Shortly after he became the baseball coach at Arizona, Jay Johnson sat down with his predecessor, Andy Lopez, to talk shop.
A major thrust of their conversation, Johnson said, was “picking his brain about roster needs moving forward, his perception of what was in the cupboard, if you will.”
Lopez’s message: “Hey, you gotta go get some pitching.”
Johnson did that this week. Eight of the 14 members of the Wildcats’ 2017-18 signing class, announced Thursday, are pitchers. Even more significant, seven of the eight are high school pitchers.
After primarily patching up the pitching staff with junior-college transfers last summer and in the 2016-17 class, Johnson made a long-term play.
“In 2016, a lot of elite high school pitchers were taken, so it was a junior-college-heavy pitching deal,” Johnson said. “Then this year, we’re on a little more of level playing field, so it allowed us to go get some young pitchers you have a chance to keep in the program for three years.”
The centerpiece of that group is 6-4, 205-pound right-hander Matt Sauer of Ernest Righetti High in Santa Maria, California. Sauer went 10-3 with a 0.83 ERA and 103 strikeouts in 84ª innings as a high school junior. Johnson described Sauer as possibly “the most impactful recruit we have had in our time here at Arizona.”
Sauer was the type of player Johnson hoped to land after learning another lesson upon taking the UA job: The competition for recruits in the Pac-12 is fierce.
“You better be able to step up and get elite-type pitching,” Johnson said. “I think Matt really fits the bill on that.”
Three of the pitchers come from Arizona: right-hander Quinn Flanagan (Chandler) and lefties Gil Luna (Casa Grande) and Avery Weems (Flagstaff).
Weems is the only junior college transfer among the eight pitchers. He possesses a “swing-and-miss curveball,” Johnson said, “and you try to never walk away from a lefty with a good breaking ball.”
Perhaps the most interesting addition among the position players is another JC transfer, infielder Travis Moniot. Moniot started 53 games at shortstop as a freshman for Oregon last season, batting .168 with five home runs in 167 at-bats.
Moniot is currently at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, California. Johnson recently learned of Moniot’s availability from one of Moniot’s close friends — UA sophomore pitcher Cody Deason.
The Kris Bryant factor
Before leading Arizona to a runner-up finish in the College World Series this year, Johnson was best known for helping to recruit and develop Kris Bryant at the University of San Diego.
Bryant went on to become the No. 2 pick in the 2013 draft, and he helped the Chicago Cubs break their 108-year World Series drought last week. He was the National League Rookie of the Year last season and is the favorite to win MVP this year.
Johnson said Bryant comes up a lot during conversations with recruits, “which is great. We won’t shy away from that.”
More than anything, Bryant personifies Johnson’s beliefs about the value of college baseball.
“It wasn’t just about him committing to San Diego,” Johnson said. “It’s not just about these guys signing a piece of paper. It’s about their path to achieving their ultimate dream of becoming a major-league player.”
Inside pitch
• UA has six more intrasquad scrimmages, culminating with the Wild vs. Cats World Series Nov. 18-20 at Hi Corbett Field. The players will select the squads Monday.
• Asked to name some standouts from fall ball thus far, Johnson cited two veterans and four newcomers. The vets were center fielder Jared Oliva and left-handed pitcher Rio Gomez. The newcomers were infielders Cameron Cannon and Nick Quintana, and outfielders Matthew Frazier and Cal Stevenson.
