UCLA closer David Berg pitches against Cal State Fullerton in the 2013 NCAA Super Regional. Berg returned for his senior season in 2015, turning down a 17th-round draft selection by the Texas Rangers. (Keith Birmingham/Staff)
UCLA baseball placed ninth in the Pac-12 last season, an injury-riddled down year that marked its first finish outside the conference’s top three since 2005 — head coach John Savage’s debut season.
Two years removed from their first NCAA title, the Bruins enter 2015 with a mix of experience and young talent as they set their sights on another trip to Omaha. Most notable is the pitching staff, which features Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year candidate James Kaprielian and star closer David Berg. The season starts at 6 p.m. today, with a weekend series against Hofstra.
A few notes that didn’t make the season preview, which ran in today’s paper and also touches on the potential effects of the sport’s new flat-seam ball:
— Asked if he learned anything in particular from last season’s ninth-place finish, Savage said: “Confidence is very fragile. This is a very humbling game. You’re really only as good as your last game. That’s how I look at it. Maybe when I get away and look at the big picture, it’s a little different. But you’re competitive. You don’t like taking the losses that we took last year. You want to fight. You want to compete.”
— UCLA suffered a rash of arm injuries to position players last year, with Kevin Kramer, Eric Filia and Kevin Williams missing all or part of the 2014 season with shoulder injuries. Kramer is back to anchor as one of the team’s likely stars, but Williams graduated and Filia is out due to an academic suspension — though he is expected to be part of the team in 2016.
Savage said the staff has tried to educate the players more on how to take care of their arms, implementing regimens that were previously reserved for pitchers.
— Savage said figuring out which recruits will sign pro contracts out of high school has become harder than ever, but this year’s haul wasn’t hurt particularly bad by the MLB draft. UCLA had razor-slim shots at Brady Aiken — the No. 1 overall pick and Jacob Nix — a fifth-rounder — but both opted to reenter the 2016 draft after failing to sign with the Houston Astros.
But the coach sounded very high on the players he did sign. He was most enthusiastic about righty pitcher Griffin Canning, a 38th-round pick out of Santa Margarita Catholic who will begin his career as UCLA’s midweek starter. I asked him who he thinks Canning compares to in the line of pitchers he’s coached at UCLA, and after thinking for 10 or 15 seconds, he picked Tyson Brummett — an all-conference pitcher in 2007 who became a seventh-round selection.
“I think he’s going to be in that (Nick) Vander Tuig, (Adam) Plutko, (Gerrit) Cole, (Trevor) Bauer, Brummett, David Huff, James Kaprielian territory,” Savage said of Canning. “He’s going to be an elite starter in our program. He’ll be in our weekend rotation for sure after this year. … Tough guy, durable guy. Everything you want in a guy, he brings.”
The 6-foot-1, 185-pound freshman has the talent to push for a spot in the weekend rotation this season, but ideally, the team wants the lineup of Kaprielian, Grant Watson and Cody Poteet to remain intact.
— The NCAA’s new baseball has seams that are .017 inches lower than the old ball, which is expected to travel farther and boost runs. That could provide a bit of rest for David Berg, who was the team’s workhorse closer during its 2013 championship run — one in which the Bruins went 17-2 in games decided by one run.
“I think that ball (will make) a lot of people’s games closer,” Savage said. “I think now, you might see a better team beat a lesser team a little more handily. That’s kind of what we’re hoping.”
Savage said he wanted to stay away from using Berg for multiple innings, which the submariner did often during UCLA’s 2013 title run. UCLA’s major advantage over other teams might be its bullpen: Grant Dyer and Hunter Virant will likely enter games in the sixth and seventh innings, while Tucker Forbes will set up in the eighth.
— The X-factor in UCLA’s season might be the sophomore class, which could be primed for a breakout. Kort Peterson, Brett Stephens, and Luke Persico should start at right field, designated hitter and first base, respectively.