College baseball is nearing its return, and with that come the preseason polls. After being a consensus Top 25 team heading into last season, the Sun Devils are out of everyone's preseason.
Additionally, the Pac-12 preseason coaches poll had ASU projected to finish sixth in the conference this season.
This season, The State Press will release weekly Pac-12 baseball power rankings every other week during conference play. But for now, here are the inaugural power rankings as the first weekend of the season approaches, including the teams' final position in the standings last season:
The No. 5 Beavers earned 98 of 100 possible points in the Pac-12 Preseason Coaches Poll. After predictions that they'd finish fifth in the conference in the 2015 coaches poll, Oregon State finished second in the Pac-12, just 2.5 games behind UCLA. Additionally, it started at least six freshmen and sophomores in every game last season, so the extra year of experience will be big. First baseman K.J. Harrison led the conference with 60 RBI en route to Pac-12 Freshman of the Year honors.
In 2015, the Beavers led the conference in triples, ranked second in home runs, third in walks, fourth in on-base percentage and fourth in RBIs. The team's pitching exceeded expectations, too. The staff led the conference in hits allowed, and ranked second in opposing batting average, WHIP and shutouts. The Beavers are also expected to make a deep postseason run.
The Bruins won the Pac-12 last year behind a cast filled with MLB Draft prospects like ace James Kaprielian, who was one of eight Bruins drafted following the 2015 season. However, the program nabbed the No. 3 recruiting class in the country, per Baseball America. The Bruins also return six position players who started last season, but only five will play; redshirt junior catcher Darrell Miller Jr. is out for the season after needing surgery to repair a torn labrum.
The Golden Bears finished fourth in the Pac-12 last year, but feature a preseason All-American in junior right-hander Daulton Jefferies. They return 17 players from the 2015 team that made the postseason for the first time since Cal went to Omaha in 2011. Among the returners is junior outfielder Aaron Knapp, who hit .310 and drove in 23 runs while starting all 57 games for the team. However, Cal lost Chris Paul and Lucas Erceg, the two players who led the team in RBIs.
The Trojans are fresh off of a third-place finish in the conference and were recently ranked No. 12 in D1Baseball.com's preseason Top 25. The ranking is their highest preseason once since being ranked No. 6 prior to the 2003 campaign. Last year, USC appeared in the postseason for the first time in 10 years. The Trojans return five starters, including senior center fielder and top RBI man Timmy Robinson and senior pitcher Kyle Davis.
After vying with UCLA for the top spot in the conference standings, the Sun Devils fell off in May and ended up fifth when all was said and done. With all three starting outfielders from 2015 gone, the team will rely on Gage Canning, Andrew Shaps, Tyler Williams and Daniel Williams to step up. On the mound, ASU will look to Hever Bueno and Seth Martinez after losing aces Brett Lilek and Ryan Kellogg to the draft. If the new talent performs, ASU will finish higher. If it doesn't, the season could get ugly.
The Cardinal finished 10th in the conference with 2015. However, their season was derailed with the loss of top pitchers Cal Quantrill and John Hochstatter, who missed most of the year due to injuries. Stanford, which only won nine conference games last year, returns six everyday starters. At the plate, it returns more than 75 percent of at-bats, hits, runs, home runs, RBIs and extra-base hits this season. Additionally, the Cardinal return their whole pitching staff in 2016.
After finishing sixth in the Pac-12 in 2015, the Ducks lost their two most dangerous hitters to the draft in Mitchell Tolman and Scott Heineman. However, they return junior outfielder Phil Craig of St. Louis, who drove in 38 runs last year. Oregon returns eight position players who started at least 35 games in 2015. The pitching staff should be led by redshirt sophomore Matt Krook, who held a 1.79 ERA and tallied 60 strikeouts in 45.1 innings of work last season.
The Wildcats are set to embark on their first season with head coach Jay Johnson after longtime coach Andy Lopez retired at the end of 2015. They return junior infielder Bobby Dalbec, who led the Pac-12 with 15 home runs and was projected to be the Pac-12 Conference Player of the Year for 2016 by D1Baseball.com. After finishing eighth in conference in 2015, the coaches picked Arizona to finish ninth this season.
The Huskies finished seventh in the Pac-12 last year with a 14-16 conference record. This year, junior infielder Chris Baker and junior outfielder Jack Meggs are two of a handful of starters who return, but there are expected to be position changes from 2015. Last year, Washington's pitching staff ranked second in the Pac-12 in a number of categories, including ERA (3.01), fewest earned runs allowed (165) and walks allowed (155). However, the Huskies lost the program's all-time innings leader in Tyler Davis, as well as Brandon Choate, who made 34 appearances in 2015.
The Cougars finished ninth in conference with an 11-19 record in Pac-12 play. WSU is ranked 10th in the Pac-12 Preseason Coaches Poll. However, junior pitcher Ian Hamilton was named to the Preseason Louisville Slugger All-America Second Team by Collegiate Baseball. He made the all-conference team in 2015 after posting a 1.67 ERA and 13 saves in 43 innings pitched. In 2014, he set a school record with 15 saves.
The Utes are projected to finish dead last in the Pac-12 after winning just seven conference games in 2015. Utah returns every primary starter for each position from last year and about 77 percent of innings pitched. It also has four three-year starters looking to make an impact, most notably catcher AJ Young.
Reach the reporter at Justin.Toscano@asu.edu or on Twitter @justintoscano3
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