After full year under Willie Bloomquist, Arizona State baseball has its team set

Now under a full season with Willie Bloomquist at the helm, Arizona State baseball hopes to find more stability this season.

Even in a year filled with growing pains, the Sun Devils finished eighth in the Pac-12 and advanced to the inaugural Pac-12 Tournament last season in Scottsdale.

Here is what to know before ASU begins its season on Friday in a three-game series against San Diego State at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.

Time was on Bloomquist's side this offseason

Bloomquist had his work cut out for him with 11 players from last season returning this year. But the work he put in with recruiting coordinator and pitching coach Sam Peraza into finding the right players in the transfer portal and in high school added 29 newcomers. Travis Buck also moved from hitting coach to director of player development and assistant recruiting coordinator.

The results have yet to be determined for this season, but the coaching staff feels confident with this group given the additional time compared to last year’s scramble after Bloomquist was hired in early June 2021.

“It was tough. We obviously took our lumps along the way to see what we needed to improve on,” Buck said. “Especially with the other teams in the Pac-12, we were well behind in terms of athleticism and obviously, we didn’t have that much depth on the mound. We really hit the portal hard, Willie, Sam (Peraza) did a good job of identifying the players that we wanted here.”

Finding a rotation

The area where ASU was hit the hardest was with its pitching staff. From last year, only one consistent starting pitcher returned while the rest went professional or graduated.

Redshirt sophomore Tyler Meyer was set for another step forward in his second year at ASU after making 10 starts last season, but he had season-ending surgery on a torn labrum before the season began.

Gaining players with experience was key after last season’s pitching staff compiled a 6.76 ERA. ASU has only three seasons with a 6.00 ERA or higher since 1959.

This season’s starting rotation will be bolstered by junior left-hander Ross Dunn. At Florida State last season, Dunn held a 4.88 ERA, but produced 14.4 strikeouts per nine innings. Right-hander Khristian Curtis was a part of the Texas A&M team that made it the College World Series semifinals last season. San Francisco transfer Owen Stevenson is one of the several vying for the Sunday and midweek roles.

The relievers have more retention with juniors Brock Peery, Christian Bodlovich and Blake Pivaroff all set to take over.

“This year, I think the pitching staff is one of the best ones I’ve been a part of at least,” ASU junior Ethan Long said. “I think they’ll definitely get some love that they deserve. We’ll be able to swing it and get some runs and the pitching staff will make it so we don’t have to get as many runs to win a game.”

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New look for outfield

Will Rogers was expected to be a catcher for ASU during his freshman campaign last year, but the outfield’s gaps needed to be addressed. Rogers switched from backup catcher to corner outfielder and added power to the batting order with a .299 batting average and 50 hits in 167 at-bats. The sophomore will now be the only returning outfielder this season.

ASU didn’t have to look too far to replace the openings. Sophomore Nick McLain, the brother of former ASU second baseman Sean, transferred from UCLA.

Besides McLain, freshman Isaiah Jackson is another strong candidate to man center field. The Vail Cienega product was rated the second-best overall prospect in Arizona and is touted for his athleticism.

"Isaiah is really talented at the dish and he takes really good at-bats," McLain said. "He is also pretty good in the outfield. It's nice to see how we'll both probably have a lot of playing time in the outfield together with one of us in center and the other in right probably. It should be fun because we get along."

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Ethan Long’s step into leadership for the infield

Becoming Mr. Irrelevant over the summer was a wake-up call for Long.

His final selection in the 2022 MLB Draft not only spurred him to return to ASU, but changed his perspective on baseball.

“You could take it two different ways: you can be extremely upset and selfish and say, why me? Or you can go, you know what, I’m going to use it as a chip on my shoulder,” Buck said. “The way he took it was the best way that he can take it and he’s really been a guy that’s led by example.”

After his sophomore campaign was marred by injuries, Long is hoping to remain healthy and once again spark the team like he did in his freshman season. With six starters gone, Long will move to first base after trying his hand at third base last season.

The infield will showcase a young group after three of the four spots became vacant. True freshman Nu’u Contrades is a front-runner for third base, while true freshman Luke Hill is likely to be at shortstop. Junior transfer Luke Keaschall has been practicing at third base.

“Ethan is the type of guy that he’s not necessarily a get-in-your-face, vocal type leader,” Bloomquist said. “He’s more of a lead by example and by actions. The fact that he’s matured in a significant amount, even in the last year I’ve known him and he understands what he’s up against and what happened last year.”

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona State baseball 2023 season preview