Major League Jerk

The College World Series is upon us and Guest Contributor Fetch (who might end up joining us full time) has written another great preview for us.

It’s time again for one of the greatest events in the sporting calendar, the College World Series. The college baseball world has come a long way from when Warren Morris hit a walk off homer to win the CWS in 1996. Now days we have Andrew Miller, who led the North Carolina Tar Heels to the 2006 championship series and pitched in the Detroit Tigers bullpen that September and Boston’s Jacoby Ellsbury, who took just 2 years to go from College World Series to the World Series. Here’s your first look at tomorrow’s stars…

#1 Miami Hurricanes (52-9)

How they got to Omaha: Swept through the Coral Cables regional, defeated Arizona in 3 games in the Coral Gables Super Regional.

Highest 2008 Draft Pick: 1B Yonder Alonso, 1^st round, 7^th overall.

When they play: Saturday 7 pm Eastern

Offense: Offensively Miami is one of the top teams in the nation. Their headliner is first baseman Yonder Alonso, the 7^th overall pick in the 2008 draft. Through regionals Alonso had an astounding .536 OBP and 21 home runs, both tops on the Hurricanes. Alonso is a very patient hitter and can really make opposing pitchers nervous, especially if Blake Tekote and Jemile Weeks are already on the basepaths. Weeks was the 12^th overall selection by the Oakland A’s, and is the brother of current MLB 2B Rickie. Jemile isn’t quite as good at the plate as his brother, but he does offer a diverse game, hitting 11 home runs and stealing 19 bases. The important player in this is Blake Tekote, who leads off with a .480 OBP and has 26 steals, and who knows how many more he could have if not for Alonso hitting behind him.

Pitching and Defense: Pitching wise the Hurricanes are led by Freshman Chris Hernandez, who has gone 11-0 this season. The guy I like however, is junior Carlos Gutierrez, who has 12 saves. Gutierrez is a bit of a sinker slider guy, but he has great control and a rubber arm, which should prove useful in Omaha. Defensively the Canes don’t give anything up. Up the middle Yasmani Grandal is very good behind the plate, Jemile weeks is above average at second, Ryan Jackson is an extremely athletic and smooth shortstop, and Blake Tekote is, in my opinion, the best defensive center fielder in the country.

#8 Georgia Bulldogs (41-23-1)

How they got to Omaha: Won Athens regional in 5 games, defeated NC State in 3 games in the Athens Super Regional.

Highest 2008 Draft Pick: SS Gordon Beckham, 1^st round, 8^th overall.

When They Play: Saturday 7 PM Eastern

Offense: The offense is all about Beckham. The Golden Spikes finalist has put up a line of .397/.505/.781 along with 24 homers. The Bulldogs have also gotten 15 homers from 1B Rich Poythress and 10 from catcher Bryce Massanari. They run out a couple guys who are pretty low batting average wise, but power is Georgia’s game

Pitching and Defense: Defensively, to be honest, Georgia isn’t much to write home about. Teams are split as to whether Beckham is a shortstop at the next level, and the rest of their up the middle guys are just OK. Likewise, the starters are nothing to write home about, the best of which is junior Stephen Dodson who has a 4.41 ERA. But their bullpen is excellent, led by first round pick Joshua Fields. They also have to premium set up guys in Alex McCree and Weaver. McCree is a lefty and Weaver a righty, so either way they can be inserted in a tight game to neutralize a threat. McCree could potentially be called on to face Yonder Alonso in a tight game.

#4 Florida State (54-12)

How they got to Omaha: Won Tallahassee Regional in five games, won Tallahassee Super Regional in 3 games.

Highest 2008 Draft Pick: C Buster Posey, 1^st round, 5^th overall.

When they play: Saturday 2pm Eastern

Offense: The FSU offense is lead by Buster Posey. The ACC player of the year and Golden Spikes finalist leads the country in hitting, at .468. A quick look at the Seminole lineup reveals no one with an OBP under .400, but they are not just a one dimensional attack, as they have three players with double digit homers and three with double digit steals. People could point to Doak Walker Stadium and note that it is a heavy hitters park, but Rosenblatt is a hitters park as well, so I don’t foresee the Seminole bats cooling off much, if any.

Pitching and Defense: Again, it starts with Posey. In my mind, he is a premium defensive catcher. His pop times behind the plate are excellent and he has a cannon of an arm. I think Tony Delmonico looks pretty good at short, but then again I have only watched him play twice. 3B Stuart Tapely does look to be a bit of a liability at third base. Pitching wise they don’t have a very powerful staff, but they have a staff that FSU seemingly always does when they have an elite team: guys who change speeds and mix it up. They’ve added a couple good arms to the back of the bullpen, and they have the ultimate X factor: you guessed it, Buster Posey.

Stanford (40-22-2)

How they got to Omaha: Won Stanford Regional in five games, won Fullerton Super Regional in two games

Highest 2008 Draft Pick: C Jason Castro, 1^st round, 10^th overall.

When they play: Saturday 2pm Eastern

Offense: The Cardinal have a very balanced attack, with four players in double digits for homeruns. They are led by Johnny Bench finalist Jason Castro, who is hitting .372 with 12 homers and 63 RBI. Other than Castro and 1B Brent Milleville, the offense is less than inspiring, as they have two regulars hitting under .240. Another worrisome thing about Stanford is they are very lefthanded, and a good lefty can shut them down.

Pitching and Defense: Defensively Stanford is pretty good up the middle. Jason Castro is very good behind the plate, and for all the offensive problems he has, shortstop Jake Schlander is the real deal with the glove. I’m predicting a webgem or two from him over the course of Stanford’s stay in the CWS. On the mound Stanford doesn’t seem to have a true ace. A lot of people want Jeremy Bleich to be that guy, but he has major control issues at times, and Stanford may end up using their bullpen a bit more than they’d like to. It’s too bad Jack McGeary, a Stanford student but Washington Nationals farmhand, isn’t on the staff.

Projected 2 and barbeque: Stanford

Projected Bracket Winner: Florida St.

#2 North Carolina (51-12)

How they got to Omaha: Swept through both the Cary regional and Cary super regional

Highest 2008 Draft Pick: Tim Fedroff, 7^th round, 231^st overall

When they play: Sunday 7pm Eastern

Offense: Not spectacular, but solid. Really the only player a pitcher can rest against is shortstop Ryan Graepel, who is hitting just .241. But the trio of Tim Fedroff, Tim Federowicz and Dustin Ackley is one of the best trios out there, and Ackley might be the best pure hitter in the country. He went .408/.500/.600 this season, along with 7 homeruns and 18 steals. Carolina has a nice mix of Sophomores with a lot of talent, and seniors with a lot of experience, such as Chad Flack and Seth Williams. The fact that UNC has a lot of Sophomore talent is a positive for Baseball America’s John Manuel, who notes that they have more experience than Freshmen, but don’t have the pressure of the draft like Juniors have.

Pitching and Defense: On the mound UNC is as deep as it gets, with Freshman phenom Matt Harvey and ACC pitcher of the year Alex White. In between those two is Junior Adam Warren, who is a sort of change of pace type pitcher, who has a couple nice breaking balls, but little velocity. I would assume Alex White will get the call against LSU, which would make that game the biggest must-see of the first round: Probably the best pitcher left against a big powerful lineup. Defensively the Tar Heels are just OK. Federowicz is an athletic catcher who has a strong enough arm to come out of the bullpen, but at short and second they are just average. Seth Williams does have some decent range however.

#7 Louisiana State (48-17-1)

How they got to Omaha: Swept through Baton Rouge regional, won Baton Rouge Super Regional in three games.

Highest 2008 Draft Pick: LHP Ryan Verdugo, 9^th round, 267^th overall.

When they play: Sunday 7pm Eastern

Offense: The famous big bats of the Tigers may be back. After suffering through a couple of lean years for the program, LSU is back in Omaha for the first time since 2004. The Tigers have three players hitting over .340 and three players in double digit homers. 1B Matt Clark and DH Blake Dean are among the hottest hitters in America right now, and they’d have to be, as LSU reeled off a 23 game win streak before UC Irvine won a game in the super regional. A guy I like for them to have a good CWS is Derek Helehini, who shows good gap power and in Omaha some of those gap shots could get out of the park.

Pitching and Defense: Their three starters aren’t much to write home about, none of them have great velocity, but Ryan Verdugo is a pretty good control guy who mixes it up and has good offspeed stuff. Defensively these guys have a lot of range, and they’ll need it cause opposing teams figure to put a lot of balls in play. Teams will be under pressure to get a lot of runs, however, because the offense could potentially light it up.

#6 Rice (47-13)

How they got to Omaha: Swept through both the Houston regional and Houston super regional.

Highest 2008 Draft Pick: RHP Bryan Price, Compensation round, 45^th overall

When they play: Sunday 2pm Eastern

Offense: Not much to write home about actually. Rice might feature the worst starting DH in the country: Senior Jordan Dodson has a .188 average. Catcher Adam Jones leads the team with 12 home runs, and the Owls will rely heavily on the trio of Aaron Luna, Rick Hague, and JP Padron. But if Rice makes a run at the national title, it won’t come from outslugging teams.

Pitching and Defense: While the offense isn’t spectacular, their pitching staff features my current favorite player in college baseball, right hander Ryan Berry, owner of the coolest glasses ever (do yourself a favor, if you google image search him search for Ryan Berry – baseball, or else some people might question what team you’re on, if you catch my drift). Sophomore Mike Ojala would probably be a #1 on most teams, and if Rice gets passed Fresno it’s good to have him in their back pocket to face either UNC or LSU. Reliever Cole St. Clair had some first round buzz coming into the season, but hasn’t quite lived up to it. Bryan Price, a Red Sox draftee, can get up to 94 with good sink and tail on his fastball, and Matt Evers can toss very well from the left side. Defensively they are very good behind the plate (I think I see a pattern) and their outfield has very good range, other than that, I’d say they’re merely solid.

Fresno State (42-29)

How they got to Omaha: Won Long Beach regional in four games, won Tempe super regional in three games.

Highest 2008 Draft Pick: RHP Tanner Scheppers*, 2^nd round, 48^th overall

When They Play: Sunday 2pm Eastern

Offense: Fresno proved in the super regional round that they can hit with the best offenses in the country. One through nine they all have ability to drive the ball, and most can drive it out of the park. I think Alan Ahmady, a Sophomore first baseman, is their best player, but Steve Susdorf, Erik Wetzel and Danny Muno all have the ability to take over that title on a game to game basis. Fresno certainly has the potential to slug their way all the way to the championship series.

Pitching and Defense: The main thing to note is the loss of Tanner Scheppers. If he was around Fresno would have a legit #1 starter. As it is, Junior Justin Wilson fills that role. Wilson is a lefty who throws very well against lefties, and usually throws a cutter that sits at about 90. Their best pitcher out of the bullpen is Brandon Burke, who has a 2.91 ERA on the season, but the one thing Bulldog pitchers all seem to do is keep the ball down and try to make teams hit it into the ground to let their defense work.

* Out for season with shoulder injury

Projected 2 and barbeque: Fresno St.

Projected bracket winner: North Carolina

Projected National Champion: North Carolina

For those of you still reading, thanks for making it this far and thanks, as always, to the MLJ crew for letting me type up this preview.