The beauty of college athletics is that you get four years to prove yourself. Sometimes it’s a blessing, sometimes it’s a curse and that’s entirely up to the athlete based on his worth ethic.
There were a number of players who didn’t perform the way they were hoping to last year–but have committed themselves to proving that was an anomaly.
In this article last year, we correctly identified T.J. Santiago, Ron Bauer and Matt Seelinger as player’s that could enjoy bounceback seasons.
Here are the player’s poised for a bounce back season:
Nick Bottari, Hofstra
This is the first season he enters fully healthy since he was in eighth grade, when he drove in 40 runs on varsity at Shoreham-Wading River. He has suffered a myriad of injuries and has gone through hell and back–which you can read about here. Bottari has the type of bat speed that makes scouts drool and the type of bat speed that generates 113 MPH exit velocity off the bat. That puts him up there with the likes of Giancarlo Stanton and Nelson Cruz. He will be in the middle of their order and they will be counting on him to generate big numbers offensively.
Dom Danetti, Molloy
Danetti was a part of the Dowling pitching staff last year and was forced to find a new school with their shutdown. It was a great fit at Molloy with an established program right near his hometown of Wantagh. The southpaw is a MacArthur grad and has the toughness that many of the Generals are known to have. He has experience pitching in both the rotation and the bullpen, but the early reports are very positive. My source said he looks ready to assert himself in the rotation and be a key arm for them as they hope to return to the NCAA Regionals. It benefits him that he is a newcomer with plenty of postseason experience.
Josh Outsen, St. Joseph’s
Outsen had a phenomenal 2015 season in which he compiled a 1.32 ERA over 54 IP. For whatever reason, he regressed a bit last year with his command and is ERA shot up to 5.05. Still, he has been a workhorse and has deception with his 3/4 delivery and a heavy two-seam fastball that bores in on right-handed hitters and yields many weak groundouts. My source says he is focused and ready to return to his 2015 form. He will be part of a veteran rotation that consists of three other upper-classmen and that type of competition could bring out the best in him.
Brandon Alberto, NYIT
Alberto fits the mold of the HDMH pitchers–as inspired by Marcus Stroman. The 5’8′ RHP was a workhorse at Newfield HS and was expected to be a late-inning reliever for the NYIT Bears as freshman. He struggled to adjust to the college hitters and allowed 35 base runners and four home runs over 21.1 IP. He did strike out 22 batters. Coach Malvagna stated that he is still very high on the young hurler and he has showed that he learned from last year’s experience. He will have to earn his spot in the backend of the bullpen, but the early signs are that he’s ready to take on the challenge.
Ryan O’Connor, Farmingdale State
O’Connor came out of nowhere and won six games as freshman with a 3.99 ERA. The 6’0″ RHP struggled to duplicate that as sophomore and lost his spot in the rotation. My source said he seemed to improve his command as the season went on and was trusted more in big spots. Now a junior, O’Connor appears ready to step back into the rotation behind Matt Seelinger and will have a crucial role as the Rams try to reclaim their spot atop the Skyline Conference as they did for seven consecutive seasons.
Trey Pizzutello, SUNY Old Westbury
Coach Stephan spoke glowingly of the RHP before last season. The 6’4″ RHP did not have a terrible season, but did not dominate as expected. He compiled a 4.66 ERA over 38.2 IP, with 32 Ks and only six walks. His issue seemed to be allowing too many extra-base hits. My source said that he looks good, he’s back in the mid-to-upper 80s with his fastball and has a chance to break camp in the starting rotation.
Cameron Stone, Stony Brook
Stone had an immediate impact as a freshman, being named All-American and was one of the best closers in the northeast. After getting moved to the rotation, he struggled mightily and was then injured and red-shirted. My source says that he is back near 100% and looks like the 2014-’15 version of himself. Stone has clean mechanics and a big-time fastball that gets plenty of swings-and-misses. He had 78 strikeouts over his first 62 career innings. All of that came as a reliever, so it is likely that he returns to that role in order to maximize his effectiveness.
Danny Taggart, Adelphi
Taggart was expected to come in as a freshman and have a big-role out of the gate. That did not happen and he pitched just 7.1 IP and allowed 16 hits before moving down the depth chart. He did strike out 11 batters and walked only three, so the stuff is there. He pitched extremely well in the summer and the fall. My source said he has really committed himself this offseason and could be a big weapon out of the bullpen this year. The Holy Trinity grad has a compact delivery that should play well as long as he locates.
