A New Beginning for Cal Baseball

A new era of Cal baseball begins on Friday. 

After 18 years as head coach, David Esquer has left to take over the program at Stanford, his alma mater. Mike Neu, who spent four years (2012-15) as Cal’s pitching coach, takes his place. As far as the Pac-12 coaches are concerned, Neu will pick up where Esquer left off. The Bears finished fifth in the Pac-12 last year and will be going with pretty much the same cast of players.  That's reflected in expectations as they were voted into the same spot in the coaches’ preseason poll as last seasons team.  But  Neu, who believes his returning players should improve and that some promising newcomers – one with a decidedly big league pedigree -- could help push them higher in the standings.

“Our strength is probably our offense,” Neu said at the local baseball media day. “Andrew Vaughn (above) was the team USA first baseman one of the better hitters in the country. We also have Tanner Dodson who won the batting title in the Cape Cod League. Nice to have couple guys who are impact players in our lineup.” Both can help on the mound as well.

Vaughn had a sensational freshman season and was the conference Freshman of the Year. He hit .349 and tied with departed teammate Denis Karas with 12 home runs to lead the Pac-12. Although relatively new to the position Vaughn became a fine fielding first baseman.

Neu said that having a season’s worth of games to study, opposing coaches will be coming up with ways to try to neutralize the Bears’ slugger. “If I am game-planning for our team, I am trying to figure out ways he doesn’t beat us,” Neu said. “So we have to make sure we put him in a position to do well, be successful.”

Which is where Dodson could come in. Ticketed for centerfield, the switch-hitter who batted .365 in the Cape Cod League during the summer, could give Vaughn some protection in the batting order. “We have a chance to hit him behind Andrew and give him some protection,” Neu said. “We’ll just have to figure out the best fit for that.

Both Vaughn and Dodson also pitch. Vaughn probably will be asked to get just a hitter or two in his appearances, Dodson, however, who was 2-6 with a 5.37 ERA and 48 strikeouts in 52 innings, is expected to be used more regularly.

Other than third base, the rest of the position players lineup seems set. Sophomore Cameron Edon (.315 BA) will play shortstop. He was selected a Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, and an honorable mention All Pac-12.

Junior Ty Greene, who was the regular catcher last year and hit .317 in 43 games, will again be behind the plate and does a good job handling the pitchers.

In the outfield Jeffrey Mitchell (.325) who started all 54 games last year, figures to be the regular right fielder. Jonah Davis (.275) and Max Flower (.254) are also in the outfield mix.

That makes four outfielders for three spots already and Neu has other candidates. He likes freshmen Sam Cachola from Irvine and Connor Mack from San Jose. But, as he says, “Not a ton of room out there for younger players.”

Another interesting outfield candidate looking to squeeze in is Brandon McIlwain, the transfer from South Carolina.  Of course McIlwain is doing double athletic duty. After sitting out last year because of transfer rules, he will compete with starter Ross Bowers for the quarterback job on the football team.

One freshman who should get quite a bit of playing time, is Darren Baker, son of former major league manager Dusty Baker. The Bakers’ celebrity reputations – during the 2002 World Series, Darren, age 2, was scooped at home plate by the Giants J.T. Snow – has created quite a bit of buzz around the program. But Darren is more than just a novelty. Neu plans on Baker being the regular second baseman.

“Darren had a great fall, he swung the bat really well,” Neu said. “He’s a fast runner and can steal bases.  He’s a very intuitive player, which is no surprise considering he has been around big league clubhouses most of his life.  He has solidified himself as a guy who is going to start quite a bit. We may platoon that spot some, but he is going to play.”

Third base is the one position that at this stage has no clear starter.

“We will probably play some freshmen there, and maybe move some guys around positionally, “ Neu said, adding a word to the dictionary. “Korey Lee, the backup catcher is swinging the bat really well. We have actually played him there and he’s done OK. He’s got a very strong arm.”

Others who could have a look at third are junior Ripken Reyes, freshman Quentin Selma, redshirt freshman Tommy Henderson and senior Matt Ruff, another backup catcher.

Pitching is the area where the Bears must improve.

“We have guys that have experience, but we are not proven. Statistically we did not have a great year on the mound last year,” Neu said. “A big key for our season is going to be how these pitchers bounce back. And if they can we should be pretty tough.”

But that will require a significant bounce. “I wasn’t here last year, but I did get to see some film and you obviously look at stats,” he said. “There were a lot of walks, command was obviously an issue. A lot of free bases. If you just look at the walks and the hits, that is not a great recipe for success. When you talk about pitching, the core of pitching, you have to be able to throw strikes and be able to locate in the strike zone. And that was not a strength of the team last year.”

Neu believes that things are going to improve. “We are seeing a lot good hitters every day in our intra-squad games. We are getting good matchups and the pitching has been much better,” he said. “We’re still not a strikeout pitching staff, and we aren’t going to go in there and take care of lot of outs with strikeouts. But we do have a solid defense. If we’re able to keep the ball in play, I think we could have a similar pitching staff to years in the past when we didn’t win with the strikeouts, but we did win with a lot of strikes and a lot of good defense. We went to a Regional a couple of years ago (2015) with a solid offense, a similar team, maybe not quite as talented on the mound, but a team that kept it in the zone and was able to throw strikes.”

Neu said that right-hander Jared Horn (3-5, 4.64 ERA in 2017) would be the team’s Friday night starter, opening most series. Horn, of course, was involved in  the tragic auto accident during Thanksgiving weekend that claimed four of his family members. The team came together for him. “We were there for him the whole time,” said pitcher Matt Ladrech at the media day. “We were there visiting with him, checking in with his family, We have been with him every step of the way. He’s doing real well. It was tough for him.”

Joey Matulovich (4-3, 4.76) will pitch on Saturday with Ladrech (2-2, 4.53) on Sunday.

For starting pitchers  in non-weekend games, Neu said,  “we have a couple of options. We’ve stretched out Aaron Shortridge (1-0, 1.99), Rogelio Rodriguez (2-5, 8.13) and Zayne Patino (1-1, 5.90). … We’ve gotten those guys a lot of innings. We feel comfortable using any of those guys as a Tuesday starter. But we will have to see what happens on the weekend. We might need those guys out of the bullpen as well. I think we’ve done a good job getting our guys innings in the fall, giving them confidence. We have some versatility with guys who can start and pitch out of the pen. We have to figure out what’s best.”

Erik Martinez (5-4, 3.11, 6 saves) again will be the closer. He is on the watch list for The Stopper of the Year award for the third year in a row. Dodson will probably get a lot of eighth inning assignments. “We’ll bring him right in from centerfield,” said Neu, who said that Dodson’s fastball has been clocked at 96 mph.

Neu has a closer relationship with his players than the average incoming new coach. He helped recruit quite a few of them. “It’s an easier transition for me, and for the guys as well,” Neu said. “They know my personality, and I know their families as well. That makes it a lot easier.”

Neu has some resources that are unique to his situation. Dusty Baker-- because of Darren-- and A’s manager Bob Melvin -- because he is Berkeley alumnus --, are both close to the program. Neither has done any actual coaching, but they both have attended many events involving boosters and donors, and are there for Neu. “They have been around a lot,” he said. “When you have big-time guys, that know the game, and are around the game, it’s pretty special.”

The Bears season opener Friday is against Cincinnati in San Diego at 2 p.m. They follow that with a doubleheader Saturday, one game against Cincinnati and the nightcap against San Diego. They begin the home season on Friday night, Feb. 23 against Cal State-Bakersfield. A doubleheader follows the next day.

“We have doubleheaders in three of our first four weekends,” Neu said. “That is going to allow us to experiment with some lineups. I think that’s a good thing. We do want to get a few of those guys in there. “