Cal Poly Opens Practice Friday Seeking Fill Ins for Lee, Thorpe

Top Cal Poly baseball returnees are Joe Yorke and Travis Weston.

Among the returnees for the 2023 baseball season at Cal Poly are junior first baseman Joe Yorke (left) and southpaw pitcher Travis Weston.

Cal Poly Opens Practice Friday Seeking Fill Ins for Lee, Thorpe

1/25/2023 12:13:00 PM | Baseball

2023 CAL POLY BASEBALL QUICK FACTS | SEASON TICKETS

Cal Poly's baseball team opens practice Friday afternoon at Baggett Stadium as the Mustangs begin preparations for their 2023 season opener Feb. 17 against Missouri State. Head coach Larry Lee welcomes back 18 lettermen, including a dozen pitchers but just three starting position players, from last year's 37-21 squad which finished second in the Big West. Finding replacements for two All-Americans -- shortstop Brooks Lee and right-handed pitcher Drew Thorpe -- is the top priority for Lee and his three new assistant coaches. Below is a season preview.

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SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- When Larry Lee opened his 21st fall practice season in early October, many introductions needed to be made. Not only were there 19 newcomers in the Cal Poly baseball program, Lee also had to hire three new assistant coaches over the summer months.

Replacing Jake Silverman (Washington), Ben Greenspan (Michigan) and Justin Bridgman (Tulane) are pitching coach Seth Moir, an assistant coach at San Jose State the last two seasons; outfielder coach and associate head coach/recruiting coordinator Matt Fonteno, who has served as an assistant coach at USC, UC Santa Barbara, Saint Mary's and Nevada over the last 10 years; and Logan Denholm, a catcher at UC Davis and Sacramento State and most recently a volunteer assistant coach at San Jose State.

That was the easy part. Replacing shortstop Brooks Lee and pitcher Drew Thorpe could be a lot harder as they combined for 11 All-American honors last spring and were drafted in the first two rounds of the 2022 Major League Baseball Draft last July -- Lee the eighth overall pick by the Minnesota Twins and Thorpe in the second round (61st overall selection) by the New York Yankees.

Lee hit .342 in 2021 and .357 last spring, combining for 25 home runs and 112 RBIs in the two seasons en route to a pair of Big West Conference Field Player of the Year awards. Thorpe was 10-1 with a 2.32 ERA and a school-record 149 strikeouts, which led the nation at the conclusion of the 2022 regular season, on his way to Big West Pitcher of the Year honors as Cal Poly produced picks in the first two rounds of a single draft for the first time.

Those two left large holes to fill, but there are others as well. Lee and his new coaching staff are faced with the task of finding and developing replacements for three infield positions, two in the outfield and the designated hitter.

"It's a total rebuild, especially on the position player side where we only return three regulars from last year's squad, which includes two catchers and the first baseman," said Lee. "Our offensive and defensive lineups will look totally different than a year ago with six of nine new faces in the starting lineup every game.

"You're going to see some inexperience that could possibly show early on, but hopefully those players will allow themselves to slow the game down as the season progresses," Lee added. "With so many new faces in our offensive and defensive lineups, you're going to see some growing pains early in the season. We can't allow that to go on for too long.

"Individually you're not going to replace guys like Brooks and Drew, two players who were as good as anyone in the country. Not only did they put up incredible numbers, they took on the responsibility of having the bull's-eyes on their backs and allowing all of their teammates to stay within themselves and not think that they had to do anything special.

"The effect that they had on games is hard to measure. You're hoping that you can get better in the other positions from last year in order to become more of a complete well-rounded team."

The Mustang team that won 37 games, including nine of 10 Big West Conference series, and finished second for the fourth time in the last five campaigns (not counting the 2020 season that was shut down by the COVID-19 pandemic) also was led by position players Nick Marinconz (second base, .309), Reagan Doss (center field, .270), John Lagattuta (right field, .222) and Tate Samuelson (third base, .245) along with designated hitter Matt Lopez (.307) and pitchers Dylan Villalobos (11 starts, 3.13 ERA) and Jason Franks (11 saves), all of whom played their last season as Mustangs in 2022.

Enough of the past.

The present includes Ryan Stafford and Collin Villegas sharing duties behind the plate and in left field along with first baseman Joe Yorke. Southpaw Travis Weston heads the mound corps that also includes Kyle Scott, Derek True, Bryce Warrecker, Kaden Sheedy, Zach Button and Evan Tomlinson, among others.

"The three returning position players are all high-end players with Yorke at first base and both Stafford and Villegas at the catching position," said Lee. "More than likely, whoever doesn't catch a particular game will play left field as was the case last year to get their bats in the lineup, but it also shows the unknown of the corner outfield positions."

Yorke and Stafford were first-team All-Big West selections a year ago while Villegas landed on the second unit. A late-season surge a year ago lifted Yorke's batting average to .353 with 13 doubles, four home runs and 51 RBIs in 58 games. Stafford compiled a .321 average with 16 doubles, three home runs and 33 RBIs while Villegas hit .290 with 20 doubles, four home runs and 40 RBIs.

"We're lucky to have two quality offensive and defensive catchers in Stafford and Villegas," said Lee. "Both have experience, both continue to better their skills and both communicate well with the pitching staff."

Another returnee, Matthias Haas, contributed with a .265 mark and 17 RBIs in 30 starts (42 games played). Haas started 17 games as designated hitter and 13 in right field. The transfer from Brown two years ago is competing with freshman Evan Cloyd (Bakersfield Christian High School) among others as the Mustangs' DH. Cloyd hit .432 in four varsity prep seasons, earning all-league and All-Area honors four times.

Lee has always emphasized having strength up the middle -- catcher, middle infielders and center field -- and that will be a focal point during the three weeks of practice beginning Jan. 27 as well as in the first four weeks of non-conference play leading up to the Big West-opening series March 17-19 against Hawai'i.

"From a defensive standpoint, you always want to be strong up the middle, but we will be replacing three of those players up the middle," said Lee.

Up the middle this spring will be three community college transfers and a transfer from CSU Bakersfield. Shortstop Aaron Casillas is the Roadrunner transfer after hitting .280 last spring with 14 doubles, one home run and 28 RBIs. Ryan Fenn (Cuesta College) and Kemet Brown (San Joaquin Delta College) are battling for the starting nod at second base while Jake Steels (Hancock College) is No. 1 on the preseason depth chart at center field.

"We feel we have a high-end shortstop in Casillas," said Lee. "He and Yorke will be the brains of the infield and will help players to each of their sides. Casillas takes care of the ball and is very smart with a high baseball IQ.

"Second base continues to see development with community college transfers in Fenn and Brown," Lee added. "At this time, Fenn has the advantage. In center field we have added some speed element with Steels. We're getting him to learn to play the position at a high level."

Tate Shimao, who played his senior season at Rancho Cucamonga High School after his sophomore and junior seasons at Iolani High School in Honolulu, Hawai'i, were canceled due to the pandemic, is Cal Poly's leading candidate at third base, backed up by Fenn and returnee Taison Corio. Shimao hit .429 last spring with five doubles, two triples, four home runs and 15 RBIs.

"Shimao is the leading candidate at third base and can also play second base if needed," said Lee. "He is wired the right way to step into the lineup quickly. Every day he puts in the time to work on both the offensive and defensive components of his game."

Freshman Charlie Welch (Redwood (Larkspur, Calif.) High School) "has made big strides and is vying for playing time at all three infield positions," Lee added. Welch hit .435 with four doubles and 20 RBIs in 28 games at Redwood a year ago.

The outfield positions will be filled by a pair of catchers in left field, a JC transfer in center field and two freshmen and a transfer from Cal battling for the starting nod in right field. Villegas and Stafford combined for 48 starts in left field last spring. Last year's other two starters in the outfield, Doss (56 starts in center field) and Lagattuta (39 starts in right field), graduated last spring.

Steels hit a robust .416 in 40 games as a sophomore at Hancock College with a .505 on-base percentage and .633 slugging percentage. His nine triples were second in the state and he drove in 33 RBIs and stole 27 bases, No. 5 in the state.

Tanner Sagouspe, Wyatt King, Jack Painter and Trevor Tishenkel are battling for the starting nod in right field.

Sagouspe played in just five games, including one relief appearance on the mound, a year ago before he was sidelined the rest of the season with a hip injury. King is a freshman from St. Francis High School in Mountain View, where he hit .311 in 34 games with 12 doubles, two triples, six home runs and 39 RBIs in 2022. Painter started two games, played in 22 others and collected two singles last spring at Cal Poly. Like Lagattuta, Tishenkel is a transfer from Cal, where he played in 39 games with 27 starts, primarily as a left fielder, as a sophomore in 2022, hitting .264 with five home runs and 18 RBIs.

Also in the mix for a spot in the outfield is Austin Caviness, who redshirted a year ago after hitting .283 as a freshman and .317 as a sophomore at Folsom Lake Community College.

A dozen pitchers who combined for 23 wins and four saves a year ago headline the 2023 roster of Mustang hurlers, led by Weston, who was 7-3 with a 3.91 ERA and 76 strikeouts over 94 1/3 innings as Cal Poly's Saturday starter.

True, who was drafted in the 20th round by the Oakland A's last July but turned down the offer and elected to return to Cal Poly for his fourth season, was 1-1 with a 4.79 ERA last spring. Button earned eight wins with a 4.82 ERA while Sheedy was 3-2 with a 5.23 ERA. Brooks made eight starts and was 0-2 with a 5.33 ERA. All are right-handers

After missing the first six weeks of the 2022 season due to injury, Warrecker posted a 2-0 mark and 5.81 ERA last spring before combining with two relievers on a no-hitter for the Orleans Firebirds in the Cape Cod League and finishing 4-1 with a 2.07 ERA en route to the Cape Cod League Most Outstanding Pitcher of the Year award. In 10 appearances on the mound at the Cape, including six starts, Warrecker struck out 35 batters and walked just eight over 39 innings.

Scott, 0-3 with a 6.26 ERA in 15 appearances after earning seven saves in 2021, was shut down over the final six weeks of the 2022 campaign and underwent surgery to repair his right elbow. Carlo Lopiccolo, also a righty, missed the entire 2022 season with an elbow injury after pitching in 14 games, all in relief, in 2021, posting a 1-0 record and 4.76 ERA.

Lefties Noah Larkin (2-3, 4.40 ERA) and Chris Baytosh along with right-handers Evan Tomlinson (0-0, 6.48 ERA) and Jake Buxton also return. Larkin and Sheedy each made four starts in 2022.

"With the experience back from last year's team, our pitching staff needs to be the strength of this year's team," said Lee. "There are a number of different options for the weekend rotation as well as our Tuesday starter. We're trying to find out early what the best roles are for our pitchers as starters or effective relievers."

Weston, Warrecker, Sheedy and newcomers Freddy Rodriguez (13-4 with a 1.68 ERA with 189 strikeouts over 112 2/3 innings in three varsity seasons at River City High School in West Sacramento) and Ryan Baum (7-3, 1.61 ERA in two seasons at College of San Mateo) are among the six potential starters along with lefty Jakob Wright, the Paso Robles High School graduate who sat out all last season with an arm injury. Wright was 5-4 with a 3.50 ERA and 82 strikeouts over 52 innings, averaging 14.1 strikeouts per seven-inning contest, in four varsity seasons as a Bearcat.

"You hope that, collectively, you develop a stronger pitching staff than we have had in previous years, but you don't replace a Drew Thorpe, who could beat anybody in the country on Friday night," Lee added. "We're hoping our strength is in the quality and depth of our current staff. We'll see very soon if these pitchers with past experience have taken another step forward in their development.

"Our bullpen has a chance to be one of the strengths of our team because, of the numbers mentioned as possible starters, some will be relegated to the bullpen to go with Scott and True, adding quality and depth to the relief corps. Collectively as starters and relievers, all will be asked to take their pitching craft to a higher level and to stay healthy."

Scott, Lopiccolo, Sagouspe and Wright "all should all be ready to go when the season begins," Lee said. "As always, staying healthy is of utmost importance for our club."