Feb. 15, 2007
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -
While Major League pitchers and catchers began workouts today, Illinois baseball has been working toward its season opener at Louisiana-Lafayette for nearly a month after starting practice on Jan. 23. Here is a look at the Illini's pitchers and catchers, a group bolstered by a strong core of returnees from 2006. The preview of the Illinois infielders and outfielders will come early next week.
Starting Pitchers
Who's Back: Starting pitching will be a key for the Illini in 2007 as the Orange and Blue return seven pitchers who accounted for two-thirds of the starts last season. Leading that group are Tanner Roark and Ben Reeser, who became the starters in Big Ten doubleheader games by the mid-point of the conference season. Roark became the first pitcher to finish the season undefeated since Jason Anderson in 1998, going 4-0 over 10 starts and 52 1/3 innings. Reeser made just five starts on the season, but defeated Iowa with six strong innings and took the hard-luck loss against Michigan despite throwing a complete-game five-hitter.
Sophomores Scott Shaw and Aaron Martin will be the leading candidates to fill out the rotation, and each have shown flashes in their short careers as Illini. Shaw shut out South Florida over five innings of work in the season's second week and blanked Illinois-Chicago over 6 2/3 innings on Spring Trip. After a couple of rough outings, he returned as a mid-week starter, getting the win at Illinois State with six solid innings. Martin made four starts a year ago, three in mid-week games and one in the final Big Ten series at Michigan State. The rookie had a pair of strong three-inning outings against Western Michigan and Bradley, and recorded a two-inning save against Northwestern. He also had four other scoreless relief outings.
Who's Not: The biggest losses from the 2006 squad came from the rotation, as weekend starters Matt Whitmore, Brian Blomquist and Jake Stewart all have graduated. Whitmore was Illinois' go-to pitcher a year ago, posting a 3-1 record and a 2.49 ERA with six saves as he was the closer for the first half of the season and the Friday starter for the last half. Blomquist made nine starts on the season, including six in Big Ten action. His top performances were an eight-inning shutout start at Michigan State to clinch a Big Ten Tournament berth and six innings of shutout ball at South Florida. Stewart also gave the Illini valuable innings in 2006, including a five-inning Sunday start against Northwestern that propelled Illinois to its only win of the series.
Who's New: Lanky right-hander Kevin Manson likely will see some action this season, according to Hartleb. "He has a way to go, but we will have to fit him into certain situations. Hopefully he can be a solid middle reliever or a mid-week starter."
Bullpen
Who's Back: While the rotation lost some key arms from 2006, the Illini bullpen brings back its top two performers from a year ago in seniors Jake Toohey and Brian Long. Toohey shone in the closer role last season, picking up five saves after taking over the stopper duties at the end of April. He also is fresh off a record-setting summer in which he saved 24 games for Rochester, breaking the Northwoods League record for saves and pacing the Honkers on their championship run.
"I'm very comfortable with a competitive guy like Jake Toohey," Hartleb said. "He has been a closer here a couple of years and we feel very confident having him come in from the bullpen."
Long was an extremely dependable middle-reliever for the Illini a year ago, posting a 2-2 record in 30 2/3 innings. Between April 5 and May 17, Long gave up just two runs in 15 1/3 innings and got wins at Minnesota and Indiana with two and three innings of relief, respectively.
Illinois also returns right-handers Omar Kadir and Luke Obukowicz, and lefties Jonathan Smiley and Blake Hopkins from the 2006 bullpen.
Who's New: The Illini added five pitchers to bolster the bullpen, including left-hander Blake Fairchild, who becomes the Orange and Blue's fourth native of Mattoon, Ill. Right-hander Billy Barrett was an All-State selection in 2006, sophomore transfer Mike Stankiewicz could fill some innings after playing the 2005 season at Valparaiso and sitting out last season with an injury, and sophomore Mike Sterk and freshman Lee Zerrusen round out the young pitching corps.
Catcher
Who's Back: If Canadian catcher Lars Davis follows a similar career arc to former Illini and fellow northerner Chris Robinson, the Orange and Blue will be in for a treat. Both Davis and Robinson hit a few points over .300 in their freshman seasons - Davis at .307 and Robinson at .306 - but Robinson exploded with a .359 average in his sophomore campaign, leading Illinois in hits, average and slugging. Davis started the 2006 season strong with two four-hit games in the first five, but wasn't as successful through the heart of the conference season. However, his defense continued to improve throughout the season and he finished the year with a 36 percent success rate at throwing out would-be base-stealers.
Junior Aaron Ifft also returns behind the plate after seeing action in a career-high 21 games last season. Ifft primarily served as a late-inning defensive replacement early in the year, but also saw time against left-handed pitchers.
"When you look at the catching situation, Lars obviously has the most experience back there," Hartleb said. "And you've got Aaron Ifft who has been back there for a few years and has a great feel for the game."
Walk-on catchers Chris Montgomery and Jake Mathis return for their redshirt-freshman seasons.
Who's Not: No one.
Who's New: Freshman backstop Joe Mercurio joins the squad after a stellar career at Kennedy Catholic High School in Brewster, N.Y. Mercurio was one of Baseball America's Top 300 seniors and played in the AFLAC All-American High School Baseball Classic, regarded as a platform for the top 40 players in the nation. Ty Milner also joins the Illini after a sparkling career at Springfield College. Milner is a solid receiver with a bat that could get him into the lineup.
"Mercurio is a person we'll try and bring along and see if we can fit him in the mix somewhere, and Milner gives us a potentially solid right-handed bat that we could use in a number of different situations," Hartleb said.
