As I mentioned in the Pre-season All-Big Ten Team post comments, I'm going to be waiting until Thursday night to put up the IU seasonal preview because of Media Day that day as well as it being the first time I'll be able to get out and see the team practice (official practice started Monday).
So, in the mean time, I give you part one the Big Ten's season preview:
Illinois Fighting Illini
2009 Record: 34-20 (16-8 Big Ten)
Key Players Returning: SS/OF Pete Cappetta (.384/.475/.543), OF Willie Argo (.355/.421/.651), RHP Will Strack (3.84 ERA, 18 K/18 BB in 68 IP, .293 BAA), C Aaron Johnson (.333/.413/.528)
Key Players Lost: 3B Brandon Wikoff (.373/.434/.544), IF Dominic Altobelli (.361/.431/.566)
Incoming Freshmen: 3B/SS Brandon Hohl (Mokena, Ill.), RHP Kevin Johnson (Midlothian , Ill.), RHP Matt Milroy (Batavia , Ill.)
Season Outlook: The 2010 Illini lose some key hitters from their line-up, which was one of the best in the conference last year. Cappetta and Argo will look to fuel the offensive firepower, while you could see freshman Hohl get a fair amount of at-bats. The team will search for an answer to replace Phil Haig, who has been officially dismissed from the team, as Illinois' number three starter. That answer could end up being either of the talented freshman, Kevin Johnson or Matt Milroy. Coach Hartleb has indicated that the team will hope to use Lee Zerrusen as its' full-time closer this season. Defense will continue to remain a strong suit in 2010, and may be even stronger seeing as the team will be without Altobelli, who made a team high 22 errors last year.
Ohio State Buckeyes
2009 Record: 42-19 (18-6 Big Ten)
Key Players Returning: RHP Alex Wimmers (3.27 ERA, 136/55 K/BB, 104.2 IP, .211 BAA), C Dan Burkhart (.354/.429/.589) OF Michael Stephens (.346/.410/.608), OF Ryan Dew (.388/.429/.562)
Key Players Lost: RHP Jake Hale (1.31 ERA, 67/15 K/BB, 55 IP, .191 BAA, 18 SV)
Incoming Freshmen: RHP Justin Jamison (Strongsville, Ohio), OF Hunter Mayfield (Tallahassee, Fla.), 3B Steel Russell (Wyndmore, Penn.)
Season Outlook: The easy pre-season conference favorite returns one college baseball's finest in Alex Wimmers and 2009 Big Ten Conference POY Dan Burkhart to potentially gear up for a CWS run. The team will, however, need to figure out the rest of its' rotation before they are considered a serious CWS threat. The road to closer Jake Hale last year was unspectacular, so they'll need to figure out the entire bullpen with Hale gone to play in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization. The line-up will be as strong as last year, where it led the Big Ten in practically every major offensive statistical category.
Minnesota Golden Gophers
2009 Record: 40-19 (17-6 Big Ten)
Key Players Returning: MIF AJ Pettersen (.353/.445/.438), C/OF Michael Kvasnicka (.341/.381/.550), RHP Seth Rosin (4.21 ERA, 65 K/16 BB, 77 IP, .274 BAA), RHP Scott Matyas (2.22 ERA, 45 K/7 BB, 28.1 IP, .202 BAA)
Key Players Lost: MIF Derek McCallum (.409/.484/.741), RHP Tom Buske (3.57 ERA, 75 K/26 BB, 95.2 IP, .223 BAA), RHP Chauncy Handran (4.59 ERA, 57 K/33 BB, 96 IP, .295 BAA)
Incoming Freshmen: OF David Bettenburg (St. Paul, Minn.)
Season Outlook: It won't be easy to replace the production from All-American McCallum, who was third in all the NCAA in RBI, and top 10 in slugging. The line-up will not be without several talented hitters such as Pettersen, Kvasnicka, and outfielder Justin Gominsky. Minnesota will be able to make a smooth transition to find new starters to replace two-thirds of its' 2009 rotation. The Gophers do sport arguably the top defensive team in the conference and have an outstanding bullpen, complete with lots of bullets for Coach Anderson to call on, including Matyas, who has safely replaced OSU's Jake Hale the top closer in the conference. The team will still have plenty of talent to make a legitimate run at the Big Ten title.
Michigan Wolverines
2009 Record: 30-25 (9-15 Big Ten)
Key Players Returning: OF Ryan LaMarre (.344/.453/.599), LHP Eric Katzman (3.53 ERA, 64 K/41 BB in 74 IP, .248 BAA), RHP Matt Miller (3.40 ERA, 43 K/28 BB in 42.1 IP, .204 BAA), 1B Mike Dufek (.304/.374/.627)
Key Players Lost: OF Kenny Fellows (.340/.426/.419), RHP Chris Fetter (3.26 ERA, 103 K/17 BB in 94 IP, .257 BAA)
Incoming Freshmen: RHP Kyle Clark (Portage, Mich.), LHP Logan McAnallen (DeWitt, Mich.), RHP Logan McAnallen (Oakland, Cal.)
Season Outlook: Coming off a disappointing 2009 season, in which U of M never seemed to find consistency with the bats, Coach Maloney will have to be creative as he returns only three hitters who hit .300 last year. Still, though, the team will have a strong 3-4 in LaMarre and Dufek to provide adequate run support. It's the pitching that Michigan is going to be hurting the most this year. Katzman should transition into the Friday night role just fine, but the loss of Fetter and unclarity of who will round out the rotation will be the biggest question mark on the 2010 for the Wolverines.
Stay tuned for part two tomorrow.
