Saturday, March 4, 2017

Welcome to our second “Access All Areas” edition. Today, we will focus on the young students comprising the 2017 Michigan State Persians.

The Rotation

Tomás Rentería – 18-year-old freshman – Tomás leads the Persians’ rotation this year. He’s got a wicked fastball he can dial up to 94 MPH, a passable slider, and is learning a changeup. His coaches say he can move his pitches well but has a long way to go before he can really control them. Tomás needs to build up his stamina if he’s going to continue to be a starter.

Carl Long – 19-year-old junior –Last year, Carl increased his workload by making 14 starts, posting a 4-6 record with a 7.63 ERA. His best pitches are a 96 MPH fastball and a good forkball. He also has a bludgeoning curveball and changeup in his arsenal. Carl showed signs of improvement last year, reducing his BB/K ratio, but still has a long way to go with his control. Righties still give him headaches, hitting .325 off him.

Carlos Castro – 19-year-old junior – Carlos moved from the bullpen to the rotation last year, with limited success. In 13 starts, he had a 1-6 record with a 7.33 ERA. Carlos struggled with his control, walking 34 while only striking out 35. He throws three pitches, a fastball, a slider and a changeup, but topping out at 90 MPH, his fastball ain’t going to frighten many pro players.

Teh-huai Rao – 20-year-old junior – Teh-huai converted from a reliever to a starter in his freshman year but has yet to show any star quality. He can dial his fastball up to 96 MPH and he also throws a forkball, slider, and changeup, but it’s a real adventure when he takes them to the mound. Last year, Teh-huai walked 36 and struck out 36 as the balls flew everywhere. Hitters really teed off on him; both lefties and righties hit over .300 against Teh-huai, and his R/9 was 18.26.

Donald Ward – 17-year-old freshman – Donald rounds out the rotation. His coaches enthuse about the potential of his curveball but, at the moment, he only throws a mediocre fastball that rarely gets close to 90 MPH and an inconsistent curveball. Donald does work hard, though, and is undergoing an intensive weights program to build up his strength, which should allow him to go deeper into games.

The Bullpen

Michael White – 18-year-old sophomore – Mick fills the long relief/spot starter role. In 21 games last year, he posted a 3-4 record with 3 saves and a 7.56 ERA, but his lack of control led to him walking 26 while only registering 14 Ks. The intelligent sports medicine major works hard, and coaches are pleased with the improvement to his two pitches

Héctor Cortéz – 20-year-old junior – Héctor made great strides last year, although his record doesn’t show that. He halved his ERA, improved his BB/K, and improved his VORP from -3.6 to 12.0. He throws a good 93-95 MPH fastball and a curveball, both of which coaches say could become great pitches.

Joseph Graham – 18-year-old sophomore – Joe had a good freshman season. In 38 outings, he recorded an 0-1 record with a 4.50 ERA, kept all but four balls in the yard, and had a 23/36 BB/K ratio. His fastball tops out around 96 MPH and his slider has the potential to be as good.

José Pérez – 21-year-old senior – José has his mind on this year’s First-Year Player Draft. With a fastball that touches 94 MPH and a reasonable circle-change, his coaches hope he’s got a good chance of going in the later rounds. José’s career record at MSU is 5-1 with a 7.84 ERA in 74 outings. His control still needs a lot of work – last year, he walked 33 and had a 2.19 WHIP – but his coaches say that if he got off his butt and worked at learning a new pitch, he could be a starting pitching prospect, as he has the stamina to go deep into games.

Martin Clark – 19-year-old sophomore – Martin had a rough 2016, tagged for six losses and posting a 10.06 ERA. Both his fastball and changeup have room to improve – he can barely hit 88 MPH – and everyone for miles around needs body armor when he pitches. Has the intelligence to shape up but rarely puts in the effort.

Chang-hyeok Yi – 17-year-old freshman – Chang-hyeok takes over the closer’s role. His fastball touches 92 MPH and he has a curveball in his arsenal, too.

The Batters

Roger MacDrain – 21-year-old senior – Roger is the Persians’ starting catcher. He has shown good plate discipline, walking over 20 times each season and hitting around the .300 mark. Roger is a reasonable defensive catcher, throwing out around 24% of runners and allowing around four passed balls a year.

Pete Bradford – 21-year-old senior – Pete is the Persians’ backup catcher. He showed signs of improvement last year when he hit .344/.384 /.430 but isn’t holding out too much hope for the upcoming draft. “If I’m lucky, somebody might take a chance on me in the final rounds,” he said.

Tony García – 20-year-old junior – Tony is a first baseman. He has been used sparingly, getting just one hit in his 15 MSU AB.

Vicente Lorenzo – 20-year-old junior – Vicente can play at first, second, or as an emergency shortstop. He started his freshman year at first base but swapped mid-year to second base and has mostly played there ever since. Vicente totaled over 40 hits each year, hitting in the mid-.200s, and is a solid defender.

César Flores – 18-year-old freshman – César hopes to get some AB at first base. Coaches say they think he could develop into a patient gap hitter.

Chris Evans – 20-year-old junior – Chris’s best position is second base, but he has played at third and short. He managed a fair few AB in his freshman year, hitting three homers and driving in 13 while swiping five bags, but only had one AB in 2016.

Edgardo De La Garza – 18-year-old freshman – Edgardo could play first or third, but his coaches believe that his future lies in the outfield. He has shown great range and is lightning fast around the base paths.

Greg Hardin – 21-year-old senior – Greg hasn’t really got the drive for baseball. It has been a real struggle for his coaches to get him turned up for games. Greg has only played in five games but has some talent, as he’s managed a hit in two of his four AB and, reportedly, has a real cannon for an arm.

Bill Duke – 19-year-old sophomore – Bill hit .216/.270/.284, playing all over the infield as well as left and right field. His coaches reckon he could even make a good pitcher! Lightning-fast speed gives him great range, both in the infield and outfield.

Charlie Jackson – 17-year-old freshman – Charlie has a pretty good arm and range for his age. He’s getting a try at third base. His coaches have high hopes that Charlie will develop a great eye at the plate.

John Reeves – 17-year-old freshman – John has a strong arm and his coaches think he could develop into a good-hitting third baseman.

Tony Cuevas – 17-year-old freshman – Tony could be the jewel in the Persians’ crown. He’s intelligent, very hard-working, and his coaches are drooling over his defensive skills. Tony has fantastic range, hardly ever makes an error, can turn the most difficult of double plays, and has terrific instinct on the base paths. If his batting develops as his coaches feel it can, Tony could be MSU’s first superstar in a long while.

Tom Gilmore – 20-year-old junior – Although better in left field, Tom can play anywhere in the outfield. He suffered a bit of a sophomore slump, but Tom is hard-working with a reasonable arm and a good turn of speed. He’ll be looking to return to his freshman form, when he hit 15 doubles and seven homers at a .353 clip.

Oliver McBride – 20-year-old junior – Oliver plays outstanding defense both in right and center. With plus speed and a career .295 average, there’s a lot to like.

Juan Márquez – 20-year-old senior – Juan could be a star in the making. He has hit 30 homers and driven in 85 runs at MSU while hitting close to .300. Juan’s coaches reckon he has the intelligence and drive to improve on that.

Joe Schulz – 19-year-old junior – Joe is a good contact hitter. He may not hit homers and he only has five extra base hits, but he owns a .315 career average. The knock on him is that he really needs to improve his outfield play if teams are going to look harder at him.

Jerry Land – 19-year-old sophomore – Jerry had a reasonable freshman year, hitting .281/.401/.364, but he really has to work harder on his defense and make more use of blazing speed if he’s to have a pro career.

Barton Wilson – 19-year-old sophomore – Barton displays a real livewire arm in practice but just hasn’t the enthusiasm for games, preferring to chase the girls. Last year, his coaches couldn’t get him to leave the stands and the pretty students. Barton managed just three innings in the field and failed to get a single AB.

Don Sharp – 19-year-old sophomore – It’s believed that Don is a part of the Persians program, but he’s yet to show up with the team. Believed to be on the run from a Michigan Juvenile Detention facility.

Earl Lee – 19-year-old sophomore – Earl has been excluded from the program since turning up with two automatic rifles at the start of frat hazing week.

Raúl Torror – 18-year-old freshman – Raúl can run like the wind and field like a natural but just can’t hit a beach ball. Works hard to correct that but has a very long way to go.

Sorry we didn’t have time for any interviews this time round, but next time, we’ll look back on the opening few weeks of the 2017 season and bring you a few interviews with some current and past players..