New role as a starting pitcher energizes Cavalli
NORMAN — Every morning when Cade Cavalli wakes up and looks in the mirror, he's reminded of what he wants to accomplish.
The Oklahoma sophomore pitcher and designated hitter has a list of goals written on the mirror.
Win the Big 12. Host a regional. Make it to Omaha.
If the Sooners are to accomplish those goals, Cavalli figures to need to play a big role.
After being a first baseman and relief pitcher a year ago, Cavalli is transitioning to a role as a starting pitcher who will serve as a designated hitter at times as well.
Cavalli will start Oklahoma's season opener on the mound when the Sooners host Cal Poly for the first of a three-game series at 3 p.m. Friday.
Cavalli was 3-2 with a 6.75 ERA in 11 appearances last season. While he anticipates better results, his approach on the mound won't change.
“As a reliever last year I was in attack mode and that's exactly what I'm going to do this year,” Cavalli said, noting that he feels good about all four of his pitches — fastball, slider, curve and changeup — entering this year.
Another of those goals written on Cavalli's mirror addresses his other role on the team — hitting.
Cavalli said he aims to finish the season with fewer than 40 strikeouts.
That's a stout goal not only for someone who wants to be a regular fixture in the lineup but particularly for Cavalli after he whiffed a team-high 94 times as a freshman — coming within five of the NCAA record.
“I knew there was going to be bumps and bruises along the way,” Cavalli said. “I wasn't expecting them to be that drastic.”
While Cavalli's pitching approach hasn't changed, his hitting one has.
“A lot of the balls away I was pulling off or I wasn't getting to it or I wasn't even swinging at them.” Cavalli said.
The slider low and away particularly gave Cavalli fits.
Over the offseason, Cavalli started focusing on using the middle of the field more.
When he did that, he started to see the ball better.
“I was able to lay off of them,” Cavalli said of those outside sliders that ate him up. “That changes around an at-bat quite a bit.”
Plenty of players would've been discouraged about the strikeout numbers, but Cavalli said that wasn't the case for him.
“I think what happened last year was the best thing that's happened to me in my career,” Cavalli said. “I hadn't faced a lot of adversity when I was performing before. Skip's talked about the mental side of the game every day and that's what we hone in on. I can see the difference.”
THREE STORYLINES
After making a regional last year, Oklahoma's baseball team begins its 2019 season at 3 p.m. Friday with the opening of a three-game home series against Cal Poly at L. Dale Mitchell Park. Here are three things to know about OU baseball entering this season:
New faces
The Sooners' roster features 10 freshman plus several other players who will make their Oklahoma debuts this year.
Two of their young freshman right-handed pitchers are particularly intriguing — 6-foot-7 Canadian Ben Abram and 6-footer Wyatt Olds from McLoud.
Both players drew rave reviews for their work during preseason camp.
Coach Skip Johnson was particularly impressed with Olds. “Competitive, good athlete, … strike-thrower,” Johnson said. “He can do a lot of things on the mound.” Abrams is likely to get a chance to start at some point, especially mid-week games early.
He played for Team Canada in the Under-18 Pan American Championships in Panama in November.
Remaking the rotation
With Jake Irvin, the staff's ace the last couple seasons, having moved on to professional baseball along with Devon Perez, the Sooners' rotation will look much different.
To start the season, Johnson will go with Cade Cavalli on Friday, Nathan Wiles on Saturday and Levi Prater on Sunday.
Wiles went 7-3 with a 3.54 ERA last season, with all but one appearance as a starter. Prater was mostly a bullpen arm last season but stretched out late in the year as he moved in the rotation. Cavalli was used exclusively out of the bullpen last year as he was primarily the Sooners' first baseman.
Strong left side
While Oklahoma's rotation is in flux and its outfield has a lot of production to replace after losing Steele Walker and Kyler Murray from last year's team, the left side of the infield figures to be the Sooners' strength.
Brylie Ware returns at third base — though he could see some time at first as well — after hitting .331 with a .855 OPS a year ago. At shortstop, Brandon Zaragoza returns after starting 63 games there last year and flashing one of the best gloves in college baseball.