In its final tune-up of the fall schedule, the ASU baseball team is set to host some of the country’s brightest up-and-coming talent at Phoenix Municipal Stadium Friday night.
The Sun Devils will welcome the USA national team for an exhibition as they prepare to enter the 2020 spring season.
“It’s going to be great competition,” ASU head coach Tracy Smith said. “Any time you have a chance to play what is going to be your Olympic Team, and players representing your country — what an experience for our guys.”
The visiting Team USA features a roster of 28 players, most of whom represent minor league teams ranging from Class A short season all the way to Triple-A. Veterans like Erik Kratz and Clayton Richard have also been productive at the Major League level.
Outfielder Jo Adell, a 2017 first-round pick by the Los Angeles Angels, highlights the Olympic Team’s star-studded lineup.
The 6-foot-3 prospect was named to the MLB Futures Game in 2019 and registered a .308/.390/.553 batting line with a .944 OPS for the Double-A Mobile BayBears.
He was called up to Triple-A on Aug. 1 and has put together a solid campaign in the Arizona Fall League, batting .271 with three home runs and nine RBI for the Mesa Solar Sox. Adell is currently the MLB's No. 5 prospect.
Another Team USA name of note is 21-year-old first baseman Andrew Vaughn, who has hit tremendously against ASU in the past as a member of the University of California, Berkeley.
“I’m excited to see (Vaughn) in the uniform,” ASU junior shortstop Alika Williams said. “I love watching him swing the bat. It’s a really cool thing to see.”
In 126 plate appearances with the Winston-Salem Dash of the Class A-Advanced Carolina League, Vaughn hit to the tune of a .252/.349/.411 triple-slash line with three homers, eight doubles and 21 RBI this season.
The 2020 Sun Devils roster features a formidable combination of bats and arms also, many of who return this year after leading the team to a 38-19 overall record last season. Their 16-13 conference record was fifth-best in the Pac-12.
Junior first baseman Spencer Torkelson enters his third year with the team in the hopes of building on his productive ASU career.
As a freshman, Torkelson slashed .320/.440/.743 with 25 home runs and 53 RBI. He was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and his 66 hits on the season are ninth in ASU freshman history.
In his second year with the Sun Devils, Torkelson hit .351 and 23 home runs.
Twice named to the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team, Torkelson will compete against professionals he has played alongside in the past.
“I think it’s going to be really cool for our guys to experience playing against that caliber of competition,” Torkelson said. “It’s going to be really fun.”
Williams returns for his junior year after producing a .333/.430/.471 batting line with 53 RBI and nine stolen bases as a sophomore.
Additionally, sophomore LHP Erik Tolman highlights the ASU pitching staff after a remarkable freshman campaign.
Across 47.2 innings pitched last season, Tolman posted a 3-1 record with a 2.83 ERA and notched two saves for the Sun Devils. On the year, he held hitters to a minuscule .198 batting average.
Smith will use Friday’s game as an opportunity to showcase ASU’s centerpieces — a different approach than he has had in previous scrimmages this fall.
“We’re going to play this one to win,” Smith said. “We’re not going to extend the pitchers as we normally would, but we’ll probably play a limited roster positionally … five to six guys will pitch as opposed to 18 last weekend.”
Former New York Yankees third baseman Scott Brosius is the manager for Team USA.
Brosius replaced former Yankees manager Joe Girardi, who stepped down from the role last week before the Philadelphia Phillies hired him Thursday to be their manager.
Tickets for Friday’s game start at $5, and first pitch will be at 6:30 p.m. MST. The exhibition will conclude ASU’s fall ball schedule before it officially begins the 2020 season in the spring.
Correction: Due to an editing error, a previous version of this article misstated the location of the stadium. The story has been updated to reflect this change.
Reach the reporter at hcroton@asu.edu or follow @thecrote on Twitter.
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