In the midst of the 2022 MLB draft, Arizona coach Chip Hale said the ’23 Wildcats could be “a really young team” or “a really old team” depending on how it played out.
It appears they’ll be ... both.
Arizona returns a veteran nucleus, several of whom could have been drafted but weren’t. Meanwhile, the Wildcats currently have 17 freshmen on their 44-player roster.
It has made for a different dynamic within the program as Hale begins his second season as its leader. After arriving relatively late last year (July 5), Hale had to scramble just to keep the UA roster intact. He and his staff mainly worked with what they inherited. Depth was lacking in certain areas — the infield in particular — and opportunities to develop young players behind established starters were scarce.
Now Arizona has a robust group of talented rookies, most of whom don’t have to step into pivotal roles right away. Hale prefers it that way.
“A thousand percent,” said Hale, whose team will conclude its fall exhibition slate with a doubleheader against UNLV on Saturday at Hi Corbett Field. First pitch is 11 a.m.
“They can actually work their way through it, get used to playing at a college level, get used to school, a weight program, and develop and be ready, whether it’s this spring or their sophomore year.”
With so many newcomers — Arizona also has eight transfers — Hale decided to alter the fall schedule. The Wildcats started team activities about a month earlier than usual. The Cats vs. Wild World Series is slated for next weekend.
The team will use the following few weeks “to really focus on individual improvement off what we’ve seen, whether it’s developing a pitch for somebody or actually changing a swing or changing a position,” Hale said. “We’re gonna wait till after these games are over.”
Hale already has learned a lot about his squad. Here are some of the key storylines of the fall:
Bullard’s health
Third baseman Tony Bullard played all of last season with a shoulder injury suffered during preseason practice. He was never quite right, especially in the field, where throwing across the diamond required an exaggerated, over-the-top motion. Hale said Bullard played last year at 60-65%.
Bullard is now 90—95% healthy, Hale said. Bullard also has added 15-20 pounds of muscle.
“We’re being careful with him,” Hale said. “He’s had no problem throwing this fall so far.”
The injury led to a disappointing season, as Bullard batted just .247 with five home runs — one fewer than he hit over the final 10 games of 2021. It also led to him not being drafted, a somewhat surprising development given his tools and his 6-foot-4-inch, 216-pound frame.
Bullard did hit .310 in the 2022 postseason with a .400 on-base percentage. Hale is hopeful that will carry over and that good health will enable Bullard to produce over a full campaign.
Canyon del Oro High School product Kiko Romero joins the Wildcats following a stellar junior-college career.
Romero’s return
Kiko Romero, a former standout at Canyon del Oro High School, is slated to be Arizona’s starting first baseman.
Romero had a breakout season at Central Arizona College last year, hitting .366 with 25 home runs, 84 RBIs and 19 stolen bases in 243 at-bats. He was named MVP of the NJCAA World Series after batting .407 with six home runs and 11 RBIs in six games.
“I expect him to hit in the top five and play really good defense,” Hale said. “Very impressive glove at first base. He can go out and play the outfield if we need him to. He should ... be a big, big producer for us.”
Critically, Romero bats left-handed. Arizona often had only one left-handed batter, outfielder Chase Davis, in its lineup last season. Right-handed pitchers were able to exploit the Wildcats’ imbalanced order with off-speed pitches.
Arizona’s Tyler Casagrande will try to fill the void left by departing slugger Tanner O’Tremba.
The replacements
Arizona has to replace its two most productive batters, Daniel Susac and Tanner O’Tremba. Each hit over .350. They combined for 23 home runs and 117 RBIs.
The successors to Susac at catcher are sophomore Tommy Splaine and junior Cameron LaLiberte. Splaine mostly played first base last season, hitting .271 with a .361 OBP and 24 RBIs in 177 at-bats. He’s built similarly to Susac at 6-5, 207. Splaine is currently out because of a sprained wrist.
LaLiberte had only 33 at-bats as a designated hitter and fill-in for Susac but showed promise by slashing .303/.395/.485. LaLiberte also flashed a quality glove behind the plate. He and Splaine are expected to split time at catcher, with each also in the mix at DH.
Veteran Tyler Casagrande, another left-handed bat, is vying for playing time at DH and in right field, where O’Tremba started 58 of 64 games last season. Casagrande’s primary competition in right is transfer Emilio Corona, who batting .346 with 13 homers, 60 RBIs and 15 stolen bases in 182 at-bats for Pima College last season. Corona, who began his college career at Washington, has missed time in fall camp because of a hamstring injury.
New arms
After Arizona ran out of viable, reliable arms in the NCAA Regionals, Hale vowed to beef up the pitching staff. Eleven of the Wildcats’ 25 newcomers are pitchers.
Arizona is counting on the transfers to have an immediate impact, in particular right-handers Derek Drees, Aiden May and Cameron Walty, and left-hander Bradon Zastrow.
Drees and Walty came to Tucson via the NCAA transfer portal. Drees, who’s listed at 6-6 and 243 pounds, went 4-3 with four saves and a 1.27 ERA at Butler last season. Walty went 4-6 with a 5.04 ERA at Nevada. His best performance came against the Wildcats — a three-hit shutout at Hi Corbett on April 30.
May and Zastrow pitched for Pima last season. May, who went 6-1 with a 5.21 ERA for the Aztecs, has “knockout stuff” but needs to harness it better to succeed, Hale said. Zastrow went 8-7 with a 3.85 ERA across two—plus seasons for Pima. He’s one of only five left-handed pitchers on the roster.
Jackson Kent is another. He isn’t technically a newcomer but might as well be after redshirting at Arizona last season. He was slated to start the first game vs. UNLV.
“We’d love him to start. He has the pitches to start,” Hale said. “But if we have two or three other guys that are better, then he falls into a really good place coming out of the bullpen and giving us innings.”
Hale also expects jumps from sophomore lefties Eric Orloff and Drew Calloway, among others.
Returning arms
Whether the 2023 Wildcats can go further than the ’22 version will hinge on the performance of the pitching staff — especially returning right-handers TJ Nichols and Anthony “Tonko” Susac.
Nichols has the prototype build (6—5, 188) and nasty stuff — including a high-90s fastball — to be a top-shelf Friday-night starter. He seemed to be on that path as a sophomore before a midseason slump. He finished 6-4 with a 5.50 ERA.
“He’s been working on a lot of different things and throwing strikes consistently at 96, 97, 98,” Hale said. “He’s one of those guys that every scout loves because of the velocity and the body. And he’s such a great kid.”
Susac worked as a starter and reliever and finished his freshman campaign with a 4—3 record and an 8.81 ERA. Susac was Perfect Game’s 146th-ranked high school player in the class of 2021. Last season marked the first time he was able to pitch competitively since undergoing elbow surgery in December 2020.
“Tonko probably had his breakout outing last week,” Hale said. “He was hitting 96 on the radar gun. His ball was sinking like it’s supposed to. The slider was good. He was real confident. We’ll see where that ends up.”
