ASU Baseball: Previewing the 2023 Sun Devils after fall ball

(Photo: Reece Andrews/WCSN)

Fall Ball is officially underway for ASU Baseball as they prepare for another busy spring season. On Oct. 13, head coach Willie Bloomquist and several players spoke to the media about the offseason and preparation.

Schedule

The 56-game schedule was recently released on Oct. 21, highlighted by 31 home games and an SEC matchup for the first time since 2014. The 2023 slate begins at Phoenix Municipal Stadium Feb. 17-19 against San Diego State. After a midweek game against UNLV on Feb. 21, the Sun Devils will play a three-game series against 2021 College World Series Champion Mississippi State on Feb. 24-26. The other notable non-conference matchup is a two-game road trip to Oklahoma State Mar. 7 and 8. Last season, the Sun Devils were swept by the No. 4 Cowboys in both games at Muni.

“[We have] some exciting ones this year,” Bloomquist said. “We’re pumped for the non-conference ones that we have, road especially, but we have some good ones at home as well.”

In Pac-12 play, ASU will host three-game series against Stanford, Oregon State, UCLA, and Arizona. According to Sun Devil Athletics, Phoenix Municipal Stadium averaged 3,199 fans per game in 2022, the third-best tally in program history and the most in the Muni era, which began in 2015.

ASU’s 2022 season saw a diverse non-conference slate that saw visits from Nevada, BYU, No. 4 Oklahoma State, and San Francisco. The schedule also included road trips to San Diego State, UC Irvine, and Santa Clara. The Sun Devils were 13-15 in those non-conference games, finishing 26-32 in Bloomquist’s first year at the helm. They were 13-17 in Pac-12 play, finishing eighth and qualifying for the inaugural Pac-12 Tournament at Scottsdale Stadium.

The Pac-12 Tournament will return to Scottsdale Stadium May 24-28, but will look a little different from a year ago. This year, a ninth team will be added to the tournament, allowing the conference to divide into three pools. Pool play will consist of two games each, with the top three teams and a wild card advancing to a single elimination bracket.

Bloomquist’s second year

The biggest change entering the 2022 season was the introduction of a new coaching staff after the program mutually parted ways with former head coach Tracy Smith following an underwhelming 2021 season that saw the team fall short in NCAA Regionals. Thus, Bloomquist, a fellow ASU alum and former major leaguer, was hired. His staff consists of pitching coach and recruiting coordinator Sam Peraza and assistant coaches Mike Goff and Dan Jaffe.

Although his first season wasn’t quite what everybody hoped for, there’s much more certainty and optimism now that he has a full year under his belt.

“[Bloomquist] was dealt a tough deck of cards last year,” sophomore catcher Ryan Campos said. “Coming in, he had to go with what was here, not to say that it was bad or anything, but he gets his own pick this year, and I’m really excited.”

Added Bloomquist: “Learning the schedule last year was tough and understanding how much workload that you have in this position. This year, I need to do a better job figuring out ways to spend time with the players individually to learn [about] them a little better and understand what makes them tick, communicating better with our guys, and learning from my mistakes too.”

Bloomquist also acknowledged that he has a more realistic understanding of the daily expectations and routines throughout the season.

“You’re not going to find a coach with more passion for ASU [than Bloomquist],” junior third baseman Ethan Long said. “I don’t know if I’ll ever get to that level, but I want to come close.”

Added sophomore outfielders Will Rogers: “He’s such a knowledgable guy about baseball. It’s not only [his experience]; it’s his work ethic. That’s really motivating to me and to the entire team to have a coach that is a leader by example, and he really does do everything that he teaches.”

Added depth to the roster

ASU added a total of 32 new players, the large majority of whom were acquired in the transfer portal. Baseball America ranked Bloomquist’s transfer class No. 2 in the country, adding 19, most notably junior infielder Luke Keaschall from San Francisco, freshman outfielder Isaiah Jackson, sophomore outfielder Nick McLain from UCLA and junior left-handed pitcher Ross Dunn from Florida State.

“It was something we knew we were going to have to do,” Bloomquist said. “The staff did a tremendous job on researching, staying on top of the portal.”

This fall, 21 pitchers are officially listed on the roster compared to only 17 last season. ASU’s roster certainly lacked depth in 2022, but it shouldn’t be a concern in 2023.

“This was a long summer for us, but everyone was on top from checking who was in the portal, to connections, to visits, to everything,” Peraza said. “We’re excited. Those guys are pretty talented. We have a chance to be deep on the mound and run out true starters in the mid-week [games] as guys fill into their roles, which I think will lead to more wins there.”

From the players’ perspective, this larger, deeper roster has resulted in higher intensity during practices and scrimmages.

“Everybody knows that the spots here every single day are up for grabs, so they’re working their butts off every single day,” sophomore infielder Jacob Tobias said. “It’s really impressive to see nobody taking their time for granted here. Last year, we had a lot of times where people were just going through the motions.”

“It took a toll on our bodies last year, so it’s not better for us this year, not only on our bodies for endurance but being able to learn from others too,” Tobias added.

The drastic change in the roster has also helped the team build a tighter bond, another aspect of the culture Bloomquist has been trying to instill.

“Coming in, I didn’t know more than half the team, but we got close pretty quick. We’re always together hanging out,” Long said. “You gain respect for people quick and all of us respect everybody in there.”

Long returns to Tempe

In spite of the roster’s new look, many familiar faces stayed in Tempe for the 2023 season, including Long, Will Rogers, Tobias, and redshirt sophomore right-handed pitcher Tyler Meyer, among others.

After a breakout season as a freshman in 2021, Long struggled to find consistency at the plate in 2022. His freshman season earned him All-American honors and a First-Team All-Pac-12 selection. He earned three Pac-12 Player of the Week awards and was the only player in the Pac-12 to receive multiple honors that season and the first Sun Devil to earn it three times in a season since Hunter Bishop in 2019. Long’s freshman season will be most remembered for his 19-game hot streak, hitting 15 home runs, 40 RBIs and a 1.681 OPS in those games.

As with several other Sun Devils in 2022, Long experienced time on the injury report in his sophomore campaign, not getting a single hit in the final month of the season due to a wrist injury that required surgery this summer. He finished the season with an underwhelming .294 batting average, only seven home runs and 28 RBIs in 42 games.

In July, Long was one of six Sun Devils from the 2022 squad to hear their name called in the 2022 MLB Draft. In addition to Long, the Sun Devils had five more players drafted, adding more departures to the list.

As for Long, he was the final pick of the 2022 Draft, selected in the 20th round by the San Francisco Giants, where he picked up a temporary nickname ‘Mr. Irrelevant.’

“First couple of days I thought it was pretty funny,” Long said. “I’m kind of a goofball, so I thought it would fit pretty well, but after a couple days it was like ‘alright, it was funny, but at the same time, it’s not.’”

The standout difference from Long, compared to his former teammates, is that he is the only one who turned down a contract and decided to return to Tempe.

“I always knew the legacy and culture of ASU, seeing how many national championships they won,” Long said. “Growing up 20 minutes down the road, I had goals that I also wanted to bring one back while I was here, so it wasn’t that hard of a choice for me. I knew I had a lot of stuff I haven’t proved or gotten to achieve yet, so I wanted to come back.”

added Rodgers: “I think some of the stuff that’s been going on with him has motivated him a little bit extra. He’s getting after it a little bit more, and it’s showing. He’s working out, doing everything he needs to, so other guys can look up to him and learn from him as well.”

While some things may look different come February from a year prior, the goal remains the same for Long and the Sun Devils.