Last season, Arizona accomplished one of its goals by returning to
postseason play for the first time since 1993. In 2000, the Cats will look
to extend their campaign even further into June.
With seven starters and virtually the entire pitching staff returning from
last season's squad, Arizona can field a balanced offensive attack, a sound
defense and deep group of hurlers.
The Cats feature three potential All-Americans and members of the 1999 USA
Baseball team. Shorstop Keoni DeRenne, right-hander Ben Diggins and right
fielder Shelley Duncan were part of the national squad that posted a 24-15
mark.
DeRenne was the team's starting shortstop and hit .376 with a remarkable
.506 on-base percentage. He drew 32 walks while striking out just 12 times.
Diggins served as the club's closer, posting a 2.05 earned-run average in a
team-high 16 appearances. He allowed just 10 base hits in 22.0 innings
under Arizona pitching coach Bill Kinneberg, who filled the same capacity
for Team USA. Duncan batted just 26 times in limited action before joining
the Jayhawk League.
Yet even after losing just two starters, head coach Jerry Stitt, entering
his fourth season as the Cats' head coach and his 22nd on the staff, says
very few spots in the lineup are guaranteed.
"We have to go with our best defensive lineup," Stitt said. "That means the
only two spots that are absolutely solid are Troy Gingrich in center field
and Keoni at short. I see Shelley as about a 99 percent sure thing. He
probably wouldn't make a good DH, since he can't sit still for two seconds
on the bench. He'd drive himself and everyone else crazy. Plus, he's a very
good defensive player. He has good instincts and positions himself very well."
DeRenne and Duncan, who hit 3-4 in the Arizona lineup at the end of last
season, will serve as the cornerstone of the 2000 Wildcat attack. DeRenne
(.361-3-54 for UA in 1999), a second-team All-American as a sophomore last
year, has been the Cats' starting shortstop since his first day in Tucson.
Last February, he became the fastest Arizona player ever to reach 100
career hits on his way to pacing the team in batting, hits, walks and steals.
The Cats' starting center fielder and leadoff hitter from a year ago,
Gingrich pleasantly surprised Stitt and the club last June when he decided
to return in 2000 for his senior season. He will fulfill those rolls again
this season, combining with DeRenne to give UA two stolen-base threats in
the top third of the order. Gingrich (.329-1-28), who led Arizona in runs
scored and on-base percentage in 1999, also finished fourth in the nation
in triples.
"You just can't get by, especially on our field, without a good center
fielder," Stitt said. "With Troy out there, everybody's confident.
"There are two guys on our team who the players gravitate towards for
leadership--Troy and Keoni. So we always feel more confident with those two
guys on the field, not only because of their tremendous defense skills, but
because of their leadership qualities. That's a huge plus for us."
DeRenne will be joined in the middle of the lineup by Duncan, who hit more
home runs last season than any freshman in Pac-10 history. A freshman
All-American, Duncan tied for third in the conference in homers and tied
for seventh with 68 runs batted in. He set freshman school records for home
runs, RBI, extra-base hits, total bases and slugging percentage.
However, his 20 four-baggers were four times as many as any other returning
Wildcat. Thus, one of the keys to UA's success in 2000 is likely to be
getting Duncan enough protection in the heart of the order.
That responsibility could largely fall to the Cats' corner infielders,
juniors Ernie Durazo (.293-3-34) and Erik Torres (.295-4-38). First baseman
Durazo, the most valuable player of the Shenandoah Valley League last
summer, posted a .393 on-base percentage in Pac-10 play in '99, but will be
looked to for more power this season. As will third baseman Torres, whose
numbers fell off a bit last year from his impressive freshman debut in 1998
when he posted a .727 slugging percentage in limited action.
"Durazo and Torres are two guys we're counting on for a little more
offensive production than we got out of them last season," Stitt said.
"Ernie had a good year, but not as good as he's capable of having. He tore
it up in the Valley league this summer, hit well in the fall, and we're
looking for him to do some great things this spring.
"If Erik ever gets it figured out at the plate, he's going to do something
really awesome. He really hit the ball well in the fall, for average and
power. He's realizing that every time a guy throws a pitch, you're not
going to hit it out of the park."
Arizona also expects to get more production out of two traditional power
spots in the lineup, left field and designated hitter. The Cats will go
into January with a number of options at those spots.
Last season's starting left fielder, Kenny Huff (.296-3-36), hit .375 with
runners in scoring position and tied for second on the team with 14 doubles
as a freshman. Keith Regina was a solid contributor as a freshman three
years ago, posting a .431 on-base percentage. He returns as a junior with
the possibility of joining DeRenne and Gingrich as a third speedster in the
lineup.
A pair of junior college transfers, Rob Elias and Ryan O'Donnell could work
their way into the left field/DH mix as well. Elias, Huff and O'Donnell are
all left-handed batters. From the right side of the plate, the Cats could
employ freshman Matt Abram, Regina or Diggins, rated the nation's top high
school power-hitting prospect in 1998.
"I feel confident we're going to get a lot more out of our DH spot this
season," Stitt said. "O'Donnell's shown that he can be a impact-type hitter
for us. We've got Elias, Jason Shroyer, Regina, Abram. Those are guys with
speed and power. We've talked about O'Donnell or Huff playing left and
DHing, or Regina playing left against a good lefty. Abrams or Diggins could
DH. We have a lot of possibilities.
The Cats must replace two starters from a year ago, honorable mention
All-Pac-10 second baseman Andy Juday (.288-3-31) and catcher Dennis
Anderson (.353-8-42), drafted by the Florida Marlins.
DeRenne's middle infield partner is likely to be either sophmore Brad
Hassey, who went 4-for-15 in limited play last season and is recovering
from a torn ligament in his thumb, or junior college transfer Trevor Mote.
"Second base is a toss-up," Stitt said. "Mote's a better offensive player
than Hassey. He has a ton of power, but Hassey has the instincts and is a
great defensive guy. He's recovered well from his injury and is way ahead
of schedule."
Behind the plate, the Cats are likely to go with a collection of athletes.
Freshman Ken Riley, sophomore Chris Cunningham and possibly even senior
Mike Meyer (.355-0-3), drafted in the 14th round by the San Francisco
Giants as a pitcher last June, could see action.
"We're not worried about our catchers' offensive production," Stitt said.
"Our concern is to have the guy back there who does the best job of
catching and throwing. Bill and I have rarely seen a guy throw like Riley.
He's just a freshman and he'll hit eventually. Cunningham seems to handle
all the pitchers really well. He may be a little further along behind the
plate right now than Riley."
Defensively, the Cats are as solid as they have been in years. Under the
tutelage of assistant coach Victory Solis, the 1999 infield of Durazo,
Juday, DeRenne and Torres helped Arizona post the sixth-best fielding
percentage (.969) in the nation and the Cats' best as a team in 21 years.
Durazo's mark of .993 was the best by a Wildcat first baseman since 1983.
With three-quarters of the infield and Gingrich back in center field,
Arizona's defense should be the least of Stitt's worries this season.
"What we've done is eliminate the throwing errors and developed the ability
to be in the right place at the right time, both in the infield and the
outfield."
As is often the case in college baseball, depth on the mound will be key to
the Wildcats' success in 2000. The Cats lose No. 1 starter Josh Pearce
(7-6, 5.48) from a year ago, but return virtually the entire rest of the
staff and plan on adding a couple of healthy returning arms.
Ideally, pitching coach Bill Kinneberg would like to be able to use Diggins
as he did with Team USA last summer: as the closer. But Arizona will likely
need more innings out of the 6-foot-6 sophomore than that role would allow.
Diggins (8-6, 6.95) is more likely to end up as the Cats' top starter after
striking out better than a batter an inning last year.
Diggins will be joining the steady, strike-throwing senior, Michael
Crawford (5-5, 6.06) in the rotation. The right-hander set a Wildcat record
in 1999 by averaging just 1.54 walks per nine innings. He once faced 84
consecutive batters without issuing a bases on balls last season. But he
earned his spot in Arizona history by pitching the game of his life in the
Cats' season finale at Arizona State, a complete game, nine strike out, no
walk performance in a 6-2 victory over the Sun Devils. The win propelled
the Cats into the NCAA Tournament while essentially knocking ASU out.
"You know what you're going to get with Crawford," Stitt said. "He'll throw
strikes, get outs, be a battler."
The third spot is up for grabs. Sophomore lefty Brian Pemble (2-1, 6.32)
tied for the team lead in appearances (20) last season, but impressed as a
potential starter in the fall. Another southpaw, Nathan Duarte, is a junior
college transfer in the running for a spot in the rotation as well.
"The guy who pitched better than anybody in the fall was Pemble," Stitt
said. "In our minds and the minds of a lot of scouts, there really isn't
any ceiling on him. Hitters just don't get good swings off of him, and
rarely do they hit the ball hard off of him.
"Duarte also pitched really well this fall. He doesn't throw the ball real
hard. He gets you out by mixing up his pitches."
They'll be joined by a trio of hurlers, right-handers Peter Fredericks and
Kevin Huff and lefty Rob Shabansky, who missed the 1999 campaign with
injuries. Shabansky (5-1, 3.35 in '98) pitched in just one game for the
Cats last season, but could move into the rotation by conference play this
year following Tommy John surgery last spring.
"Shabansky tells us he's doing fine," Stitt said, "but we keep saying we
don't need him until the middle of February. We don't want him to rush it.
If he really tries to accelerate his rehab, he might get in trouble. We
would be real pleased if he came back in time for conference play.
"The two other keys are Fredericks and Huff. They're both throwing off the
mound now. Fredericks has the chance to really dominate. If Huff ever
returns to his former level, he's going to be real good. He had one of the
best sliders we've ever seen. They probably won't be ready until February."
Any of those hurlers who do not end up starting will be joined in middle
relief by righty Robert Schulz (0-0, 6.23) and, possibly, when he's not
catching or playing first, second or third, Meyer.
"Everybody says Schulz has the best stuff on the staff," Stitt said. "They
say he's nasty. He just needs more experience. He had a great summer,
absolutely dominated the Northeastern Collegiate League. Then you've got
Meyer who's still our best first baseman, best catcher, probably our
second-best second baseman and shortstop. He'll pitch in short relief for us."
Stitt and Kinneberg expect to use senior left-hander Tony Milo (3-2, 6.66)
as their closer. A seventh-round draft pick of the New York Mets out of
high school, Milo may have found his niche in the bullpen. He led the Cats
with four saves in 1999, including a critical late-season outing at
California when he retired All-American Xavier Nady for the final out with
the tying run at third.
"Tony fit in real well last year as a closer," Stitt said. "He pitched
really well this fall, looked as good as he looked when he first got here
out of high school. He's smooth and loose and throwing the ball harder.
Wherever we put him, he's going to do well."
Though Arizona made an early exit in the postseason last year, the
experience the Cats picked up was invaluable, and Stitt is planning on that
equating to a more confident ballclub in 2000.
"It's important for those guys to know that they have been there, and that
they can do it again," Stitt said. "They learned a lot about themselves.
They were a little intimidated last year, and realized afterwards that they
didn't need to be. They were as good as anyone in there, including Baylor.
It's important to have done that and to have made that realization."
