Miami Hurricanes
Overall rank: #18
Conference rank: #4 ACC
Miami Team Page
The big question on the minds of many college baseball fans is this...Can one of the nation’s most successful college baseball teams make it 40 straight trips to the NCAA tournament? The Hurricanes didn’t reach the Atlantic Coast Conference title game a year ago but still advanced to regionals for the 39th year in a row.
2011: 38-23, 19-10
2011 Postseason: Lost in Gainesville regional (beat Jacksonville twice, lost to Florida twice)
Coach: Jim Morris
Field Players:
Infielder Brad Fieger has big shoes to fill to help out Miami’s hitting lineup. Fieger was the fifth best hitter on the team last year with a .280 batting average, 63 hits, two home runs and 29 runs batted in. He only had one stolen base but was pretty good at avoiding the third strike (24 strikeouts). Fieger will need to step in and help a lineup decimated by the loss of Zeke DeVoss, Nathan Melendres, Rony Rodriguez and Harold Martinez. Rodriguez, in particular, will be missed, thanks to those 13 homers and 44 RBIs he had. Outfielder Dale Carey (.271-1-24, 5 SB) is mostly a singles contact hitter, but infielder Stephen Perez (.263-0-31) at least has some power to his bat (12 doubles, three triples among his 46 hits). Infielder Michael Broad (.248-3-21), outfielder Chantz Mack (.232-3-16) and infielder Cade Kreuter (.228-1-9) will need to spiff up their batting averages.
Pitchers:
While the team’s hitting has plenty of holes to fill, the pitching seems sound. Steven Ewing (see Who to Watch) is joined by Eric Whaley (7-5, 2.70), who struck out 82 while walking just 22 batters. Bryan Radziewski (9-2, 3.35) also has strong control with 37 walks and 92 strikeouts, and E.J. Encinosa (5-6, 3.45) struck out 70 with 33 walks. Of the top four pitchers, Radziewski had the highest opponent batting average (.252), while Encinosa held hitters to a .197 average. The team needs to find a closer, as Sam Robinson and Daniel Miranda combined for 21 saves a year ago but have since moved on.
Who to Watch:
Ewing allowed seven home runs a year ago, but that was about the only thing wrong for the Hurricanes’ top pitcher. Ewing went 8-2 with a 2.66 earned run average last year, walking 23 and striking out 77 in 74.1 innings of work. Originally selected by the Cleveland Indians in the 37th round of the 2009 MLB draft, his stock has risen every year and could be big if Ewing has a strong season and the Hurricanes make a trip to the super regional round or beyond. He allowed only 22 earned runs, the lowest amount of the four starters on the staff, and all indications are he will be the top starter one more time.
Final Projection:
The Hurricanes have won the College World Series four times, but haven’t clinched the overall trophy since 2001. Even if they don’t make the World Series this time around, there is still a matter of making it to regionals for the 40th time in a row. Miami needs to find more hitters to augment the strong pitching, and if the team can find that hitting it should be just fine. If it can’t, the Hurricanes could be in trouble. Still, Miami is one of those baseball programs that should never be counted out.
Projected Postseason: NCAA
Returning Leaders:
At Bats: Brad Fieger, IF, 225
Hits: Brad Fieger, IF, 63
Home Runs: Michael Broad, IF, 3; Chantz Mack, OF, 3
RBIs: Stephen Perez, IF, 31
Runs: Dale Carey, OF, 30
Stolen Bases: Stephen Perez, IF, 14
Wins: Bryan Radziewski, P, 9
Innings Pitched: Eric Whaley, P, 93.1
Strikeouts: Bryan Radziewski, P, 92
Saves: none
Madness 2012 MLB Draft Rankings:
#93 Steve Perez
