Stainmaster
Occasionally Constructive
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2014
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(Don't shoot the messenger no matter how annoying he is, because this is a damn important message)
I'm talking about the baseball team: home of UConn's only competent men's athletics head coach, the best potential pro prospects wearing a UConn jersey, and the premier program in the entire Northeastern United States.
Spurned from the NCAA tournament after putting up numbers that should've been more than enough to get them in, this year's squad -- picked to finish second in the AAC -- is back with a vengeance. The team is anchored by a pair of homegrown battery mates who both look primed to become household names across the country.
Junior lefthander Tim Cate of Manchester (Cheney Tech) has spent the past two summers on the prestigious USA Collegiate National Team, and struck out more batters than any other pitcher on their roster this past summer. Rocking a 3.5/1 K/BB ratio for his career at UConn, his stuff has attracted acclaim from top MLB talent evaluators. Baseball America currently ranks him as the 27th best draft prospect for this June's draft, the fifth best lefty, and the seventh best collegiate pitcher; this article (Cate Emerges As One of College's Best Lefthanders | BaseballAmerica.com) cites his curveball as "one of the best secondary pitches in this draft class."
His classmate, catcher Zac Susi of Southington, has shown the ability to hit for contact since arriving on campus. An all-star showing in the Cape Cod League, collegiate baseball's most elite summer league, has scouts anticipating a significant increase in power this coming year. Susi is penciled into the cleanup spot for today's opening day matchup with Kennesaw State, and looks to be a cornerstone of this year's lineup. Baseball America ranks Susi as the 197th best draft prospect (6th best collegiate catcher) in this class.
Underclass talent abounds on this team as well. Shortstop Anthony Prato, a starter from day one, was named a Freshman All-American and second team All-Conference last year despite battling nagging injuries, hitting .304 with 15 stolen bases and providing excellent defense. Slotting in at #2 in the rotation behind Cate, sophomore lefty Mason Feole matched Prato's Freshman All-American status, made the first team all-conference, and was the conference's rookie pitcher of the year. This gives the Huskies a Friday-Saturday punch that most teams across the entire country would be envious of. Feole is also ranked as one of the top twenty sophomore draft prospects in the country by Baseball America, and should follow in Cate's footsteps as a likely first-round pick in 2019.
Jim Penders has done an outstanding job with the program in many respects, but something he truly deserves acclaim for is his ability to corral and develop in-state talent. Aside from Cate and Susi, alumni of Holy Cross, Stafford, Amity, Newington, New Milford, Trinity Catholic, Bunnell, Trumbull and Wheeler HSs look poised to see playing time and contribute to the team this year, including 1B/OF Chris Winkel (Amity), swingman Ronnie Rossomando (Bunnell), and OF Troy Stefanski (Wheeler).
And you know what makes this team so much fun to follow? They're blue-collar players who exhibit toughness and grit whenever they're on the field. Yet they're also incredibly talented. These aren't just Diaco RKGs or Ferraris in the garage. Their marriage of skill and attitude is exactly what UConn athletics is about, and what fans who primarily follow the football and men's basketball teams have been sorely missing for years.
Their season is about to start in a few minutes. I invite you all to venture over to the Baseball and Olympic Sports Board (UConn Baseball and Olympic Sports), where you'll find a small but very knowledgeable community always looking for new voices (quick links: season thread UConn Baseball 2018 and thread for this weekend's series Opening Weekend in Georgia). Here's to a successful season that will feature some Huskies in the postseason.
I'm talking about the baseball team: home of UConn's only competent men's athletics head coach, the best potential pro prospects wearing a UConn jersey, and the premier program in the entire Northeastern United States.
Spurned from the NCAA tournament after putting up numbers that should've been more than enough to get them in, this year's squad -- picked to finish second in the AAC -- is back with a vengeance. The team is anchored by a pair of homegrown battery mates who both look primed to become household names across the country.
Junior lefthander Tim Cate of Manchester (Cheney Tech) has spent the past two summers on the prestigious USA Collegiate National Team, and struck out more batters than any other pitcher on their roster this past summer. Rocking a 3.5/1 K/BB ratio for his career at UConn, his stuff has attracted acclaim from top MLB talent evaluators. Baseball America currently ranks him as the 27th best draft prospect for this June's draft, the fifth best lefty, and the seventh best collegiate pitcher; this article (Cate Emerges As One of College's Best Lefthanders | BaseballAmerica.com) cites his curveball as "one of the best secondary pitches in this draft class."
His classmate, catcher Zac Susi of Southington, has shown the ability to hit for contact since arriving on campus. An all-star showing in the Cape Cod League, collegiate baseball's most elite summer league, has scouts anticipating a significant increase in power this coming year. Susi is penciled into the cleanup spot for today's opening day matchup with Kennesaw State, and looks to be a cornerstone of this year's lineup. Baseball America ranks Susi as the 197th best draft prospect (6th best collegiate catcher) in this class.
Underclass talent abounds on this team as well. Shortstop Anthony Prato, a starter from day one, was named a Freshman All-American and second team All-Conference last year despite battling nagging injuries, hitting .304 with 15 stolen bases and providing excellent defense. Slotting in at #2 in the rotation behind Cate, sophomore lefty Mason Feole matched Prato's Freshman All-American status, made the first team all-conference, and was the conference's rookie pitcher of the year. This gives the Huskies a Friday-Saturday punch that most teams across the entire country would be envious of. Feole is also ranked as one of the top twenty sophomore draft prospects in the country by Baseball America, and should follow in Cate's footsteps as a likely first-round pick in 2019.
Jim Penders has done an outstanding job with the program in many respects, but something he truly deserves acclaim for is his ability to corral and develop in-state talent. Aside from Cate and Susi, alumni of Holy Cross, Stafford, Amity, Newington, New Milford, Trinity Catholic, Bunnell, Trumbull and Wheeler HSs look poised to see playing time and contribute to the team this year, including 1B/OF Chris Winkel (Amity), swingman Ronnie Rossomando (Bunnell), and OF Troy Stefanski (Wheeler).
And you know what makes this team so much fun to follow? They're blue-collar players who exhibit toughness and grit whenever they're on the field. Yet they're also incredibly talented. These aren't just Diaco RKGs or Ferraris in the garage. Their marriage of skill and attitude is exactly what UConn athletics is about, and what fans who primarily follow the football and men's basketball teams have been sorely missing for years.
Their season is about to start in a few minutes. I invite you all to venture over to the Baseball and Olympic Sports Board (UConn Baseball and Olympic Sports), where you'll find a small but very knowledgeable community always looking for new voices (quick links: season thread UConn Baseball 2018 and thread for this weekend's series Opening Weekend in Georgia). Here's to a successful season that will feature some Huskies in the postseason.
