re: Baseball Preview: Kansas vs LSU – Fri 7 | Sat 2 | Sun 1 (All: SECN+)

Returning Bullpen Arms:
So. RHP Stephen Villines (29 app, 2-2, 8 saves, 1.50 ERA, 48.0 IP, 33 H, 8 ER, 9 BB, 23 K, .200 OBA, 0.86 WHIP)
So. RHP Jon Hander (11 app, 2-1, 3.18 ERA, 39.2 IP, 31 H, 14 ER, 18 BB, 18 K, .221 OBA, 1.24 WHIP)
Sr. RHP Dakota Smith (17 app, 1-2, 4.01 ERA, 24.2 IP, 27 H, 11 ER, 14 BB, 23 K, .284 OBA, 1.66 WHIP)
Jr. RHP Hayden Edwards (6 app, 0-0, 2.08 ERA, 8.2 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, .194 OBA, 0.69 WHIP)
Sr. RHP Colin Toalson (6 app, 0-0, 6.76 ERA, 6.2 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 3 K, .250 OBA, 1.50 WHIP)

Relief Pitching Overview:
The Kansas bullpen will have nice mixture of young talent and veteran arms. Sidearmer Stephen Villines lead the team in appearances and ERA as a true freshman in 2014, recording 8 saves and leading the team in ERA. Villines will act as the team’s closer with the loss of Jordan Piché to the MLB draft. Had he qualified with enough innings pitched, falling 13ip short, Villines would have finished ranked 5th in the country with a 0.85 WHIP just behind Aaron Nola. Ryan Ralston, 6’4 225lb, is expected to be the stopper in key situations and could share time as closer. Ralston runs his fastball in the low 90s up to 94 mph and possess an upper 70s slider. One of either Hander or Weiman should be the first out in a long relief situation and the other a midweek starter.


2014 Kansas Offense: (LSU numbers in parentheses)
Team BA: .283 (.287)
Team OBP: .371 (.367)
Team SLG: .383 (.415)

The Hawks return 3 of their top 4 hitters from last year. Michael Tinsley lead the way with limited action as a freshman appearing in 32 games, but put together a nice .361 average at the dish. Dakota Smith and Colby Wright each hit over .320 and will be relied on to carry the load once again. The outfielders, the 3 listed below plus Joven Afrenier and Connor McKay, are the heart and soul of this team. Blair Beck crushed the ball during the fall practice with hits in more than half of his at bats. Rounding out the DH/OF spot is returning power hitter Connor McKay, who knocked out 9 balls last year and earned 2nd team All-Big 12 honors. McKay is looking to improve his contact numbers this year having logged as many strikeouts as hits a year ago; however the rest of the team can be considered plate disciplined. Steve Goldstein was a Freshman All-American at Stony Brook in 2012 when the Seawolves defeated LSU in a Super Regional to advance to the CWS. He sat out last year due to transfer rules but is eligible to jump right in this season and create a lot of depth in the KU outfield.

On the bases, Ritch Price is very conservative. The Hawks ranked 246th in the country in stolen bases per game last year with 41 swipes on the season in only 49 attempts. The best returning base stealer is Tommy Mirabelli, who is dueling for playing time at 3rd base with impact freshman McLaughlin. Goldstein also swiped 14 bags in 2012 for his prior team.

Kansas Projected Lineup:
C – L/R– Michael Tinsley (.361 avg, 2 2B, 2 3B, 13 RBI, 5 R, 7 BB, 7 K, 2-3 SB)
1B – L/R– Jacob Boyland (.233 avg, 3 2B, 8 RBI, 6 R, 9 BB, 4 K, 0-0 SB)
2B – R/R– Colby Wright (.314 avg, 11 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 21 RBI, 35 R, 23 BB, 19 K, 1-2 SB)
SS – L/R– Justin Protacio (.280 avg, 6 2B, 2 3B, 16 RBI, 53 R, 44 BB, 37 K, 4-8 SB)
3B – R/R– Matt McLaughlin (1st collegiate appearance)
OF – L/L– Steve Goldstein (did not play in 2014 due to NCAA transfer rules, took a redshirt)
OF – R/R– Dakota Smith (.337 avg, 11 2B, 3 3B, 2 HR, 43 RBI, 33 R, 13 BB, 20 K, 3-3 SB)
OF – R/R– Blair Beck (.250 avg, 6 2B, 1 3B, 15 RBI, 14 R, 7 BB, 7 K, 0-0 SB)
DH – R/R– Connor McKay (.259 avg, 10 2B, 2 3B, 9 HR, 45 RBI, 28 R, 19 BB, 56 K, 4-8 SB)

Bench:
OF – L/R– Joven Afenier (.275 avg, 2 2B, 6 RBI, 8 R, 2 BB, 11 K, 2-2 SB)
3B – L/R– Tommy Mirabelli (.167 avg, 2 2B, 1 3B, 12 RBI, 21 R, 16 BB, 19 K, 6-7 SB)
C – R/R– John Remick (0 for 3 in 2014)
OF – R/R– Joe Moroney (took a redshirt in 2014 due to injury)
INF – R/R– Marcus Wheeler (took a redshirt in 2014 due to injury)


Defense:
Kansas fielded at a .970 clip in 2014, which ranked 89th in the country. Returning shortstop Justin Protacio committed 17 of the team’s 70 errors. From the home team’s perspective, LSU looks to improve on the bases this year after being ranked 209th in stolen bases per game in 2014. First year LSU hitting coach Andy Cannizaro was quoted as saying “We want that mindset to be ‘I’m running until somebody stops me.’” That new philosophy may come into effect at its inception. Kansas starting catcher Michael Tinsley did not catch one base stealer in his freshman season, which spanned just 14 stolen base attempts in 32 games played.


Helpful Links:
Kansas 2014 Season Stats
Kansas Roster
Kansas Schedule (via Warren Nolan)
Adam4848’s LSU Preview
LSUsports Series Writeup
Live Stats via LSUsports.net
SECN+ via WatchESPN for Online Viewing (login required)
Breakdown of new NCAA Baseball Rules - **NEW Hit by Pitch Rule**