The Owl Howl 2017 Baseball Preview

The Owls are coming off a 29-27 season, which was highlighted by a 17-4 conference record, but they unfortunately lost both games in the conference tournament.

The Owls start the season with 5 home games in 6 days and 8 home games in 10 days, so get ready to watch a lot of baseball because they will all be available online if you can’t make it to Stillwell Stadium (AKA The Shake). Remember, students get a free ticket with a valid student ID. You can see the full schedule here.

Unrelated to the 2017 season, but something interesting to watch this year is recruiting coordinator Derek Simmons recently left for a job with Alabama, which has opened the door for volunteer coach (now recruiting coodinator) Trey Fowler to grab the groceries. Coach Sansing traditionally has relied heavily on his recruiting coordinators to make the calls on a lot of his players.

I bring this up because the emphasis of The Owl Howl is recruiting. Every player currently on the Owls roster right now is a Simmons guy, except for four older players: Tony Dibrell, Chris Erwin, Taylor Allum and Jordan VerSteeg, who were all brought in by Derrick Tucker, the recruiting coordinator from years ago. Fowler already has his first 5 commitments in the 2017 Class (splitting the class with Simmons) and 4 in the 2018 Class.

Now for the preview…

Position Players (View the official baseball roster here)

Catcher: The Owls lost four year contributor Brennan Morgan to the Angels in the draft which would usually be a cause for concern to fill the opening, but not this year. KSU will be rotating Griffin Helms and and Forrest Bramlett behind the plate this year, and I would expect one of them to be the DH while the other is catching.

Helms, also known as “Gainz” for his feats in the weightroom, led the team with a .376 average last year, but only had 4 homeruns. An extra year of experience and tutelage could push his homers well into the double digits this season. He should also find more ABs at DH with Erwin likely going back to the outfield.

Bramlett is a transfer from Tennessee/GPC who redshirted last season, and  he’s tearing it up this offseason. There was really no fanfare when KSU snuck him onto the roster without any hype in October of 2015, but don’t worry Forrest, you’re not sneaking up on anybody this season. Bramlett can also be an option at first base to spell Upshaw.

Freshman Daniel Seres might see some spot duty here, but I wouldn’t expect too much.

First Base: Austin Upshaw came in last season as a JUCO transfer and from the first game, Owls fans knew they had a player. He’s not the most rangy in the field, but the man can hit. He sported a .344 average and slugged 7 homers last season. I could see him pushing 10 homers this year by turning some of his 13 doubles into longballs.

Second Base: Grant Williams suffered a sophomore slump throughout the first 2/3rd’s on the season, but recovered strongly to hit .294. Williams is a steady yet unspectacular player you can put in the 2 hole or the 8-9.

Shortstop: Loganville’s David Chabut split time with Parkview’s Trevor Brown early last year, but Chabut eventually became the regular and earned plenty of accolades for it. Chabut hit .323 last season, and although he committed 12 errors, he displayed a great arm and a lot of defensive potential at a very important position.

Third Base: Jermey Worm Howell returns once again at third base. Although he doesn’t have a lot of tools, he’s good for about a .290 average each year.

Centerfield: Chris Erwin should enter the year as the Owls weekend centerfielder. I say that because during the week, he’ll probably be on the mound. He hit .323 last season and slugged 3 homers.

Corner Outfield: Corey Greeson, or Grees Fire as I like to call him (because he’s hard to put out), hit .356 last year and was probably the biggest surprise of the entire year. He also slugged 5 homeruns. Greeson can play either corner outfield spot and also can play some infield. 

Corner Outfield: With Justin Motley and Alex Liquori graduating, the competition for this spot is hot.

Taylor Allum had a great freshman year but struggled last season after returning from getting hit by a pitch in practice early in the year. If he can regain his form, he should be a regular in the OF. 

Donnie Bryant is a burner who struggled last year in his transition from D1, but possesses the speed to change games, if his bat improves. 

Austin Pharr has had a good offseason, and is looking to make the switch from IF to OF. He’s one to watch. 

Terence Norman is a local product from Kennesaw. Very high upside freshman.

Garrett Hodges is another freshman who wants some playing time here.

Starting Rotation

Friday Night: I’d expect Tony Dibrell to become the Friday starter after an excellent performance in the Cape Code League. Dibrell is a hard throwing righty who has the scouts drooling over his potential. He is primed for a breakout season and also primed to be a top 10 rounds pick in the 2017 MLB draft. 

Saturday: I’m gonna guess that A.J. Moore will be the guy here. Another dude with good stuff who had some success at The Cape. Like Dibrell, I would expect his ERA to go down into at least the 3’s this year.

Sunday: The options here are Mr. Freeze or Chris Erwin. I’m going to give Gabe Friese the nod so Erwin is free to have his bat in the lineup. Last season Erwin was the Friday night starting pitcher, so he was DH’ing to avoid injury. Friese is 5 wins away from becoming KSU’s all-time leader in wins.

Midweek: All lefties! Erwin should get one midweek spot. Look for senior Mason Ward and redshirt freshman Nate Dupree to get some starts during the week as well.

Bullpen

Closer: I can’t say that I have a great idea how the bullpen will shape up after losing the awesome Richard Lovelady to the Royals. I’d expect Erich Stahl to retain his role as a closer, but it’s vital that others step up because Stahl is a one inning guy at his best. 

Long Relief: Mason Ward and Nate Dupree might provide some long relief early in the season to go along with midweek starts. There’s always a chance that their roles change as well. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Ward ending up with more responsibility in late innings by the end of the year.

Bullpen Regulars (Returnees): The rest of the bullpen is really a toss-up: the players who I am confident that will compete for serious innings are lefty Brian Exley, senior Brock Turner and sidewinder Drew Reeves.

Wild Cards: Will Bice, Turner Watkins and Jordan VerSteeg. All have good arms, all need to locate it a lot better. Bice and VerSteeg are probably the ones to watch from this group.

Newbies: JUCO transfer Deviner McCray is out for the year with Tommy John surgery, which gives the Owls one less option. Taylor Wilkes of Jefferson High School is my best guess of the 4 freshmen pitchers to make an immediate impact.

Projected Lineup (vs. Righties)

CF: Erwin
OF: Greeson
1B: Upshaw
C: Helms
OF: Allum
DH: Bramlett
3B: Howell
2B: Williams
SS: Chabut

Projected Lineup (vs. Lefties)

CF: Erwin
OF: Greeson
1B: Upshaw
C: Helms
DH: Bramlett
OF: Norman
3B: Howell
2B: Williams
SS: Chabut

Source: ksuowlhowl.com
Link: The Owl Howl 2017 Baseball Preview