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2007 Baseball Season Preview
2007 Baseball Prospectus
March 5, 2007 Optimism is running high as the 2007 Johns Hopkins baseball Blue Jays prepare to take the field for another season under head coach Bob Babb. Babb, entering his 28th season on the Blue Jay bench and just one win shy of 750 for his career, graduated 10 letter winners and five starters from last year's 28-9-2 squad, but returns a talent-laden roster this year. A deep junior class, that could provide six of the nine starting positions when the season begins, keeps Babb and the coaching staff optimistic about what this season could bring.
PITCHING Babb believes this year's squad may have the greatest pitching depth of any team he's coached at Hopkins. A lot of that confidence begins with senior co-captain Brian DeLeo, the team's closer. DeLeo, seeing his first varsity action last year, stepped up and became the go-to hurler at the end of the game. In 14 appearances last year, DeLeo produced a 1.23 ERA with three saves and a 1-1 record. "Brian really stepped up and established himself in the closer position and I believe he can assume that role again for us," said Babb. The starting rotation remains a question mark for Babb in terms of who will emerge and fill the top three spots in the rotation. Lost to graduation was the trio of Jim Flannery, Tim Denning and Jason Thayer, who combined to win 15 games for the Blue Jays last year. Babb will turn to his junior trio of Patrick Steffee, Ryan Kuhlman and Brian Duddie to fill their spots. Steffee went 4-2 in nine games last year and recorded the second lowest ERA in school history at 1.19. Kuhlman made seven starts and appeared in 11 games last year while recording a 5-0 record. Duddie made three starts while appearing in six games last year for the Blue Jays. Babb on his junior trio, "I believe Pat and Ryan can pick up where they left off last year and continue to do well for us, while Brian had a strong fall and hopefully can turn that into success this spring." Other players likely to see time in the starting rotation include junior Joe Zaccaria and sophomores David Fioretti and Chez Angeloni. Zaccaria who pitched for the Blue Jays in 2005 out of the bullpen, returns to Hopkins after pitching last year for the University of Maryland. Fioretti showed signs of coming on strong at the end of last season, and Babb is hopeful he can carry that over; while Angeloni who saw most of his time on JV last year, looks to build off a solid fall season. DeLeo will be joined in the bullpen by senior Jon Anderson, juniors Nick Erardi and Ryan Kealy and a handful of young players ready to step up. Anderson is coming off what the coaching staff believes to be his best fall ever while Erardi appeared in eight games last year with a 2.53 ERA and nine strikeouts. Kealy is returning from an injury that cost him last season, but Babb feels the junior right-hander should be ready to contribute this year.
CATCHERS The catching position will be once again be in the capable hands of senior co-captain Rob Sanzillo. Sanzillo hit .380 in 31 games last year with 29 RBI's and 15 stolen bases. He also excelled in the field with the best fielding percentage (.996) among any of the Blue Jay regulars, picked off two base runners and threw out 10 runners attempting to steal. "Rob is by far one of the most talented individuals I have coached," said Babb, "from fielding his position, to hitting and running the bases, Rob can do it all." Babb believes Sanzillo is a pro prospect and expects him to excel in all aspects this year. Sharing the catching duties with Sanzillo will be junior Tony Margve. Margve appeared in 17 games in 2006 making nine starts and batted .289. "Tony gives us a capable option when Rob isn't out there as he has a good swing and an accurate throwing arm," remarked Babb. The Blue Jays are likely to carry a third catcher during the season and Babb believes one of the freshmen will be able to fill that role.
INFIELD Babb boasts a deep and talented infield that should spearhead any success the Blue Jays enjoy this season. Handling first base for the Blue Jays this year should be junior Matt Benchener, who platooned with Tim Sliker last year. Benchener hit .278 in 24 games last year and had a fielding percentage of .970. "Matt is a kid with incredible power who worked extremely hard in the fall to improve his defense and that should show immediately," said Babb. Second base will be the responsibility of senior Ian Christie. Christie played in 27 games in 2006 and batted .354 while battling a nagging foot injury for the entire season. Off-season surgery has dealt with the problem and Babb expects Christie to return to his All-Centennial numbers of two years ago, when he hit .326 with 23 walks and made just four errors in 107 opportunities. The other side of the infield will be manned by a pair of juniors as First Team All-Centennial selection Jonas Fester returns at shortstop and Todd Emr is back at third-base for the Blue Jays. Babb believes Fester to be one of the best defensive shortstops he's ever coached. He also contributed on the base paths last year stealing 36 bases, which tied the school single-season mark. Emr carries a team-best seven-game hitting streak into this season. A year ago he led the team with six home runs and hit .381 in 30 games. Babb on his third baseman, "Todd has tremendous hands which makes him an asset in the field, while he also has good power at the plate." Backing up those four in the infield will be a mix of senior Brett Izzo, junior Nate Adelman and freshman Lee Bolyard. Izzo could see time at first base for the Blue Jays backing up Benchener and gives Babb a good left-handed power option. Adelman is the middle infield back-up and will see time at both second base and shortstop. Bolyard will also see some time in the infield this spring as he can play three of the four positions and was the leading hitter during fall ball for the Blue Jays.
OUTFIELD The outfield is one of the question marks for Babb and his staff as the season begins. Gone are All-Centennial selection Gary Rosenberg and classmates Matt Scally and Bryce Baumann. The only returner with significant outfield experience is junior Rob Pietroforte, who was a First Team All-Centennial selection last year. However, Pietroforte did spend most of his time last year in the DH position. "Rob brings a good all-around game to the field, with good speed and a solid arm which could help the outfield this year," remarked Babb. With Pietroforte roaming in center field, it looks like the responsibilities in left field will fall to junior Jon Solomon. Solomon made the transition from the infield to the outfield during fall ball and gives Babb a solid switch hitter with speed and power. The battle for the starting spot in right field will be among three different players as senior Nick Venezia, Izzo and sophomore Brian Youchak could all win the job. Venezia brings a solid all-around game while Izzo could see some time in right field when he's not in the infield. Youchak, another infielder converted to the outfield during fall ball, could factor into the mix. He brings a strong throwing arm with lots of power to the game. All three of the players battling for time in the outfield could also see time at the DH position for the Blue Jays this year.
OUTLOOK Babb has put together a challenging schedule for the Blue Jays this year. Four of the Blue Jays' opponents are ranked in the ABCA pre-season poll and three of those four are in the top ten. Hopkins opens with four games at home before its spring trip to Arizona begins. Matchups against Wheaton (MA) and TCNJ, both ranked in the top five in the preseason poll, highlight a 10-game schedule in Arizona. Upon returning from the west, Hopkins will tackle tough non-conference foes such as Salisbury, Mary Washington, York, Montclair State and TCNJ for a second time. A challenging Centennial Conference schedule also awaits the Blue Jays. "I believe this is by far one of the most challenging schedules that I have ever put together," remarked the Blue Jay leader. While a tough schedule awaits, Babb believes this team certainly has potential. "We have an outstanding offense, a solid defensive infield, deep pitching, hard throwers, solid catching and good team depth," said Babb.
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