SFA Baseball 2011 Preview: Bullpen
2/11/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 11, 2011
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The Lumberjack baseball team was the surprise of the Southland in 2010, posting a program-best 34 wins a year ago in just the second year under head coach Johnny Cardenas.
SFA used the best statistical offense in the SLC last year and a dramatically improved pitching staff to contend for a league title, and with 22 returners on the roster in addition to 13 newcomers, the ‘Jacks look to be in position once again to make noise in the league.
The ‘Jacks return three all-conference players from a year ago, including all-SLC lefty Tyler Herriage, first baseman Darren Crabtree and outfielder Garrett Smith to make SFA one of four schools with three preseason all-league choices for the upcoming year. In addition, Johnny Cardenas is the reigning SLC Coach of the Year.
This is the fourth in a six-part series previewing the Lumberjacks, position by position, leading up to the 2011 opener against UALR on February 18 in Nacogdoches.
BULLPEN
Returners: Cody Priest, Cory Ochs, Landon Kozeny, Brad Oates, Alex Moshier, Zack Taylor, Brett Higginbotham, Chase Wier
Newcomers: Colton Eubanks, Fabian Arcizo, Kevin Bishop, Mac Cleaveland, Reid Landers
After having a surefire closer for the first four years of the program in Richard Folmer, the ‘Jacks entered 2010 with what they thought would be Folmer’s heir apparent in Alex Moshier, but an arm injury before the season quickly derailed that plan and opened the door for sidearmer Jason West to seize the stopper spot. West took advantage of his opportunity, finishing second in the league with nine saves and sporting a quality 3.69 ERA in 39.0 innings for the year.
But for the second straight year Johnny Cardenas will have to replace his closer from the previous year with a talented, albeit unproven, commodity at the Division I level as West will vacate the bullpen for the weekend rotation in 2011. Fortunately, the ‘Jacks have a number of viable late-inning options to turn to, including 6-3, 210-pound righty Colton Eubanks who will enter the season as SFA’s primary option at stopper.
“Taking Jason out of the closer role really puts us in a spot where we’ve got to find someone who can step right in and be a closer at the Division I level,” Cardenas said. “We really feel like Colton Eubanks can be that guy for us. He’s got a good fastball that sinks and runs, along with a power slider and we really feel as though he can be the guy that is going to close the door for us.”
Eubanks tossed 56.1 innings last year between 11 starts and the bullpen for Blinn College, helping lead the Buccaneers to the Region XIV championship game, but will not be the only arm Cardenas feels as though he can turn to. Cory Ochs came on strong early in the year and eventually became SFA’s first go-to arm out of the pen as a sophomore in 2010, using a three-pitch combination to put up a 3-1 record in 26 appearances last year.
This year he will be asked to be the primary setup man to open the year, but could also see some of those innings go to Nacogdoches native Chase Wier. A 6-2 right-handed arm, Wier pitched sparingly at Panola College in 2008 before coming to SFA. Since then, he had only seen action in six games, none of which were on the mound, before catching everyone’s eye with his arm in fall practice.
With a hard fastball and a developing slider, Wier’s breakout fall and spring have thrust him into the mix of what the SFA bullpen has to offer and Cardenas feels as though he could see time in key situations sooner rather than later.
“A big key for us in relief this year is whether or not Cory and Colton can fulfill their roles as the setup guy and closer. Another guy we feel could be another possible setup guy is Chase Wier. Chase didn’t quite come out of nowhere, but it’s close. He came here as an outfielder and we realized in a hurry that he has a phenomenal arm and he became a pitcher real quickly when he got on the mound and started throwing 93-94 miles an hour.”
“The way we’ve had it set up in years past is that we’ve had a three-headed monster in the bullpen, and this year I’m confident that we have the closer and one of the setup guys and hopefully we can find that third guy.”
Other additions to the pen include sidearm hurlers Cody Priest and Landon Kozeny, each of whom looked strong in a pitcher-dominated fall camp. Priest made 12 appearances as a true freshman in 2010, a number that is sure to jump in 2011, while Kozeny struck out better than a batter per inning in 14 appearances in his first year as a transfer from Brookhaven Junior College.
The ‘Jacks will also lean heavily on the right arm of redshirt junior Brad Oates, who opened the year exclusively out of the bullpen before pushing his way into the weekend rotation for three starts at the end of the year. In all, Oates finished 3-3 on the year with 42.0 innings to his credit and did not allow a single home run in that span, which was the most innings of any pitcher in the Southland without giving up a single dinger.
“Brad told me that he wants to be a guy that throws twice in a weekend, and with the adjustments he has made in his mechanics, he has really improved with his breaking pitch and he is going to end up pitching some big innings for us this season,” Cardenas said.
Cardenas will also have a stable of freshman arms to turn to as well, including a pair of left-handers, the first left-handers SFA has had in its bullpen since 2008. Kevin Bishop exploded on the high school scene last year as the staff ace for Class 5A A&M Consolidated High School and posted a 10-2 record with a 1.82 ERA for the Tigers as a senior. A candidate to be a midweek starter, Bishop’s early command of the strike zone has the coaching staff optimistic that he can be a key contributor out of the bullpen on the weekends as well.
He will be joined by another freshman right-hander, Fabian Arcizo, who gives Cardenas another long-relief option and could eventually move into a starting role as his development continues. Lefties Mac Cleaveland and Reid Landers will also see action, especially in left-on-left situations. The duo each comes from the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and along with Friday starter Tyler Herriage, gives SFA three lefties on the roster for the first time since the 2008 season.
“We went out and got two lefties that we feel as though we can mold into guys that can help us, especially with the lack of left-handed pitching we have had over the past few years,” Cardenas said. “Mac (Cleaveland) can throw really hard from the left side, but needs to learn how to command the zone a little bit better but he’s definitely a guy that with his breaking pitch can pitch some innings for us.”
“Reid (Landers) has probably made the biggest strides of improvement from day one to the present, hitting the weight room hard and getting himself into shape and should give us a very good option in left-on-left situations because he can spin his curve for a strike.”
SFA could get a boost in the middle of the year too, with the possible return of Moshier. The Nederland junior missed the first half of 2010 and made just three appearances before having arm surgery before the end of the season. He was second in the SLC in 2009 with 32 appearances, striking out 37 hitters in just 34.0 innings as a sophomore and could provide a quality midyear boost to the pen should he be able to make his return this season.
2011 Season Preview Schedule:
Feb. 3 - Catchers
Feb. 7 - Starting Pitching
Feb. 9 - Infielders
Feb. 11 - Bullpen
Feb. 14 - Outfielders/DH
-SFA-
