frogs as a true freshman in 2018. Sloan is waiting on a waiver for eligibility in 2021. 2YR FR Decker Stedman is two-way lefthander with good command and his 87-89 fastball projects for more velocity down the road. Righthander Pat Pridgen is a 6-foot-4, 225-pound transfer from North Iowa Area CC and his fastball holds 95-96 mph. 5YR SR Nico Tellache is tied for ninth in Oregon baseball history in both appearances (64) and games finished (23). The lefthanded Tellache will touch 92 with his fastball.
This pitching staff includes two exciting true freshman arms in Isaac Ayon and Rio Britton. Both of these talented youngsters would be unlikely to make it to campus in a normal year. The righthanded Ayon is 6-foot-4, 210-pounds and he pairs a 93-95 fastball with a swing-and-miss slider. The lefthanded Britton has been up to 95 as well. These are two athletic, clean arms who should be future impact pieces.
The Position Players
Returning catcher Jack Scanlon was a big hit, no pun intended, as a true freshman (.293/.400/.488) and the 6-foot-4, 202-pound New York native has massive upside. The lefthanded hitter has a big arm behind the plate and projectable power. 4YR JR Sam Olsson provides depth here and he offers righthanded thump. Josiah Cromwick is another exciting true freshman and he rivals Scanlon from a tools standpoint. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound Cromwick can really throw and his righthanded swing is sound.
Gabe Matthews returns at first base and already holds a prominent place in the Oregon baseball record book. The fifth-year senior has made 173 career starts and currently sits at second all-time in on base percentage (.400) and walks (100) for the Ducks. Matthews is a physical lefthanded hitter who controls the strike zone at a high level. He has grown into more power and his 2020 season was off to an incredible start (.339/.500/.518).
Yovan, a fifth-year junior, is the most decorated player on the roster and he earned first-team All-Pac-12 honors in both 2017 and 2018. Those two awards came as a reliever and then starter respectively, and he was on his way (.429/.566/.714) to becoming a first-team all-league hitter in 2020. The ultra-talented Yovan has distanced himself from the injuries that affected his pitching over the last two seasons and a two-way effort is in play for 2021. He is training at third base but regardless of position, his immense righthanded power and highly competitive at bats will be stationed in the middle of this order.
Zavala is the third member of this offensive triumvirate and his pure hit tool stands out. The lefthanded hitting Zavala projects to hit for a high average and don’t be surprised if he leads the conference in doubles.
Two options in the middle infield are 3YR SO Gavin Grant and 2YR FR Josh Kasevich. Grant is a shortstop by trade but his defensive chops elevate to plus at second base. The 6-foot-2, 191-pound Kasevich is an excellent athlete with a big arm. While there is more development to come offensively, he looks the part at shortstop. Sam Novitske and Nick Bellafronto are in a fierce competition at third base. Novitske is a career .288 hitter over 71 starts and his outstanding leadership makes him an option anywhere on the infield. Bellafronto is a sixth-year graduate transfer from Stanford, where he started for a team that played in a Super Regional. The 6-foot, 215-pound righthander hitter is a physical presence with a very complete skill set.
5-foot-9, 189-pound left fielder Tanner Smith comps to Kole Calhoun because of his size and fiery disposition. The lefthanded hitting Smith has added strength and that led to a very good fall performance. He is a career .273 hitter over 67 starts. 2YR FR Anthony Hall is a 6-foot-2 lefthander with center field athleticism. The Atlanta Braves drafted Hall in the 35th round in 2019 and there is considerable upside here. True freshman Robby Ashford is another intriguing option in center field and he is a scholarship quarterback on the Oregon football team. The high-profile Ashford is from Hoover, Alabama and his 6-foot-3, 225-pound frame leaves scouts with a lot to dream on. Two additional names to know in this outfield mix are true freshman Colby Shade, a plus runner from Colorado, and A.J. Miller who is another lefthanded hitter with big tools.
