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Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Baseball 2011 Season Preview
March 01, 2011 | Baseball
When the 2010 season opened, the Tigers only had four players on their roster with at least 50 at-bats in their collegiate careers. This year Princeton has nine players on its roster with at least 85 at-bats and seven with more than 100. If the theme entering the 2010 season was new faces in new places, the theme for this season is for those faces to take the next step. With Princeton's inexperience came the chance to gain experience and several players took that opportunity to establish themselves at the college level.
One key to the 2011 Princeton season will be its flexibility and versatility. With several players that can play several positions, the Princeton coaching staff expects to be making lineup changes throughout games in the hopes of manufacturing runs, adding speed to the base paths, and improving the team's defense.
The Pitching Staff
Strong pitching has been a staple of Princeton baseball over the years and that will remain the same this season with the return of some strong arms mixed with a few new ones.
Princeton's weekend starting rotation will likely feature two sophomores and two freshmen once the league slate gets underway. Matt Bowman pitched in various roles last year for the Tigers, starting early in the season before switching to the bullpen. Bowman was 1-4 with a 3.74 ERA in 21.2 innings. Zak Hermans also got experience as a freshman, starting throughout the season and leading the team with four wins in his rookie campaign.
The pair will likely be joined by freshmen Michael Fagan and Mike Ford in the rotation. Fagan is a hard-throwing lefty that will go after hitters while Ford works both sides of the plate with all pitches to attack batters. Fagan was selected in the 2010 Major League Baseball Draft by his hometown San Diego Padres.
David Palms, a starter for the past two seasons, will slide into the bullpen. Palms excelled in relief work during the summer and will be Princeton's lefty out of the pen. Palms has pitched 50-plus innings in each of the last two seasons and has a 4.40 career ERA. While Palms will be Princeton's primary lefty out of the pen to close games, Matt Grabowski will be the righty. Grabowski had three wins and two saves in 18 appearances last season.
Kevin Link will be another trusted arm in the bullpen should Princeton need to go to a reliever early. Link was the only Tiger on the pitching staff last season to average better than a strikeout per inning as he fanned 39 in 37.1 innings pitched. He also had one win and one save to his credit. Additionally junior Ryan Makis and freshman A.J. Goetz are expected to contribute significant innings for Princeton throughout the course of the season. Additionally, Chad Ohlendorf, Matt Welsh, Stephen ElmoreTh and Tim Feess will add depth to the Princeton bullpen.
The Infield
Princeton will enter the season with a lot of versatility in its infield as the Tigers have several players that can play all over. This will especially be important in the infield as two of Princeton's infield regulars are also starting pitchers.
Mike Ford will see the bulk of the time at first base the likes of Andrew Whitener and Will Davis filling in when Ford is on the mound. Whitener is one of the players that will likely see time at all four infield positions during the season, as he'll also be looked upon to fill in for Matt Bowman at shortstop when Bowman takes the mound.
Alex Flink, Alec Keller and Whitener will all see time at second base, while Jonathan York will also work into the mix at shortstop with Whitener and Bowman. Matt Connor has seen a lot of time at third over the past few seasons and will be in the mix at the position this year with Whitener, York and Bobby Geren.
Sam Mulroy started every game last season behind the plate and will again be the team's starting catcher this season, but will see some time at both DH and in the outfield as Geren will also see time behind the plate. Geren, the son of Oakland Athletics manager Bob Geren, was also drafted last season. Kyle O'Donovan and Steven Fuchs also add depth behind the plate for the Tigers.
The Outfield
Princeton will have a very good defensive outfield this season anchored by Nate Baird, Tom Boggiano and John Mishu. The trio brings speed into the outfield and will track down a lot of fly balls.
Baird emerged as an everyday player as a freshman in the outfield, while Boggiano had a solid year in centerfield. Mishu split time at first base and in right field last year but will mainly spend time in the outfield this season.
Princeton will also mix several other players into the outfield during the season as York, Whitener, Keller, Steve Harrington, Mulroy and Brian Berkowitz can all expect to see some time in the outfield.
Several of the outfielders, along with Ryan Albert will work into the mix as the team's designated hitter, although Bowman and Ford will likely bat in the game's they are pitching.
The Lineup
The top half of the Princeton lineup looks to be pretty set entering the season with Baird leading off after a freshman season that saw him hit .277 and have one of the team's top on-base percentage. Bowman, a .250 hitter as a freshman, and Mishu, Princeton's only returning batter to hit above .300, will slot into the two and three holes in the lineup. Mulroy and Ford will likely bat fourth and fifth but could swap places depending on the pitcher since one bats left-handed and one right. Mulroy hit .300 last season, had the team's highest slugging percentage and led the team with eight home runs.
The remaining four spots in the lineup will move around depending on who is hot and what the match ups are. With the amount of depth that the coaching staff has at its disposal, the remaining spots will likely change as the Tigers work to insert speed and manufacture runs over the course of a game.