Dodson, Milam are double threats
When the college baseball season opens Friday, two of the best hitters in the Bay Area will be Tanner Dodson of Cal and Kevin Milam of St. Mary’s.
Oddly enough, they’ll be among the best pitchers as well.
Each has been named a preseason All-American, Dodson by Baseball America and Milam by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and Perfect Game, among others.
Dodson, a switch-hitting center fielder, hit .297 for Cal last season and won the Cape Cod League batting title over the summer by hitting .365. He also was a promising pitcher for the Bears, striking out 48 batters in 52 innings. He started seven games and relieved in 12, compiling a 2-6 record with a 5.37 ERA. He’ll be strictly a reliever this year.
“He can run it up to 96 (mph) on the mound,” first-year head coach Mike Neu said. “He’s everything you want in a player.”
The junior figures to be drafted high this year, but the pros will have to figure out whether he’s a better prospect as a hitter or a pitcher. “He’s got a chance to be a big-leaguer, no question,” Neu said. “I’m glad I don’t have to make that decision.”
Milam, a sophomore who plays third base when he’s not pitching, hit .313 last year with 12 homers (including three grand slams) and 55 RBIs. The West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year, he posted a 3-1 record, a 2.27 ERA and nine saves in 22 appearances, all in relief.
He will bat third in the lineup and be the Saturday starter on the mound. “We’re trying to find the best of both Kevins,” head coach Eric Valenzuela said.
Among the Bay Area’s six Division 1 schools, four have first-year head coaches.
Neu replaces David Esquer, who moved to Stanford, his alma mater, after 18 years in Berkeley. Neu, a pitcher who helped Miami win the 1999 College World Series, was Cal’s pitching coach from 2012 through ’15, then spent the past two years as head coach at Pacific.
Former Cardinal pitching coach Rusty Filter takes over the program at Santa Clara, replacing Dan O’Brien, who stepped down after six years.
The team with the most recent turmoil is San Jose State. Head coach Jason Hawkins resigned this week after being placed on administrative leave last month, for reasons the school wouldn’t disclose. Brad Sanfilippo, a former San Jose State and Cal assistant, was named interim head coach.
Additionally, the Spartans do not have a practice field because theirs is being replaced by a new golf practice facility. A new baseball practice facility might not be ready until 2020. In the meantime, the Spartans have practiced at Cal and USF, among several other venues.
Here’s how the local teams are shaping up (listed in alphabetical order): Cal Last year: 25-29, 15-15 Pac-12 (tied for fifth) Coach: Mike Neu, first year Outlook: Sophomore 1B Andrew Vaughn led the Bears in hitting (.349) and tied ex-teammate Denis Karas for the home run lead in the Pac-12 with 12. The Bears also return OF Jeffrey Mitchell Jr. (.325), SS Cameron Eden (.315) and C Tyrus Greene (.317), in addition to Dodson. Former Giants manager Dusty Baker is a new Bears fan because his son, Darren, is a freshman infielder. Darren, Giants fans will recall, was saved by J. T. Snow from being run over at home plate during the 2002 World Series. Neu is happy to have the elder Baker around too. “Anytime I get a chance, I pick his brain,” he said. St. Mary’s Coach: Eric Valenzuela, fifth year (114-111) Last year: 37-20, 18-9 WCC (tied for fourth) Outlook: With eight position starters back, the Gaels should challenge for the conference title. In the coaches’ preseason poll, they were picked third behind defending WCC tournament and regular-season champ BYU and San Diego. “I don’t know if we’re going to face many offenses as strong as our own,” Valenzuela said. After winning their first WCC title and WCC tournament championship in 2016, the Gaels slipped to fourth last year. This year’s weekend starters will be right-handers Nick Frank and Milam and lefty Ken Waldichuk. Catcher J.C. Santini and OF/INF Jack Murphy are among the freshmen to watch. Junior LHP Ty Madrigal is the brother of Oregon State 2B Nick Madrigal, last year’s Pac-12 Player of the Year. San Jose State Interim coach: Brad Sanfilippo, first year Last year: 19-35-1, 10-18-1 Mountain West (sixth) Outlook: Infielders Aaron Pleschner (.279), Shane Timmons (.304) and David Campbell (.282); outfielders Kellen Strahm (.276) and Chris Williams (.298) and catcher Johnny Mendoza (.277) form the core of the lineup. Strahm led the MWC in stolen bases with 18 (in 21 tries). RHP Jack Swiech (1-5, 5.95), RHP Josh Goldberg (2-5, 4.91) and Zach Wallace (3-0, 4.85) are the top returning pitchers. The Spartans haven’t had a winning record overall or in league since 2009, when they went 41-20 and 15-7 in the WAC. That was also the last time they won a conference championship. Santa Clara Coach: Rusty Filter, first year Last year: 13-40, 9-18 WCC (seventh) Outlook: The big difference brought on by Filter and his coaching staff, according to 3B John Cresto, “is the efficiency of practice. The competition for spots has risen.” As 1B Jake Brodt sees it, it’s a new “attention to detail.” Cresto hit 12 homers last year and hit .307, and Brodt hit .338 with 21 doubles and 39 RBIs, so there’s some pop in the lineup. “The strength of our team is offense,” Filter said. “We return a lot of power. We need more contact, so we may have to trade a little power for contact.” OF Niko Holm (.307) and OF Andre Nnebe (.293) are also back. RHP Steven Wilson, who redshirted last year, returns as a graduate student, and RHP Eric Lex might start or close. The Broncos are picked to finish eighth in the WCC preseason poll. Stanford Coach: David Esquer, first year Last year: 42-16, 21-9 Pac-12 (second place) Outlook: The Cardinal had a splendid 2017 season, the last for retiring head coach Mark Marquess after 41 years at the helm. Unfortunately for them, Oregon State did even better, going 27-3 in the league and 56-6 overall. DH/OT Daniel Bakst (.311, 38 RBIs), SS Nico Hoerner (.307, including .388 in Pac-12 play) and 2B Duke Kinamon (.284) are among the returnees. RHP Tristan Beck, who missed last season with back problems, returns to join lefties Kris Bubic (7-6, 2.79) and Erik Miller (5-2, 3.65) in a promising rotation. Will Matthiessen (3-0, 2.33) and Jack Little are expected to lead the bullpen. The Cardinal are ranked No. 9 by Baseball America. USF Coach: Nino Giarratano, 20th year (531-546-1) Last year: 29-28, 11-16 WCC (sixth) Outlook: The Dons are picked sixth in the conference, having lost CF Matt Sinatro, C Dominic Miroglio and SS Nico Giarratano, the coach’s son, who’s now playing in the Giants’ organization. SS Michael Perri (.312), 1B Ross Puskarich (.262) and RF Brady Bate (.277) look like the top hitters. USF hopes to get a full year out of RHP Thomas Ponticelli, who missed the first five weeks of last season with an injury. He then went 4-2 with a 2.45 ERA. Now it’s C Riley Helland (.308) who’s rehabbing from an arm injury. “Our pitching is the strength of our team,” Giaarratano said. “This is the first time in four years where I feel we have enough depth pitching-wise to compete.” Grant Goodman (4-4, 4.63) and Ponticelli head the staff.