In the wake of the Major League Baseball draft in June, UO baseball coach Mark Wasikowski felt like he had hit a home run. The draft was truncated to just five rounds, and the Ducks didn't lose any players to the professional ranks, either from being selected or signing a free-agent deal after the draft.
Soon after, proven veterans including Kenyon Yovan and Gabe Matthews announced their intention to play another season at Oregon in 2021. In the case of Matthews and other 2020 seniors, that move was made possible by the granting of an additional year of eligibility, after the coronavirus cut Oregon's season this past spring to just 15 games.
"These guys wanted to set up a culture of coming back to Oregon, to accomplish their goals," Wasikowski said. "That's something that's new; we haven't had that across the board. A lot of guys in the past have taken any opportunity to go play pro ball."
Quickly, though, Wasikowski moved on to anticipating the next pitch. Yes, his program had just hit a home run. But they weren't alone.
"The draft probably affected most teams very similarly," said Wasikowski, the former UO assistant who took over as head coach for the 2020 season. "So the bar should be raised across college baseball."
Indeed, it's not just Oregon that's feeling good about all the talent returning for the 2021 season. If the bar has been raised across the country, the Ducks need to raise their game accordingly.
In the wake of the draft, Wasikowski said, "there was nobody happier than me." But then, he added, reality hit. It was time to refocus on the next pitch.
"The bottom line is, we need to get better," said Wasikowski, who took over a program that last reached the postseason in 2015. "We haven't accomplished our goals yet. The emphasis is, we have got to get better."
To give his players a tangible sense of where they need to get, Wasikowski hit on a measure of comparison: Are you among the top three players in the Pac-12 at your position?
If the Ducks can answer "yes" about a majority of positions, he believes, they can compete for championships.
"Ultimately you're trying to be the best guy in the nation," Wasikowski said. "But you've got to start somewhere, and that's in your own league. Maybe this helps them see what kind of player they currently are, and who they're competing with — here's the competition, are you better than that guy?"
Given the makeup of the roster returning in 2021, the Ducks see a few guys who can answer, "yes."
Among those are Yovan, who returned from injury to hit four home runs in 15 games this past spring, tied for third in the Pac-12. Yovan was also third in the league in hitting at .429, one spot ahead of third baseman/outfielder and fellow all-American Aaron Zavala (above), who hit .418 and led the conference with 22 RBIs. Matthews gave the Ducks a third top-20 hitter in the conference, batting .339, and he was ninth in the Pac-12 with 15 RBIs.
Catcher Jack Scanlon hit .293 with an OPS of .888 as a freshman. Wasikowski said Scanlon might be a fourth returning UO veteran in the running to be considered top-three in the Pac-12 at his position. Now, the Ducks want to develop a few more.
"And not only develop the pieces that were here last year, but maybe some new additions will help change three or four out of nine positions to five or six or seven out of nine positions being top-three in the league," Wasikowski said. "That's what you're trying to do."
Several other returning position players seem close to breaking through. Anthony Hall matched Scanlon and Yovan with nine RBIs in Oregon's 15-game spring slate, in which the Ducks went 8-7. Gavin Grant reached base at a .424 clip, while Sam Novitske and Tanner Smith have been regulars for two seasons now, albeit one of which was cut short by the pandemic.
Among the pitchers, Wasikowski was most impressed by the abbreviated 2020 seasons of right-handed starter Brett Walker (above) and left-hander Kolby Somers, who worked out of the bullpen. They provided a consistent level of efficiency that Wasikowski wants to make the standard; the rest of the staff "had speed bumps here and there."
But like in the field, there's ample returning talent on the mound, including starters Cullen Kafka and Robert Ahlstrom, and relievers Nico Tellache and Hunter Breault. When the Ducks are able to start their fall workouts, all those familiar faces will make for some excitement.
"We should be at a place that's father down the road on day one than a year ago," Wasikowski said. "And when you're starting at a better position, that can allow you to get where you want to be sooner."
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July 02, 2020 at 02:00PM
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Return of Key Veterans Has Baseball Looking to Raise The Bar - GoDucks.com
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