SB Nation User Blog: ASUBoyd

Hittin' the Links: Post-Loss Depression Edition

ASUBoyd — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 18:56:20 -0000

Yeah, no ASU sports playing at the moment..unfortunately.. But. Still should be some links out there talking about why that is and whats going on with some of the other sports eh?

Good news up first. ASU has snagged it's 6th recruit for the class of 2010 in football. Lot of offense so far - TE, RB, RB, QB (6'6), FB, WR.
A look at the recruits.
Some scouting reports on the kids.
A recap of the heartbreak in the CWS.
Looks like our top four baseball players - Leake, Kipnis, Spence and Ramirez - are all expected to sign. So are two from our recruiting class, second round 3B/C Nolan Arenado and P/1B Jake Barrett 3rd round. There is a look at who is leaving and who is coming back in this story.
Brent Miller has been hired at Washington as a graduate assistant.
Finally, Murphy has some VERY nice things to say about Leake. Comparing him to Pedroia and saying this is one of the most special groups he has ever managed.

As CFB starts to gear up we will start profiling the 2009 team, which looks to be awfully good on defense.

ASU v TEXAS GAME THREAD!!

ASUBoyd — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 00:46:19 -0000

We gotta win this one. Hopefully Leake doesn't pull a repeat performance.

Go Sun Devils!

ASU in the MLB Draft: First 20 Rounds

ASUBoyd — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 19:37:45 -0000

ASU started off awfully strong, with Mike Leake breaking into the top 10 and getting drafted by the Cincinatti Reds at number 8 overall. Most people had Leake pegged at 12-14, but the Reds pulled a mild surprise tapping the wiry righty.

Scouting Report on Leake, via Jason A. Churchill:

Leake is a four-pitch arm who sits in the 89-91 mph range, but with an average or better curve, an average slider and changeup, and rounds it out with plus command and control. He uses a two-seamer regularly, getting tailing action shadowed by good arm speed and a compact delivery that he repeats well.
At Safeco in March, Leake breezed through the UW lineup, sitting at 88 but locating well and inducing dozens of weak swings. He did touch 92 and he profiles as a No. 3 starter. One major concern is that on regular rest, Leake's velocity peaks at 89.

From MLB.Com:

Focus Area

Comments

Fastball: Leake threw his fastball from 88-94 mph. It sat comfortably around 91 mph.

Fastball movement: There was above-average sink and plenty of side-to-side movement, with some run to it. He changes arm angles for different looks.

Slider: It's a hard, downward slider, thrown 79-82 mph.

Curve: An average offering ... not an out pitch. He can throw it for strikes in the 73-76 mph range.

Changeup: Close to a plus pitch and he'll throw it at any point in the count.

Control: He has plus, plus command, perhaps a 70 on the scouting scale.

Poise: It's a plus, plus attribute. He has the presence to pitch in the big leagues right now. He's more of a lead-by-example guy -- soft-spoken, but confident.

Physical Description: Leake is an undersized righty, but is athletic and strong, kind of like a Tim Hudson type.

Medical Update: Healthy.

Strengths: Four pitches that are all usable and the ability to command all of them extremelly well. He's extremely durable, having thrown as many innings as just about anyone in the class over the past few seasons.

Weaknesses: There's a little hip turn in his delivery, but it doesn't affect him. There will be those who'll be concerned about his size.

Summary: As a six-foot righty, people may want to overlook Leake as a big-time pitching prospect, but they might be missing the boat. He can throw four pitches for strikes and his poise is off the charts. He may not be that big, but he's athletic, strong and durable with an extremely efficient delivery. He's done nothing but perform with the Sun Devils and whoever looks past his size could have themselves a steal.

Next guy off the board for ASU was our boy Jason Kipnis. While he played CF for us, rumors have it the Indians, who took him 63rd overall in the 2nd round, will switch him to 2B. Maybe he is the next Pedroia?

Scouting report:

Focus Area

Comments

Hitting ability: Kipnis has tightened up his swing, getting the loop that had been an issue out of it. He still uses the whole field, but has been successfully pulling the ball more. He's a big on-base guy.

Power: He's got a little power, a guy who could hit 12-15 homers annually.

Running speed: Has average speed.

Base running: He's a good baserunner and maximizes what speed he does have.

Arm strength: Has average arm strength.

Fielding: He's able to play all three outfield spots, though he doesn't profile at one particular position.

Range: He's got average range, using instincts well to make the most of his tools.

Physical Description: Kipnis is strong for his size, but he's not that big and has drawn body-type comparisons to guys like Mark Bellhorn or Todd Hollandsworth.

Medical Update: Healthy.

Strengths: He plays hard and above his tools. He's very patient and is an on-base machine, something that should appeal to the stats-minded folks.

Weaknesses: He doesn't profile well as an everyday guy at one outfield spot.

Summary: It's hard to argue with the statistical success Kipnis has had at ASU, particularly in his junior season. But projecting him is a little more difficult. He's got average tools across the board and does tend to play above them. But he doesn't profile as an everyday guy at any one outfield position, making him more of a tweener or fourth-outfielder type. Still, he's tightened up his swing and his on-base ability should appeal to those teams who really value those skills.

I think he could be awfully good at 2nd.

Josh Spence was next, tagged in the third round by the Angels. Much higher than I thought he would go, frankly.

Carlos Ramirez went at the end of round 8, 261 overall, to the Angels. Jared McDonald went in the 21st round to the White Sox.

At this point that does it. If anyone else gets taken, i'll update.

I think they all sign except McDonald.

Mike Leake MLB Prospect Blog

ASUBoyd — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 21:03:07 -0000

Mike Leake MLB Prospect Blog

Pac-10's pitcher of the year, and our favorite Sun Devil, Mike Leake talks about the draft process and the CWS.

ASU baseball update

ASUBoyd — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 22:02:30 -0000

So with ASU taking on Clemson in the Super Regionals i think we should crusie around baseball news and take a look at some of the stuff going on in regards to the Devils on the Diamond:

A look at the game:

#2 ASU (47-12) will take on #13 Clemson Tigers (44-20).

Clemson is an interesting team. Their pitching rotation only has three players who threw more than 60 innings, and only two who threw more than 63. Casey Harman is probably their "ace" - 81 innings, 7-3, 3.78 ERA, 85/15 K/BB.

They use a lot of relief pitchers, give hitters lots of different looks, and rely on their depth more than their overall talent in their pitching staff.

Their offense is potent, with three hitters with 12 or more home runs and is anchored by JR 1B Ben Paulsen.
.369avg/.436obp/.627slg/1.063 ops 13 HR, 60 RBI, 32/36 BB/K. Wilson Boyd (.948 OPS), Mike Freeman (.909 OPS), Jeff Schaus (.977 OPS) and Kyle Parker (.811 OPS) all are threats at the plate. They all get on base and show some pop, so it will be important for the pitchers to stay on top of these guys and Kipnis and crew get going against the Clemson Tiger's somewhat weak pitching staff.

I expect us to win, but it should be closer than some people think it will be.

Mike Leake's 2009 Season

ASUBoyd — Sun, 31 May 2009 19:09:31 -0000

Unfortunately for Mike Leake, his best season as a college player came in the same year NCAA Baseball witnessed perhaps the most impressive season by a pitcher in history - Steven Strausburg down in San Diego.

Otherwise, people would be talking about the season Mike Leake put together this season, anchoring the staff of the Pac-10 Champion Sun Devils.

Mike Leake won Pac-10 pitcher of the year for the secon straight season and put up this ridiculous line:

Player                 ERA   W-L   APP  GS  CG SHO/CBO SV    IP   H   R  ER  BB  SO  2B  3B  HR   AB B/Avg   WP HBP  BK  SFA SHA

 8 Leake, Mike......  1.23  15-1    16  15   7   2/1    0 124.2  71  19  17  20 143  15   1   2  419  .169    1  13   2    4   5

An amazing line by any standard. Issuing a walk only every 6.2 innings, striking out over 10 per game, shutting down every major program we have faced - Leake's 2009 season was really special - and would have been considered one of the better ones in recent memory if not for Steve.

Leake won the game over Oral Roberts, 4-1. 9 IP, 1 ER, 1 walk, 15 strikeouts.

He sits 92-94 with his 4-seamer, has a two seamer, a change, and a pretty nasty curve.

Leake will probably be drafted in a few weeks in the first round. Somewhere from 10-25. I am going to be cheering for him to make the majors and have a great career.

I love Leake and hope we can ride him to the championship.

via www.azcentral.com

ASU

#2 ASU baseball sweeps Winthrop, now 38-11

ASUBoyd — Sat, 16 May 2009 19:32:51 -0000

The Winthrop Eagles, straight out of South Carolina, came rolling into Tempe this week with 30 wins and a respectable season and left between their tailfeathers between their legs.

Game one set the tone with a 14-3 win. Kipnis was 4-5 with 3 RBI, his 13th HR, a walk, and his 19th SB. Mike Leake went 7 shut out innings for 8 strike outs and no walks and picked up the win to move to 12-1 on the season.

A dominating effort from all fronts and really showed us at our best.

Game 2 was a display of what could go wrong in the post season. Jordan Swaggerty and Seth Blair got crushed for 9 ER. Our offense had 10 runs, but it nearly all came from our 2-4 spots who went 7-12 with 8 RBI and 3 home runs (Kipnis hit his 14th, Ramirez hit his 14th, Calhoun hit his 7th). The rest of the guys went 6-23 and 1 RBI.

In the end we got the win, but pitching is something we need to keep an eye on.

Game three showcased a player who needs to step up with Spence injured and he did just that. Jason Franzblou threw a CG shutout, strike out 5 walked 1. Our offense was all Ramirez and Calhoun as they both hit HRs. (15 and 8 respectively.) 5-0 win.

Series sweep. Oregon next. Team really needed this. Box scores after the jump.

Game 1

Box Score

                     2009 Arizona State Sun Devil Baseball
                      Winthrop Eagles at #4 Arizona State
                 May 08, 2009 at Tempe, Ariz. (Packard Stadium)

Winthrop Eagles 3 (30-19)

Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
NOLAN, Kevin ss..........  3  0  1  0   1  0  0  3   0
ROHAN, Eddie dh/c........  4  0  0  0   0  1  1  0   1
TISDALE, Eddie 1b........  4  0  2  0   0  1  8  1   0
THIELEPAPE, Matt 3b......  4  1  2  0   0  1  1  1   2
SULLIVAN, Sean rf........  3  1  1  0   1  1  3  0   0
HENDERSON, Bryn lf.......  4  0  1  1   0  1  2  0   1
MURRIAN, John c..........  3  0  0  0   0  2  7  0   1
 FRIES, Tyler p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 HOUGH, Greg p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 BRUNETTI, Tony ph.......  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
BONOMI, Aaron 2b.........  4  1  1  2   0  1  0  2   1
WALTERS, Cam cf..........  2  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
 BOGUE, Bryan ph/cf......  2  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
NEWMAN, Wade p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  1   0
 STUART, Austin p........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 MCBRIDE, Tyler p........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 34  3  8  3   2  8 24  9   6

Arizona State 14 (36-11)

Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Maggi, Drew ss...........  4  2  0  1   1  0  2  4   2
Kipnis, Jason cf.........  5  4  4  3   1  0  4  0   0
Ramirez, Carlos c........  5  1  3  2   0  1  7  1   2
 Barnes, Austin c........  1  0  1  0   0  0  0  0   0
Calhoun, Kole rf.........  4  1  1  1   1  2  1  0   1
Newman, Matt dh..........  4  1  2  0   1  1  0  0   0
Ruiz, Abe 1b.............  5  1  1  0   0  2 11  0   3
Ruettiger, Johnny lf.....  3  1  2  3   0  0  0  0   3
 Magee, Brandon ph/lf....  1  1  0  0   0  1  0  0   0
MacPhee, Zack 2b.........  5  1  1  0   0  0  1  3   0
McDonald, Jared 3b.......  2  1  1  3   2  0  0  3   0
Leake, Mike p............  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
 Ishida, Jeeter p........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
Totals................... 39 14 16 13   6  7 27 12  11

Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
Winthrop Eagles..... 000 000 102 -  3  8  1
Arizona State....... 511 001 33X - 14 16  2
-------------------------------------------

E - NOLAN, K.(16); MacPhee(9); McDonald(2). DP - Sun Devils 2. LOB - WU 6;
Sun Devils 11. 2B - TISDALE, E.(8); HENDERSON, B(18); Ramirez(9);
Calhoun(10). 3B - Kipnis(2); Ruettiger 2(2); McDonald(4). HR - BONOMI,
A.(2); Kipnis(13). HBP - Maggi; Magee. SH - Calhoun(3). SF - McDonald(1). SB
- Maggi(13); Kipnis(19); Calhoun(9).

Winthrop Eagles        IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
NEWMAN, Wade........  4.1 10  7  6  3  3 23 27
STUART, Austin......  1.1  0  1  1  2  1  4  6
MCBRIDE, Tyler......  1.1  4  3  3  1  2  8  9
FRIES, Tyler........  0.2  2  3  3  0  0  3  6
HOUGH, Greg.........  0.1  0  0  0  0  1  1  1

Arizona State          IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
Leake, Mike.........  7.0  6  1  0  0  8 26 26
Ishida, Jeeter......  2.0  2  2  0  2  0  8 10

Win - Leake (12-1).  Loss - NEWMAN, W. (5-4).  Save - None.
WP - FRIES, T.(2); STUART, A. 2(4). HBP - by FRIES, T. (Magee); by FRIES, T.
(Maggi). BK - NEWMAN, W.(1).
Umpires - HP: Chuck Lyon  1B: Patrick Riley  3B: Darren Hyman
Start: 6:30   Time: 3:00   Attendance: 2716
Weather: Hot
Game notes:
ID-757172
Game: GAME47

Game 2


Box Score
                     2009 Arizona State Sun Devil Baseball
                      Winthrop Eagles at #4 Arizona State
                 May 09, 2009 at Tempe, Ariz. (Packard Stadium)

Winthrop Eagles 9 (30-20)

Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
NOLAN, Kevin ss..........  5  1  1  0   0  2  1  5   1
ROHAN, Eddie dh..........  5  1  3  0   0  2  0  0   0
TISDALE, Eddie 1b........  5  2  3  2   0  0  8  2   1
THIELEPAPE, Matt 3b......  5  0  2  2   0  0  1  0   0
SULLIVAN, Sean rf........  4  1  1  0   1  1  5  0   0
HENDERSON, Bryn lf.......  4  1  1  0   1  1  1  0   0
MURRIAN, John c..........  3  1  1  1   1  1  3  0   3
BONOMI, Aaron 2b.........  5  1  2  3   0  0  1  2   3
WALTERS, Cam cf..........  5  1  1  0   0  1  3  0   1
LAKE, Robert p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 D'ANGELO, Matteo p......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 HOUGH, Greg p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  1   0
 MIZENKO, Tyler p........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
Totals................... 41  9 15  8   3  8 24 12   9

Arizona State 10 (37-11)

Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Maggi, Drew ss...........  4  2  1  0   1  1  1  3   0
Kipnis, Jason cf.........  4  3  3  2   1  0  1  0   0
Ramirez, Carlos c........  4  2  2  5   1  0  8  1   1
Calhoun, Kole rf.........  4  1  2  1   0  0  1  0   1
Newman, Matt dh..........  3  1  1  1   1  0  0  0   1
Ruiz, Abe 1b.............  4  0  2  1   0  0 10  0   0
Ruettiger, Johnny lf.....  2  0  0  0   0  1  1  0   2
 Magee, Brandon ph.......  1  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   0
 Workman, Andy lf........  1  0  1  0   0  0  0  0   0
MacPhee, Zack 2b.........  4  0  0  0   0  0  1  4   0
McDonald, Jared 3b.......  4  1  1  0   0  0  3  4   0
Swagerty, Jordan p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  1   0
 Blair, Seth p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 35 10 13 10   4  3 27 13   5

Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
Winthrop Eagles..... 032 012 010 -  9 15  2
Arizona State....... 440 001 10X - 10 13  4
-------------------------------------------

E - SULLIVAN, S.(3); MURRIAN, J.(6); Maggi(9); Ruettiger(2); Workman(1);
Swagerty(3). LOB - WU 9; Sun Devils 5. 2B - SULLIVAN, S.(9); HENDERSON,
B(19); Kipnis(17); Ramirez(10); Calhoun(11); Ruiz(4). 3B - Kipnis(3). HR -
TISDALE, E.(8); BONOMI, A.(3); Kipnis(14); Ramirez(14); Calhoun(7);
Newman(6). SF - MURRIAN, J.(8). SB - Maggi(14); Kipnis(20). CS - TISDALE,
E.(4); Workman(2).

Winthrop Eagles        IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
LAKE, Robert........  1.1  7  8  8  2  0 10 12
D'ANGELO, Matteo....  4.2  3  1  1  2  3 17 19
HOUGH, Greg.........  1.2  3  1  1  0  0  7  7
MIZENKO, Tyler......  0.1  0  0  0  0  0  1  1

Arizona State          IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
Swagerty, Jordan....  5.0  9  6  6  2  3 23 26
Blair, Seth.........  4.0  6  3  3  1  5 18 19

Win - Blair (5-1).  Loss - D'ANGELO, M. (6-2).  Save - None.
WP - Swagerty(3).
Umpires - HP: Patrick Riley  1B: Darren Hyman  3B: Chuck Lyon
Start: 6:30   Time: 3:00   Attendance: 3056
Weather: 100 Degrees
Game notes:
ID-757175
Game: GAME48


Game 3

Box Score

                     2009 Arizona State Sun Devil Baseball
                      Winthrop Eagles at #4 Arizona State
                 May 10, 2009 at Tempe, Ariz. (Packard Stadium)

Winthrop Eagles 0 (30-21)

Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
NOLAN, Kevin ss..........  4  0  1  0   0  0  3  4   0
ROHAN, Eddie dh..........  4  0  1  0   0  0  0  0   1
TISDALE, Eddie 1b........  3  0  2  0   1  0  9  0   0
THIELEPAPE, Matt 3b......  4  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   2
SULLIVAN, Sean rf........  4  0  1  0   0  0  1  0   0
HENDERSON, Bryn lf.......  4  0  0  0   0  2  4  0   1
MURRIAN, John c..........  3  0  2  0   0  1  3  0   0
BONOMI, Aaron 2b.........  3  0  0  0   0  0  1  4   1
MCBRIDE, Tyler cf........  2  0  0  0   0  1  3  0   1
 BRUNETTI, Tony ph.......  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 BOGUE, Bryan cf.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
MONTEITH, Ken p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 YODER, Dane p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 MIZENKO, Tyler p........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 32  0  7  0   1  5 24  9   6

Arizona State 5 (38-11)

Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Maggi, Drew ss...........  4  1  0  0   1  0  1  8   0
Kipnis, Jason cf.........  5  1  1  0   0  0  0  0   1
Ramirez, Carlos c........  3  1  2  2   0  1  5  0   0
Calhoun, Kole lf.........  1  2  1  1   3  0  2  0   0
Newman, Matt rf..........  4  0  0  0   0  1  1  0   2
Ruiz, Abe 1b.............  3  0  1  0   0  1  9  0   0
 Torrez, Raoul 3b........  0  0  0  0   1  0  0  0   0
Wilson, Zach dh..........  4  0  1  1   0  1  0  0   3
McDonald, Jared 3b/1b....  4  0  1  0   0  0  5  2   0
MacPhee, Zack 2b.........  4  0  2  0   0  0  3  6   3
Franzblau, Jason p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
Totals................... 32  5  9  4   5  4 27 16   9

Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
Winthrop Eagles..... 000 000 000 -  0  7  1
Arizona State....... 200 100 20X -  5  9  0
-------------------------------------------

E - TISDALE, E.(5). DP - WU 2; Sun Devils 2. LOB - WU 6; Sun Devils 9. 2B -
MURRIAN, J.(18); Ramirez(11). HR - Ramirez(15); Calhoun(8). HBP - Ramirez.
SB - Kipnis(21).

Winthrop Eagles        IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
MONTEITH, Ken.......  6.1  6  4  4  3  2 24 28
YODER, Dane.........  0.0  1  1  1  0  0  1  1
MIZENKO, Tyler......  1.2  2  0  0  2  2  7  9

Arizona State          IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
Franzblau, Jason....  9.0  7  0  0  1  5 32 33

Win - Franzblau (2-2).  Loss - MONTEITH, K. (3-3).  Save - None.
WP - MONTEITH, K.(6). HBP - by MONTEITH, K. (Ramirez). BK - MIZENKO, T.(1).
Umpires - HP: Darren Hyman  1B: Chuck Lyon  3B: Patrick Riley
Start: 1:00   Time: 2:30   Attendance: 2282
Weather: 100 degrees
Game notes:
ID-757176
YODER, D. faced 1 batter in the 7th.
Game: GAME49

Baseball Series Roundup: ASU vs. USD, 2-0 sweep

ASUBoyd — Sun, 10 May 2009 18:04:19 -0000

ASU geared up for a short midweet two game set against the Toreros in Tempe.

Game 1 was Franzblou against USD's mishmash of not-so-good pitchers. We ended up winning 8-7 in 11 innings after Franzblou turned in a decent outing, and some errors cost us a chance of winning in standard frames.

MacPhee and Calhoun both had homers as our bats led the way in this one. 9 walks by ASU hitters forced USD to blow through their bullpen as their starter was pulled after 3 innings. Carlos Ramirez was 3-6.

Game 2 was more of the same. ASU cobbled together 9 innings from Lambson, Newman, and Seth Blair and ASU won 7-6.

9 walks again from our hitters forced no USD pitcher to go for longer than 2.2 innings. Newman and Maggi had good days at the plate with multi hit games.

All in all it was a fairly standard sweep of a team who is not nearly as good. None of ASU's best three pitchers started games, although you will start to see different starters pushed out there as Murph tries to limit his best guy's innings going into the post-season.

via asunews.asu.edu

Technically not the current team...but, same results are desired.

Box scores after the jump.

Game 1

Box Score

                     2009 Arizona State Sun Devil Baseball
                     San Diego Toreros at #4 Arizona State
                 May 05, 2009 at Tempe, Ariz. (Packard Stadium)

San Diego Toreros 7 (27-22)

Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
ENGELL, Chris 2b.........  6  0  1  0   0  2  1  5   2
NICOL, Sean ss...........  5  2  3  0   0  1  0  3   0
MEADOR, James rf.........  5  0  1  0   0  0  2  0   0
WALTERS, Zach 3b.........  5  2  3  1   0  0  1  2   2
McCOY, Nick c............  4  1  1  3   1  0  9  1   1
HAAR, Bryan 1b/p.........  5  1  3  1   0  1 11  0   0
GREEN, Austin lf.........  5  1  0  0   0  0  2  1   0
HOTTA, Jon cf............  4  0  0  0   1  3  2  0   0
LUGO, Mike dh............  2  0  0  0   0  2  0  0   2
 STRAZZARA, Tony ph......  1  0  1  1   0  0  0  0   0
 VALERIO, Jose 1b........  1  0  0  0   0  0  3  0   0
 HAUSER, Matt p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 CAMPBELL, Darrin p......  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
FICK, Tyler p............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 JENSEN, Chris p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 DeNAULT, Scott p........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 44  7 13  6   2  9 31 13   6

Arizona State 8 (34-11)

Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Maggi, Drew ss...........  6  1  1  0   0  2  2  3   5
Kipnis, Jason cf.........  6  0  1  1   0  1  2  0   0
Ramirez, Carlos c........  6  1  3  0   0  0  9  1   0
Calhoun, Kole lf/p.......  5  2  1  1   0  0  1  1   2
Torrez, Riccio 1b........  2  0  0  0   0  0  3  0   0
 McDonald, Jared 1b......  2  1  1  0   2  1  5  0   0
Wilson, Zach dh..........  1  1  1  0   0  0  0  0   0
 Ruettiger, Johnny ph/dh.  0  0  0  0   2  0  0  0   0
 Brule, Kyle p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 Ruiz, Abe ph............  0  0  0  0   1  0  0  0   0
 Borup, Jake p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 Lambson, Mitchell p.....  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 Swagerty, Jordan ph.....  1  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   0
 Leake, Mike rf..........  1  1  0  0   0  0  2  0   0
Torrez, Raoul 3b.........  5  0  1  0   1  1  1  1   2
Newman, Matt rf/p........  4  0  2  3   2  0  3  1   1
MacPhee, Zack 2b.........  4  1  2  2   1  0  4  4   1
Franzblau, Jason p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  1   0
Totals................... 43  8 13  7   9  6 33 13  14

Score by Innings                       R  H  E
----------------------------------------------
San Diego Toreros... 011 002 300 00 -  7 13  2
Arizona State....... 020 001 121 01 -  8 13  2
----------------------------------------------

Note: 1 out, 2 runners LOB when the game ended.

E - McCOY, N(3); HOTTA, J(1); Maggi(8); Torrez, Ra.(8). DP - Sun Devils 2.
LOB - USD 6; Sun Devils 14. 2B - Ramirez(8). 3B - Maggi(5). HR - McCOY,
N(5); Calhoun(6); MacPhee(4). HBP - Calhoun. SB - Calhoun(8); MacPhee(5). CS
- ENGELL, C(4).

San Diego Toreros      IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
FICK, Tyler.........  3.0  4  2  2  0  0 13 13
JENSEN, Chris.......  1.0  0  0  0  2  0  3  5
DeNAULT, Scott......  1.1  1  1  1  2  2  4  7
HAAR, Bryan.........  2.0  3  3  2  3  0  9 12
HAUSER, Matt........  1.2  3  1  1  1  3  8  9
CAMPBELL, Darrin....  1.1  2  1  1  1  1  6  7

Arizona State          IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
Franzblau, Jason....  6.0  8  4  2  1  7 27 28
Calhoun, Kole.......  0.1  2  2  2  0  0  3  3
Brule, Kyle.........  0.2  1  1  1  0  0  3  3
Borup, Jake.........  1.0  1  0  0  1  0  2  3
Lambson, Mitchell...  1.0  0  0  0  0  1  3  3
Newman, Matt........  2.0  1  0  0  0  1  6  6

Win - Newman (2-1).  Loss - CAMPBELL, D (3-5).  Save - None.
WP - HAAR, B(2); Franzblau(4). HBP - by DeNAULT, S (Calhoun).
Umpires - HP: Travis Katzenmeier  1B: Darren Hyman  3B: Patrick Riley
Start: 6:30   Time: 4:20   Attendance: 2923
Weather: Hot
Game notes:
ID-757170
JENSEN, C faced 1 batter in the 5th.
Game: GAME45

Game 2

Box Score

                     2009 Arizona State Sun Devil Baseball
                     San Diego Toreros at #4 Arizona State
                 May 06, 2009 at Tempe, Ariz. (Packard Stadium)

San Diego Toreros 6 (27-23)

Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
NICOL, Sean ss...........  4  1  0  1   1  2  6  0   0
MEADOR, James cf.........  5  1  3  1   0  0  3  0   0
WALTERS, Zach 3b.........  5  0  3  0   0  1  0  2   0
HAAR, Bryan 1b...........  5  0  1  2   0  2  5  0   3
McCOY, Nick dh...........  4  0  2  0   1  0  0  0   2
ENGELL, Chris 2b.........  5  2  4  1   0  0  0  5   0
GREEN, Austin rf.........  5  1  0  0   0  1  2  0   2
STRAZZARA, Tony lf.......  4  1  1  1   0  1  2  0   0
FARRIS, Brian c..........  3  0  0  0   0  2  6  2   3
SEWALD, Paul p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 JENSEN, Chris p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 FICK, Tyler p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 DeNAULT, Scott p........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 40  6 14  6   2  9 24  9  10

Arizona State 7 (35-11)

Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Maggi, Drew ss...........  4  3  2  0   1  0  0  4   0
Kipnis, Jason cf.........  3  0  0  0   1  1  4  0   2
Ramirez, Carlos c........  3  1  0  1   1  0  9  1   0
Calhoun, Kole rf.........  1  1  0  0   3  1  0  0   0
Ruiz, Abe 1b.............  0  0  0  0   1  0  2  0   0
 Torrez, Riccio 1b.......  2  1  1  1   0  0  4  0   0
 Torrez, Raoul 3b........  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   3
Newman, Matt p/dh........  4  1  2  2   0  0  1  2   0
Ruettiger, Johnny lf.....  3  0  0  0   0  2  1  0   1
MacPhee, Zack 2b.........  2  0  1  1   2  0  3  1   0
McDonald, Jared 3b/1b....  4  0  0  0   0  2  3  1   1
 Brule, Kyle p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 Lambson, Mitchell p.....  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 Blair, Seth p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 27  7  6  5   9  6 27 10   8

Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
San Diego Toreros... 010 023 000 -  6 14  1
Arizona State....... 200 131 00X -  7  6  2
-------------------------------------------

E - NICOL, S(14); Torrez, Ri.(5); Torrez, Ra.(9). DP - Sun Devils 1. LOB -
USD 10; Sun Devils 8. 2B - WALTERS, Z 2(13); McCOY, N(10); ENGELL, C(14);
Maggi(3); Torrez, Ri.(8); Newman(9). HR - ENGELL, C(3). HBP - Ruettiger. SH
- FARRIS, B(2); Kipnis(3). SF - Ramirez(4). SB - Maggi(12); Kipnis(18);
Newman(4); MacPhee(6). CS - McCOY, N(2); MacPhee(6).

San Diego Toreros      IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
SEWALD, Paul........  2.0  1  2  2  4  1  7 11
JENSEN, Chris.......  2.2  3  4  4  1  2  8 12
FICK, Tyler.........  1.0  2  1  1  1  0  5  6
DeNAULT, Scott......  2.1  0  0  0  3  3  7 10

Arizona State          IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
Newman, Matt........  5.0  7  3  3  1  4 22 23
Brule, Kyle.........  0.2  3  3  1  0  0  5  6
Lambson, Mitchell...  2.1  2  0  0  1  4  9 10
Blair, Seth.........  1.0  2  0  0  0  1  4  4

Win - Lambson (7-3).  Loss - FICK, T (0-1).  Save - Blair (1).
WP - FICK, T(2); DeNAULT, S(1). HBP - by JENSEN, C (Ruettiger).
Umpires - HP: Darren Hyman  1B: Patrick Riley  3B: Travis Katzenmeier
Start: 4:00   Time: 3:10   Attendance: 2237
Weather: Hot
Game notes:
ID-757171
Game: GAME46

Baseball Roundup: #4 ASU 33-15, 16-5 Pac-10

ASUBoyd — Mon, 04 May 2009 18:02:27 -0000

Coming off a disappointing weekend in Corvallis where the Devils went 1-2, ASU enters this week with some non-conference games against San Deigo and Winthrop.

The team has been fantastic, no other way to say it. We've been absolutely dominating, have outscored Arizona 54-16 (while going 4-0) and have our sights set on the CWS.

Lets go through how each player has been performing by positon:

The Rotation:

Player                 ERA   W-L   APP  GS  CG SHO/CBO SV    IP   H    R   ER  BB  SO  2B  3B  HR  AB B/Avg  

 8 Leake, Mike.....1.59  11-1   12  11   4       0/1      0   90.2  53  17  16  18  96  10   1   2  304  .174   
45 Spence, Josh...2.23   8-1    13  10   1       0/0      1   72.2  67  21  18  22  93   7   2   1  272  .246  
43 Blair, Seth......  2.77   4-1   11  11   0       0/0      0   55.1  49  27  17  23  58  11   0   4  209  .234 




The Big Three? Perhaps. They are all averaging more than a strikeout per inning, and hardly walk anyone. Spence and Leake, particularly,
have been complete studs. Leake is on route to becoming a 1st round pick according to scouts and could land anywhere from 12-30.

We couldn't really ask for anymore out of these guys.

Grade: A+

The 4th Starter/Mop-Up Guys:

Player                        ERA   W-L   APP  GS  CG SHO/CBO SV    IP     H   R   ER  BB  SO  2B  3B  HR   AB B/Avg   WP HBP  BK  SFA SHA

40 Lambson, Mitchell  3.15   6-3    23    1   1        0/1      3    60.0  40  24  21  22  65   4   2   5  206  .194 
 3 Swagerty, Jordan.   3.53   2-1    19    2   0        0/1      4    35.2  32  20  14    9  27   8   0   2  133  .241 
48 Annino, Tony.....    0.00   0-0     1    0   0        0/0      0    1.0   1     2     0    0   1   1   0   0    5  .200 
35 Preach, RJ.......      0.00   0-0     1    0   0        0/0      0    1.0   0     0     0    1   0   0   0   0    3  .000 
58 Brule, Kyle......       2.00   0-0     9    0   0        0/1      1    9.0   8    5     2     1   7   2   0   2   36  .222 
51 Borup, Jake......     3.00   0-0     7    0   0        0/0      0    6.0   4    4     2     3   4   1   0   1   21  .190 
11 Newman, Matt.....   3.95   2-1     9    6   0        0/1      0   27.1  35  16  12     4  17   3   0   0  114  .307 
56 Franzblau, Jason.   3.99   1-2    15   4   0        0/1      0   29.1  36  17  13    11  31   5   1   1  120  .300 
36 Ishida, Jeeter...     4.76   0-0     6    0   0        0/0      0    5.2   8     3    3     5   7   1   0   0   24  .333
49 Calhoun, Kole....   11.57   0-1    11   0   0        0/1     0    7.0  11   11    9     2   6   3   2   2   33  .333 

Hmm, sort of a mixed group. Kole Calhoun should stick to the field because he has been garbage in 7 innings.
Mitchell Lambson has been really solid as a rookie putting up a 65/22 K/BB rate in 60 innings. Franzblou has been a bit
of a disappointment, but no one has been too bad. Newman does not have very good stuff. Jordan Swaggerty has been alright.
All in all, an ERA in the 3s is solid, but other than Lambson no one has been spectacular.

Bullpen Grade: B

The Position Players:

Player                      AVG  GP-GS    AB   R   H   2B  3B  HR RBI   TB  SLG%  BB HBP  SO GDP   OB%  SF  SH  SB-ATT   PO   A   E  FLD%      OPS

28 Kipnis, Jason....   .383  44-44   162  52  62  16   1  12  58  116  .716     39   7   22   3     .505   6   2  17-21        76   2   0 1.000      1.221 
23 Ruettiger, Johnny .357  34-14    56  16  20   4    0   1   6   27    .482     12   3     9   1     .493   0   1   7-9          10   1   1  .917         .975
37 Maggi, Drew......   .333  41-29   102  38  34   2   5   0  16   46   .451     22   3    16   2     .461   1   4  11-12       47  84   8  .942        .912
11 Newman, Matt..... .327  44-43   162  30  53   8   1   5  40   78   .481     26   0    31   1     .411   4   0   3-6         46  11   0 1.000        .892
55 Ramirez, Carlos..  .323  45-45   161  40  52   8   2  13  47  103 .640     28   6    40   1     .434   3   0   1-2        380  38   3  .993      1.074
25 Wilson, Zach.....   .290  33-23    69   7   20    3   1   0   7   25   .362      6   3     14   1     .367   1   1   0-0          0   0   0  .000          .729
30 Torrez, Riccio...    .287  38-27   101  14  29   7   2   4  25   52   .515     10   4    27   3     .371   1   3   2-2        168  20   4  .979        .886
29 Torrez, Raoul....   .275  45-43   138  38  38   7   1   1  21   50   .362     21   8    38   1     .401   0  10  15-20      26  66   8  .920        .763
 2 MacPhee, Zack....  .272  44-40   136  34  37   6   1   4  28   57   .419     28   5   30   3     .409   2   7   5-10        60 101   8  .953       .828
49 Calhoun, Kole....   .252  43-36   139  32  35   9   1   6  27   64  .460     22   5    24   1    .369   2   2   8-10         57   1   4  .935        .829
22 McDonald, Jared..  .250  41-25    84  20  21   4   3   3  13   40  .476     19   1    19   4     .394   0   3   4-7        151  36   1  .995        .870
--------------
13 Barnes, Austin...  .364  15-0     11   3      4     0   1   0   2    6  .545       0   0     1   2     .364   0   0   0-0          27   1   3  .903         .909
20 Ruiz, Abe........    .303  23-6     33   7     10   3   1   1  15   18  .545      5   1      9   0     .390   2   0   1-1         34   3   3  .925         .935
 8 Leake, Mike......   .303  15-8     33  10  10     4   1   0   4   16   .485      2   0      7   0     .343   0   0   0-0         44  36   2  .976        .828
46 Workman, Andy....286  29-12    42  10  12    4   0   0   7   16   .381     10   4     9   1     .464   0   0   1-2          11   0   0 1.000       .845
 4 Murphy, Mike.....   .222   9-6     18   1   4      1   0   0   5    5    .278       1   1     3   0     .286   1   0   0-0           3  19   2  .917        .564
 3 Swagerty, Jordan.  .147  20-5     34   7   5     1   0   3  10   15   .441      5   1     8   1     .275   0   0   0-0         46  10   2  .966         .716
15 Magee, Brandon.. .000  10-0      9   2   0     0   0   0   0    0     .000      2   1     7   0     .250   0   0   0-0            0   0   0  .000         .250

So, yeah. Jason Kipnis is the man. Slugging over .700, gets on base over 50% of the time, has not made 1 error and has 17 steals. The team who takes him
in the supplemental first round or second round will be very happy. Carlos Ramirez is everything he was billed to be. He has been a rock behind the plate and has
been absolutely crushing the ball. Riccio Torrez has been playing good D and has been a solid bat. Really everyone on the team has provided some offense, with a
few odd exceptions. Why does Zach Wilson, who has a .726 OPS in almost 70 at bats, not play the field? He is not much of a bat, so...why is he playing? Raoul Torrez is not nearly
as good as his younger brother. Also, Bench has some weird bats; Swagerty can hit homers, that is about it, Brandon Magee I feel badly for. I hope it is just because he has been at spring drills for football.
Mike Murphy - eh. Mike Leake is a stud. Jared McDonald has been fantastic, his defense has been amazing and he has been great at the plate. Overall, this team has been
everything we could have hoped for. The defense has it's issues, but what can you say, theyre in college trying to field balls hit by metal bats.

Position Players: A

The team has been fantastic. Kipnis, Ramirez, The Big Three and the rest of the cast has been much more than many thought they would be - and more than Pat Murphy thought they would be. He laughed when people picked them to win the Pac-10, but it looks like we will be able to pull it off. The team needs to gain some momentum heading into the CWS though. We are 3-3 in our last six and need to finish strong. I would not be surprised to see us in the final four come the end of the year. We will keep you updated from here on out.

Hittin' the Links

ASUBoyd — Sat, 02 May 2009 17:58:29 -0000

Busy week for us here as graduation looms large.

Sun Devils had some good news this past week, a nice respite from the bad news that had been streaming our way.

With Fanaika getting drafted, ASU continues the tradition of having walk-on players drafted.

Mike Leake continues to dominate.

Freshman SS Drew Maggi has been a pleasant surprise this year.

ASU Football has some new game day amenities: two new videoboards, a new ribbon board, and pregaming can start 90 minutes earlier outside.

Freshman CB Josh Jordan is a senator for CLAS and has his sights set on much more.

ASU Golf finishes 3rd in the pac-10.

Brandon Thompson's scouting profile has been completed. The results are good.

Grade 90 = April, 2009: Brandon is an under-the-radar true combo guard who brings a ton of versatility to the court. He's capable of running a team and setting others up or scoring the ball himself. Brandon has excellent court vision and is a precise passer. Thompson also possesses high end speed which allows him to score in a variety of ways. His quickness gets him to the rim but he can also find open spots behind the arc and knock down three's. He's also a hard working defender who can guard either the one or the two. Overall, Brandon's a tough minded, all-around guard who truly understands when to take over a game. He knows when to get his teammates involved or score if his team needs it. The Arizona State coaches love his versatility and mental toughness. They'll also like him because he does whatever is asked of him.

Nice pick-up Sendek.

The Women's coach Turner Thorne will help coach Team USA for the girls.

That about does it for now, more content en route.

Focus Area	Comments
Fastball:	Leake threw his fastball from 88-94 mph. It sat comfortably around 91 mph.
Fastball movement:	There was above-average sink and plenty of side-to-side movement, with some run to it. He changes arm angles for different looks.
Slider:	It's a hard, downward slider, thrown 79-82 mph.
Curve:	An average offering ... not an out pitch. He can throw it for strikes in the 73-76 mph range.
Changeup:	Close to a plus pitch and he'll throw it at any point in the count.
Control:	He has plus, plus command, perhaps a 70 on the scouting scale.
Poise:	It's a plus, plus attribute. He has the presence to pitch in the big leagues right now. He's more of a lead-by-example guy -- soft-spoken, but confident.
Physical Description:	Leake is an undersized righty, but is athletic and strong, kind of like a Tim Hudson type.
Medical Update:	Healthy.
Strengths:	Four pitches that are all usable and the ability to command all of them extremelly well. He's extremely durable, having thrown as many innings as just about anyone in the class over the past few seasons.
Weaknesses:	There's a little hip turn in his delivery, but it doesn't affect him. There will be those who'll be concerned about his size.
Summary:	As a six-foot righty, people may want to overlook Leake as a big-time pitching prospect, but they might be missing the boat. He can throw four pitches for strikes and his poise is off the charts. He may not be that big, but he's athletic, strong and durable with an extremely efficient delivery. He's done nothing but perform with the Sun Devils and whoever looks past his size could have themselves a steal.

Focus Area	Comments
Hitting ability:	Kipnis has tightened up his swing, getting the loop that had been an issue out of it. He still uses the whole field, but has been successfully pulling the ball more. He's a big on-base guy.
Power:	He's got a little power, a guy who could hit 12-15 homers annually.
Running speed:	Has average speed.
Base running:	He's a good baserunner and maximizes what speed he does have.
Arm strength:	Has average arm strength.
Fielding:	He's able to play all three outfield spots, though he doesn't profile at one particular position.
Range:	He's got average range, using instincts well to make the most of his tools.
Physical Description:	Kipnis is strong for his size, but he's not that big and has drawn body-type comparisons to guys like Mark Bellhorn or Todd Hollandsworth.
Medical Update:	Healthy.
Strengths:	He plays hard and above his tools. He's very patient and is an on-base machine, something that should appeal to the stats-minded folks.
Weaknesses:	He doesn't profile well as an everyday guy at one outfield spot.
Summary:	It's hard to argue with the statistical success Kipnis has had at ASU, particularly in his junior season. But projecting him is a little more difficult. He's got average tools across the board and does tend to play above them. But he doesn't profile as an everyday guy at any one outfield position, making him more of a tweener or fourth-outfielder type. Still, he's tightened up his swing and his on-base ability should appeal to those teams who really value those skills.