Here at Hofstra University for the Fall Ball Series Powered by @EastCoastSP pic.twitter.com/VJUmiak5nt
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) October 5, 2019
Playing in the CAA presents challenges to any northeast team. The grueling conference schedule is often unforgiving. Fall behind in the standings early and you can be left in the dust and out of postseason contention.
The Hofstra Pride, led by Coach John Russo, nearly completed a miraculous postseason push but just missed out in 2019. This season, they are primed to return back to the postseason–as they did in 2018–and they certainly are using the new-age tool to maximize their chances.
I was down there today for their exhibition match up against Molloy College and observed their tablet that was placed halfway between the mound and home plate in order to gather data on the velocity, RPMs and exact location in the strike zone.
It’s a brilliant idea in the sense that there’s no rule against it in an exhibition match and it can provide invaluable tools to players and coaches that can help them unlock their potential as a ballplayer.
For example, reliever Mike Mirando came on and blew his fastball past the opposing batters for two innings. To the naked eye, you can clearly see he had overwhelming velocity today. Look at the data, though, and you see that Hofstra has a pitcher that can potentially be a huge weapon for them this season as the junior has harnessed the ability to control a devastating splitter by using the same arm speed as his fastball but with much less spin and a tremendous amount of vertical drop.
While they might not have John Rooney or Teddy Cillis taking the mound this season, perhaps they can go the Adam Ottavino route and create a bullpen ace through the use of Rapsodo and slo-motion video.
Mirando represents an X-Factor for the team, but they also have plenty of players that are expected to have strong performances in 2020.
The starting staff will be leaning on 6’4 RHP Jack Jett to anchor the rotation along with LHP Ryan Rue. Pitching coach Blake Nation is pleased with what he’s seen from both of them and they will likely be taking the ball to start each series. They will also be looking on a combination of pitchers such as LHP Jack Anderson, RHP Jimmy Joyce and others to potentially fill out that Sunday spot. Last year they took a page from the Tampa Bay Rays and often used a pitcher for one or two innings to ‘open’ the game as opposed to a traditional starting pitcher as they had during their playoff season in 2018.
Joyce showcased a newly-implemented arm slot today. He had always been directly over-the-top as a pitcher and a RF for the Pride the past two seasons. Now strictly a pitcher, they found a lower arm slot that allows him to get more movement while also sitting in the 89-90 MPH range.
The offense will be looking to replace Vito Friscia, who is now in the Philadelphia Phillies organization after being a mainstay in the Pride lineup since he first stepped on a collegiate field in 2016. He led the team in every significant offensive category including AVG (.353), OPS (.945) and RBI (31).
Today we saw a taste of that with 1B Rob Weissheier hitting a monster HR to left field in the eighth inning. Weissheier is a 6’4 230 lb slugger that is looking to have his breakout season, as all signs seem to be trending towards that.
Vinnie Costello, a 6’5 senior OF, hit a 3-R HR in the eighth inning today and they will be hoping for plenty more of that this season. Costello represents another power bat in their lineup.
Grad transfer Brian Goulard, who smoked a double today, is a huge pickup. He’s essentially a ready-made middle-of-the-order bat that they are getting from Fordham. He hit .280 with 53 hits for the Rams in 2018. He’s a Chaminade grad and he should be a difference-maker this season.
They are also very high on SS Austin Gauthier, who had a huge summer season, and is both a force at the plate and a steady defender at short. He flashed the leather in the first inning today, ranging far to his left and firing a strike on the run to nail the runner by a step. Having a steady defender at SS is crucial in the CAA. They’ve been fortunate to have had good defense up the middle for several seasons.
Sean Flaherty was behind the plate and batting cleanup today. The sophomore will be tasked with replacing Friscia, but he certainly won’t be overwhelmed as his uncle, John Flaherty, was in the big leagues for several seasons and he is wired for the game of baseball.
Fans of Long Island baseball are familiar with Anthony D’Onofrio, who starred at Wantagh HS alongside Jimmy Joyce. After playing the infield most of his life, he was moved to CF, to accommodate the team’s need. He showed off his athleticism with a stellar play running with his back to home plate to catch a line drive off the bat of Pete Theodorellis. Third baseman Myles Mensah looked very good as well.
Another huge pick up for them is Lucas Hall, a grad transfer from Columbia University. He is a flamethrowing southpaw and he could slide into the backend of the bullpen and provide a reliable arm setting up for closer Andrew Mundy.
As a forward-thrinker, Nation is not tied to using Mundy in the traditional closer role. He has been used in outings up to three innings and always in the high-leverage spots.
The Pride will be an improved team over last season when they had two seniors playing roles. With more experience and the commitment to technology, they should make noise in the CAA this season.
