M Baseball Preseason #8
The Wolverines are ranked No. 8 in Baseball America's preseason Top 25 posted Monday, looking to build on a 50-win season that included their first trip to the College World Series since 1984, and the program's best finish since the 1962 national championship team.
“We’re not a top-10 team, I can promise you that. Not coming out of the snow in February,” Bakich told The Detroit News this month. “I really don’t care what the ranking is except the last one, and I think our players feel the same way, too. At no point were we a top-10 in the country until we were at the end. We educate our players on just controlling the controllables, and those rankings are simply the opinions of other people. Those rankings ebb and flow based on how you perform each week. Is it nice to recognized? Sure. Does it matter? No. I’m sure they like that they’re recognized and if they get some confidence from it, then I like it, too.
January 20th, 2020 at 3:02 PM ^
Went to all three games at UCLA last year. That run was one of my favorite unexpected Michigan fan moments of my lifetime. Let’s hope they can get to Omaha again.
January 20th, 2020 at 7:27 PM ^
Right up there with the basketball team the year before for me
January 20th, 2020 at 3:03 PM ^
That is... Probably too high ...
January 20th, 2020 at 3:09 PM ^
What a great response. It sounds like the team has bought in too.
January 20th, 2020 at 3:14 PM ^
They put a magical run together and their horses all had their "A" stuff on the mound. I like the trajectory of the program but it is still hard to compete with the Southern teams and out West teams. If they make it back to Omaha once in the next ten years, I would call that a major success.
January 20th, 2020 at 3:21 PM ^
Didn't we lose most of our ace pitchers from last year and a few other guys? I barely know anything about the baseball team. Has there been good recruiting lately?
January 20th, 2020 at 4:49 PM ^
Chris Fetter stayed as pitching coach. That was somewhat unexpected and a huge plus.
They do lose a lot of pitching but get Ben Dragani back. He missed last season after being a Freshman All American in 2017-18. Harbaugh is also helping out with Joey Velasquez and RJ Moten.
I heard it was very good, but someone else can better discuss Bakich's recruiting.
January 20th, 2020 at 7:23 PM ^
Losing pitchers Tommy Henry & Karl Kauffmann, the #74 & #79 picks in the MLB draft, is going to be rather hard for a northern school to replace.
The B1G is like a mid-major in baseball, so sure, there's no reason why we can't compete for the B1G. But it seems unlikely for Mich to be in the national picture after those losses.
We also lost Jimmy Kerr, who reminded me of former Tiger Jason Thompson with his long looping swing. I bring this up mostly to get in the Jason Thompson reference (which is pronounced with a George Kell emphasis.)
January 20th, 2020 at 3:25 PM ^
Gonna be hard to replicate last year. Don’t think it happens. But make the tournament, keep program momentum heading in the right direction
January 20th, 2020 at 3:43 PM ^
Well said Bakich. We could all benefit from that kind of attitude toward all Michigan sports teams.
January 20th, 2020 at 5:41 PM ^
I agree wholeheartedly.
January 20th, 2020 at 3:54 PM ^
Great initial ranking. They'll have to replace a decent chunk of their pitching staff, but it's a talented squad.
January 20th, 2020 at 4:25 PM ^
They should probably fire Bakich.
January 20th, 2020 at 4:54 PM ^
I see what you did there
January 20th, 2020 at 4:38 PM ^
I had the opportunity to hear Coach Bakich speak at the Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Association clinic this past weekend. Although biased, Coach Bakich was the most engaging speaker of a group that included the head coaches from osu, WVU, Texas and Kent State. UM is cutting edge when it comes to baseball analytics and biometric coaching. If he wasn't a baseball coach, he would be a leader in whatever profession he chose.
If we can keep him at UM, Coach Bakich is going to continue to put a talented and consistent group of young men on the diamond. I'm looking forward to watching some new guys step up this season.
January 20th, 2020 at 11:32 PM ^
M is also on the cutting edge relaying signs with their card system. I’ve heard that’s really important these days.
January 20th, 2020 at 4:42 PM ^
They had a great recruiting class come in for this year, but preseason #8- way too high. They lost a lot of talent off of last year's team. Backich could be right, they may be top ten by the end of the year, but right now, there is just too much to replace with kids that haven't proven anything yet.
January 21st, 2020 at 6:51 PM ^
They are returning a pretty decent core with Nwogu,Franklin,Bullock plus return starting Catcher and SS (Blomberg/Donovan) add pitcher Jeff Criswell (could be 1-2nd round draft pick) and some young arms with big game exp already like Paige
People are forgetting Michigan is getting a huge boost from a player that missed much of last season
Dominic Clementi
Sophomore (2018)
• ABCA/Rawlings All-Mideast Region First Team selection
• All-Big Ten First Team selection
• Led Michigan with a .368 batting average and a .485 on-base percentage
Freshman (2017)
• Finished the season with a .409 batting average through 18 games played