The Arizona Wildcats stand to lose some pitchers Jay Johnson was hoping to have on the 2020 staff. Such are the vagaries of the MLB draft.
But Johnson loaded up on arms in this yearโs recruiting class โ including a key graduate transfer โ to offset those losses. He firmly believes the newcomers and a returning core of hurlers will combine to cure what ailed the 2019 Wildcats.
Next yearโs team wonโt have right-hander Andrew Dalquist, whom the Chicago White Sox selected in the third round of this weekโs draft. It probably wonโt have Sahuarita High School righty Jose Dicochea or veteran lefty Randy Labaut either.
But righties Quinn Flanagan and Vince Vannelle return as foundational pieces. And Johnson likes the makeup of newcomers Garrett Irvin, Ian Churchill, Davis Vainer, Dawson Netz and Chandler Murphy, among others.
โI think the impact of competitive, winning-type pitchers still stands really strong for us,โ Johnson said Thursday. โI think we have winners in this group. Honestly โฆ an attitude reboot is important. I think these guys fast-track that a little bit.โ
Arizona coach Jay Johnson on having three Wildcats (Cameron Cannon, Nick Quintana, Matt Fraizer) picked in the first three rounds of the MLB draft: pic.twitter.com/OTXtPXwnFi
— Michael Lev (@MichaelJLev) June 6, 2019
Arizona had one of the best offenses in the nation this season. The Wildcats failed to make the NCAA Tournament for a second straight year because of their struggles on the mound. Arizona finished 10th among 11 teams in the Pac-12 with a 6.21 ERA.
Dalquist would have been an instant-impact addition to the staff, but he bloomed as a prospect this spring and became a hot commodity in a draft lacking in high-end arms. The Redondo Beach, California product elevated his velocity from the upper-80s last summer to the mid-90s this season. The White Sox drafted several college seniors, including UA lefty Avery Weems, to free up bonus money for Dalquist.
โThey must think highly of him,โ Johnson said. โWe certainly did.โ
Johnson and his staff also thought highly of Dicochea, whom the Oakland Athletics selected in the eighth round.
Sahuarita coach Sam Gelardi said the hard-throwing right-hander is still โweighing his options,โ but the expectation is that Dicochea will sign with the Aโs.
The same goes for catcher-first baseman Will Bartlett of IMG Academy, a UA signee taken by the Cleveland Indians in the ninth round. Johnson isnโt planning to have Dicochea or Bartlett on next yearโs roster as of now.
Cleveland drafted Labaut in the 35th round. The left-hander went 8-3 this season and had one more year of eligibility remaining. Johnson isnโt expecting him back at this point.
โI would guess heโs going to sign with the Indians,โ Johnson said. โI donโt want to say a whole lot more about it.โ
Although it probably would have been advantageous for Labaut to return for a fifth season, he also knows how fleeting a baseball career can be. Labaut missed a large chunk of the 2018 campaign after undergoing emergency surgery for compartment syndrome. His best friends on the team, Alfonso Rivas and Cesar Salazar, left for the pros at the end of the 2018 season.
UA coach Jay Johnson on the fallout from the MLB draft. He mentioned new pitchers who are on the way. He meant to add Alabama grad transfer Davis Vainer, who could be Arizonaโs closer next year. pic.twitter.com/q1X7fy7ETs
— Michael Lev (@MichaelJLev) June 6, 2019
Johnson expects Irvin, a left-hander from Riverside (California) City College, to join righty Flanagan in the rotation next year. Churchill, a lefty from Santa Barbara City College, should be in the starting mix as well. He recently was named the California Community College State Pitcher of the Year after going 8-2 with a 1.96 ERA and 98 strikeouts in 82ยบ innings.
Netz, meanwhile, posted an ERA of 0.47 over his four-year career at Maranatha High School in Pasadena, California. Johnson considers Netz, a right-hander, โthe best high school pitcher we will have gotten to campusโ since taking over the UA program in June 2015.
Murphy, a right-hander from Peoria Liberty High School, was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 36th round but is expected to honor his commitment to Arizona.
Fifteen rounds earlier, Houston picked Vainer, who announced last month that heโd be transferring from Alabama to Arizona.
Johnson has big plans for Vainer, whoโd be immediately eligible as a graduate transfer. He struck out 43 batters in 29ยบ innings for the Crimson Tide this season.
โHeโs a big, hard-throwing right-hander that will pitch important innings in high-leverage situations for us and gives us a dynamic I feel like weโve been missing the last couple years out of the bullpen,โ Johnson said.
Vannelle emerged as the Wildcatsโ closer this season but could evolve into โone of those swing-type guysโ who starts and relieves, Johnson said.
Heโs also counting on improvement from returnees such as Randy Abshier, George Arias Jr. and Gil Luna.
โThe development of those guys, along with adding the pitchability and competitiveness of this (new) group, gives us a chance to be significantly better on the mound,โ Johnson said.
Dyerโs new role
The biggest draft โwinโ for the 2020 Wildcats came early on Day 2. Thatโs when Johnson received a call from Matthew Dyer, who informed the coach that he would be returning for another season.
Dyer excelled in his first year at Arizona after transferring from Oregon. Playing four positions โ catcher, first base, left field and right field โ Dyer batted .393 with a .480 on-base percentage.
While he will continue to share catching duties with Austin Wells, Dyer might expand his responsibilities next season. Johnson said Dyer โlegitimatelyโ could play all eight defensive positions in 2020.
โThat really gives him a chance to highlight his athleticism,โ Johnson said. โNo position for him will be off the table.โ
Dyer is 6-4 but might have been the fastest player on the 2019 squad.
Interest in Brown
The many coaching changes in college baseball, especially on the West Coast, could affect the UA staff.
After Brian Green left New Mexico State to become the coach at Washington State, D1Baseball.com reported that Arizona assistant Sergio Brown could be a candidate for the NMSU job.
Brown also has ties to Cal State Northridge, which recently fired Greg Moore. Brown served as an assistant at coach for the Matadors in 2013.
โHeโs done a good job here, and I think schools should look at him to be a head coach,โ Johnson said of his ace recruiter and infield coach.
โHe should be a candidate for all those positions. Schools would be making a mistake not to look at him.โ
Inside pitch
- Shortstop Jacob Blas, who missed 39 games this season because of personal issues and a knee injury, is making good progress with the latter, Johnson said. โThere is a chance that we may get him out the back half of the summer to start playing again,โ Johnson said. โReal positive news on that front.โ The UA has applied for a medical-hardship waiver for Blas, whoโd be a redshirt sophomore next season if it were granted.
- Johnson on having three of his players (Cameron Cannon, Nick Quintana, Matt Fraizer) picked in the first three rounds of the draft: โAll three of those guys were drafted out of high school and significantly improved their position by playing at Arizona. I just think it speaks to what we want to be about in terms of player development.โ
- A conference-record 70 Pac-12 players were drafted, including No. 1 overall pick Adley Rutschman of Oregon State. All 11 schools that participate in baseball had at least one draftee. UCLA led the way with 13.
