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Pitching Will Be Strength of Bulldogs in 2015

The team returns a good portion of the starting rotation and the relief corps and that puts the Bulldogs in the driver's seat in most games. Scoring could be a problem as there are a lot of question marks on who will take the field this Friday. There is no question that Taylor Ward will be the catcher. Read on.

By Don Starks
Taylor Ward at catcher is a good place to start
Taylor Ward at catcher is a good place to start
Fresno State Athletics

Fresno State Has Pitching Ready but Needs Work on Offense

I've heard tell that the Bulldog Coaches are pretty confident of their pitching for 2015. They have reason. As far as I can tell they lose a starter and a closer with everyone, EVERYONE else coming back. They lose a bit of offense with three of the top four hitters gone. Without knowing who will fill in the question marks below, it could be a rough year for the offense. I expect a lot of new people will get a chance to deliver. The one returning is catcher Taylor Ward and he's a pre-season AA pick. The rest of the lineup will be a question mark. In the returning players there are no drop dead great hitters to fill in. But, there are some good recruits coming in and they may get some time or, at least, a shot at starting.

My List:

C - Taylor Ward (SR) - .320 and 9 (Pre-season AA)
1B - ?
2B - McCarthy Tatum (FR)
SS - Ryan Dobson (SO) - .233 and 1
3B - Manny Argomaniz (SR) - .253 and 6
OF - Brody Russell (JR) - .236 and 3
OF - ?
OF - ?
DH - ?

SP - Tim Borst (JR) - 4-5 and 3.02
SP - William Munro (SR) - 2-2 and 3.49
SP - Jimmy Lambert (SO) - 1-6 and 6.55
RP - Jake Shull (JR) - 2-5 and 4.61 and 4 saves

Gleaned Elsewhere List:

C - Taylor Ward (SR) - .320 and 9 (Pre-season AA)
1B - Kevin Viers (JR) - .222 and 2
2B - Jesse Medrano (SO) - .220
SS - Ryan Dobson (SO) - .233 and 1
3B - Manny Argomaniz (SR) - .253 and 6
OF - Brody Russell (JR) - .236 and 3
OF - ?
OF - ?
DH - ?

SP - Tim Borst (JR) - 4-5 and 3.02
SP - William Munro (SR) - 2-2 and 3.49
SP - Jimmy Lambert (SO) - 1-6 and 6.55
RP - Jake Shull (JR) - 2-5 and 4.61 and 4 saves

I have to make a few things clear before moving on. In looking at the stats from last season, it was hard for me to plug in a player at any position on the field other than Ward. There were no hitters that caught my eye. What I CAN say is that a lot come back with some experience and they should improve. Then there were a few great recruits and some late transfers. In other words, I left a lot of blanks. On the "Gleaned Elsewhere" list I got some of that information from, well, elsewhere. You'll notice that the position players have been similar to mine but outfield and DH are still a mystery. I can't improve on that anywhere. Yes, I've tried to contact people in the know. Pitching will be the strength as most return and they get some good ones coming in. But if hitting doesn't improve, they'll be losing some low scoring games.

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