After much roster turnover, baseball looks forward to 2017 season


It all starts on Friday.

After fall ball, intersquad scrimmages and practice after practice, baseball season is finally here. And for a USC team that missed the NCAA tournament last year, it’s a shot at a lengthier campaign.

“It’s been a little monotonous just doing intersquads and practice. It’s nice to have umpires, fans and playing someone else that you don’t necessarily know,” senior outfielder Corey Dempster said.

The team looks quite different from last season. The Trojans lost a third of their players to the MLB draft last summer and have brought in 15 new faces to fill the void.

“I think [the newcomers] play a huge role,” redshirt junior infielder Frankie Rios said. “We have a lot of good pitchers coming in, so I think they are going to get a lot of innings.”

The Trojans lost eight pitchers to the draft but gained seven through transfers and freshmen. The team also lost four of its most productive hitters to the draft: Jeremy Martinez, AJ Ramirez, Timmy Robinson and David Oppenheim.

“The scary part is that, for the last two years, we have basically put the same lineup out there,” head coach Dan Hubbs said. “We’re cautiously optimistic that we have the people in place to go out there and do a good job.”

Hubbs stressed the importance of the players staying themselves and not trying to replace those who left or graduated.

“We don’t have as much power as we had the last two years,” he said. “We’re going to rely on more guys being able to get on base and run and do some different things to generate offense.”

Michelle Je | Daily Trojan

Of the 13 players who were drafted, only Dempster chose to stay at USC.

“I was more interested in getting my degree than starting my pro ball career,” he said. “I’d learn much more during this year than trying to start pro ball early and getting forgotten about in a pro ball system.”

Dempster had been drafted by the Yankees in the 37th round.

Players are eligible to be drafted by a major league team after their sophomore year and, like many other college athletes, many cannot pass up the offers that the teams give.

“I started with Corey, AJ Fritts, and David Edson. We’re the only ones standing from our class,” Rios said. “I’m excited to go out with them — go out with a bang.”

With the incoming 15 players and several redshirts, there will be plenty of new faces to watch.

“AJ Fritts is the comeback kid,” Dempster said. “He hit a home run his first at-bat freshman year and hasn’t seen any playing time since. He’s worked his butt off all three years, and it’s finally starting to pay off.”

Senior catcher Fritts has been on the team since his freshman year but has only recorded three career plate appearances, one in each year.

In addition to Fritts, Hubbs mentioned sophomore infielder and outfielder Lars Nootbaar as a player to look out for. Nootbaar hit .238 last season in 33 games.

“Nootbaar really looks like he is primed to have a big year,” Hubbs said. “He’s going to hit third for us, and he’s the guy that we think has the chance to be in the conversation for best hitters in the conference.”

Given the newcomers, team chemistry is more of a focus this year than in years past.

“Our team is more put-together, both with team camaraderie and chemistry. I think we’re going to have a lot more fun than previous years,” Dempster said. “Because of that, we’re going to win more games and have fun winning, rather than just hoping to win.”

Some of the highlights of the season will be when the Trojans take on San Diego, Michigan and UCLA in the annual Dodger Stadium College Baseball Classic. Before that, USC also makes a trip to North Carolina to take on Wake Forest and Duke.

“Traveling to North Carolina to play Wake Forest and Duke will be a good experience — it’s the farthest trip we’ve had,” Dempster said. “It’s always fun to travel to play everyone. The UCLA series is always fun since they’re our hometown rival.”

Conference play will not be easy for USC this season, with five top 35 teams in the Pac-12 according to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association: No. 7 Oregon State, No. 16 Arizona, No. 23 Stanford, No. 26 Washington and No. 35 Arizona State.

“I think Oregon State on paper is probably the team to beat,” Hubbs said. “I like a challenge. I think the depth of our conference is better than just [a few] teams being ranked, though.”

Before the team turns its attention to league play in March, however, USC looks to start strong in its non-conference slate. The Trojans will take on Coppin State in a three-game, season-opening series starting Friday at 6 p.m.

1 reply
  1. Steve B.
    Steve B. says:

    Believe you have to stay three years before eligible for the draft unless the rule changed recently.
    Hubbs has only himself to blame for lack of hitting. Lot of seniors last season giving him time to
    recruit some hitters the last couple of years to fill the roster. Pitching has good potential if they can
    stay healthy like Hart and Crouse. The program has had way too many seasons of being mediocre
    since the early 2K when Mark Prior was the man.

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