Quick recap of the team as we head towards conference play next weekend (at SC).
Stanford's record looks like a lot of the Pac 12, gaudy win-loss numbers against iffy competition.
Stanford scheduled two weekend series with traditional powers that are down on their luck lately.
Fullerton is 4-5, had a couple of games cancelled due to weather, lost two to Michigan but just took 2 of 3 from Texas.
Rice is 4-7 but has played a very tough schedule, with games against us, Louisiana (last year a tourney team and beat us), Texas AM, TCU, Texas Tech. They have a win over Tech and a win over Louisiana.
Bakersfield is 7-5 even after being swept by us, but not a top schedule.
The hitting is as good as one could hope for.
Stanford lost four regular bats after last season and those have been replaced (primiarly) by Cobb, Moore, Rios, and mostly Saum.
Those guys are batting [avg/slugging/ops]
Cobb .391/.652/1.052
Moore .378/,822/1.273
Rios .410/.641/1.141
Saum .267/.333/.783
Those range from pretty good to fantastic. Hope they keep going (at least generally - some of those batting averages won't stay that high).
Carter Graham has the worst hitting numbers of any regular. We know he can hit from last year (.331 AVG, 22 HRs led the Pac 12). Maybe he's coming out of a slump as he went 5-14 this past weekend, 3-6 on Sunday.
Versus the conference, Stanford has the top avg, slugging pct, runs scored, HRs.
The offense has been good.
Pitching has struggled, with some highlights.
Team ERA is #8 in the conference (4.64).
The biggest problem is finding the strike zone. Stanford has allowed the most walks of any team in the conference (5.3 per game), and they've added 9 HBP as well.
Mathews has been solid, 2.00 ERA and 18 innings pitched in 3 outings. WHIP=1.17
Dowd's ERA isn't awful (3.97), but he has struggled a bit. WHIP=2.12 and hasn't got to 5 innings in a start yet.
The coaches appear to want Dugan to be the third starter. From what I could see in the iffy live feeds, he seems to have good stuff (and a big curve). But he's been hit pretty hard, giving up 1.7 hits per inning pitched. That's easily the most on the team among those who pitch regularly.
The bullpen looks brighter. Some highlights:
The frosh Scott has been spectacular. 0 ERA, 0.5 WHIP, opponents' BA of 0.038.
Nick Lopez has been a breakthrough so far. The fifth year has a 0 ERA, 0.5 WHIP, opponents' BA of 0.080.
After a slightly tough beginning, Pancer has been really good. 3.72 ERA, 0.7 WHIP, opponents' BA of 0.200.
At the other end of things, Bruno should be our closer. He has had a rough start finding the plate. Opponents are only hitting 0.133 off him, but he's walked 9 in only 5 innings, hit 2 guys, and has a 7.2 ERA. He's got great stuff and we've seen him battle with wildness before. Hopefully he sorts that out when needed.
Nobody in the Pac 12 has had a particularly tough early schedule, though there have been a couple of notable games.
Looks like UCLA will be the ace-pitching team with a weaker offense leading to lots of low scoring games.
Stanford will be scoring lots of runs, but maybe giving them up as well.
Oregon State will have a bit of both.
Will be interesting to see who has the best mix.
Stanford's record looks like a lot of the Pac 12, gaudy win-loss numbers against iffy competition.
Stanford scheduled two weekend series with traditional powers that are down on their luck lately.
Fullerton is 4-5, had a couple of games cancelled due to weather, lost two to Michigan but just took 2 of 3 from Texas.
Rice is 4-7 but has played a very tough schedule, with games against us, Louisiana (last year a tourney team and beat us), Texas AM, TCU, Texas Tech. They have a win over Tech and a win over Louisiana.
Bakersfield is 7-5 even after being swept by us, but not a top schedule.
The hitting is as good as one could hope for.
Stanford lost four regular bats after last season and those have been replaced (primiarly) by Cobb, Moore, Rios, and mostly Saum.
Those guys are batting [avg/slugging/ops]
Cobb .391/.652/1.052
Moore .378/,822/1.273
Rios .410/.641/1.141
Saum .267/.333/.783
Those range from pretty good to fantastic. Hope they keep going (at least generally - some of those batting averages won't stay that high).
Carter Graham has the worst hitting numbers of any regular. We know he can hit from last year (.331 AVG, 22 HRs led the Pac 12). Maybe he's coming out of a slump as he went 5-14 this past weekend, 3-6 on Sunday.
Versus the conference, Stanford has the top avg, slugging pct, runs scored, HRs.
The offense has been good.
Pitching has struggled, with some highlights.
Team ERA is #8 in the conference (4.64).
The biggest problem is finding the strike zone. Stanford has allowed the most walks of any team in the conference (5.3 per game), and they've added 9 HBP as well.
Mathews has been solid, 2.00 ERA and 18 innings pitched in 3 outings. WHIP=1.17
Dowd's ERA isn't awful (3.97), but he has struggled a bit. WHIP=2.12 and hasn't got to 5 innings in a start yet.
The coaches appear to want Dugan to be the third starter. From what I could see in the iffy live feeds, he seems to have good stuff (and a big curve). But he's been hit pretty hard, giving up 1.7 hits per inning pitched. That's easily the most on the team among those who pitch regularly.
The bullpen looks brighter. Some highlights:
The frosh Scott has been spectacular. 0 ERA, 0.5 WHIP, opponents' BA of 0.038.
Nick Lopez has been a breakthrough so far. The fifth year has a 0 ERA, 0.5 WHIP, opponents' BA of 0.080.
After a slightly tough beginning, Pancer has been really good. 3.72 ERA, 0.7 WHIP, opponents' BA of 0.200.
At the other end of things, Bruno should be our closer. He has had a rough start finding the plate. Opponents are only hitting 0.133 off him, but he's walked 9 in only 5 innings, hit 2 guys, and has a 7.2 ERA. He's got great stuff and we've seen him battle with wildness before. Hopefully he sorts that out when needed.
Nobody in the Pac 12 has had a particularly tough early schedule, though there have been a couple of notable games.
Looks like UCLA will be the ace-pitching team with a weaker offense leading to lots of low scoring games.
Stanford will be scoring lots of runs, but maybe giving them up as well.
Oregon State will have a bit of both.
Will be interesting to see who has the best mix.