Baylor Bears
Overall rank: #30
Conference rank: #4 Big 12
Baylor Team Page
It has been a sports renaissance at Baylor in the last couple years, with the football team surviving a wild 67-56 thriller against Washington to win the Alamo Bowl and the men’s and women’s basketball teams enjoying top-five rankings for much of this season. Can the Baylor baseball program be far behind? The Bears may have finished one game below .500 in the Big 12 Conference standings, but they beat two strong baseball programs in their regional before finally surrendering. Baylor appears headed for another strong season.
2011: 31-28, 13-14
2011 Postseason: Eliminated in Houston regional (beat California and Rice, lost twice to California)
Coach: Steve Smith
Field Players:
The team didn’t lose too much in the way of power, as only outfielder Chris Slater (.282, two homers, 21 runs batted in) and shortstop Landis Ware (.254-0-32) graduated. There is plenty of power remaining. First baseman Max Muncy (see Who to Watch) anchors a strong-hitting lineup that includes outfielder Dan Evatt (.220-8-23), third baseman Cal Towey (.244-4-15, six stolen bases) and shortstop Jake Miller (.299-3-27, 10 doubles). Take away Muncy and Evatt’s home run power and the team doesn’t have much pop left in the bats, but the Bears have nine key returning position players to rely on as the 2012 season gets underway.
Pitchers:
Three of the five letter winners that graduated came from the pitching ranks, as the Bears lost pitchers Brooks Pinckard (5-3, 3.57 earned run average, three saves, 31 walks, 43 strikeouts pitching and .295-2-16 hitting), Logan Verrett (7-6, 2.93, 31 walks, 96 strikeouts) and Jon Ringenberg (2-1, 2.37, 13 walks, 17 strikeouts) to graduation. Remaining behind is a strong rotation that should help the Bears win plenty of games this season. The top lefty with any experience is Josh Turley, who has a 4-5 record and 3.39 ERA but exhibits plenty of control (19 walks, 63 strikeouts). The top righty on the staff is Trent Blank, who sports a strong 5-2 record but has a weaker 4.88 ERA and not much control on the mound (26 walks, 27 strikeouts). The closer is likely Max Garner (2-4, 3.12, eight saves in 2011), but look out for Brad Kuntz, who has a 0-1 record and 4.12 ERA but great control (seven walks, 28 K’s).
Who to Watch:
Max Muncy, the team’s first baseman, displays plenty of pop with his bat. He started all 59 games a year ago and hit a robust .322 with nine homers and 44 RBIs. Included in the stats were a .511 slugging percentage, 40 runs scored, 10 doubles, three triples and six stolen bases. As the only Baylor starter from a year ago with an average over .300, Muncy will be called upon to replicate that average and help the younger hitters along. There’s a good chance Muncy won’t lose that batting stroke from last year, and that’s a good thing.
Final Projection:
Only five letter winners gone, which includes three pitchers and two hitters? That’s not bad. With an influx of freshman talent to the team and the retention of top hitters, starters and closers, Baylor could make a realistic run of 35-40 victories and a super-regional appearance in the spring. The renaissance has hit football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball… there’s no reason it can’t hit baseball, right?
Projected Postseason: NCAA
Returning Leaders:
At bats: Max Muncy, 1B, 227
Hits: Max Muncy, 1B, 73
Home Runs: Max Muncy, 1B, 9
RBIs: Max Muncy, 1B, 44
Runs: Max Muncy, 1B, 40
Stolen Bases: Max Muncy, 1B, 6; Cal Towey, 3B, 6; Logan Vick, IF, 6
Wins: Trent Blank, P, 5
Innings Pitched: Josh Turley, P, 95.2
Strikeouts: Josh Turley, P, 63
Saves: Max Garner, P, 8
