Fresno State Athletics
Glance at the 2016 Diamond 'Dogs: Pitchers
2/11/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
By: Travis Blanshan
tblanshan@csufresno.edu
GoBulldogs.com
FRESNO, Calif. - With the start of the Fresno State baseball season only eight days away and preseason practice in full gear in anticipation for the Feb. 19 opener vs. Creighton, let's take a closer look at the 2016 Bulldogs as we do the first of a three-part positional preview starting with the pitchers. Part two will be an infielder preview on Friday with the third installment on Monday with the outfielders.
With the departure of Garrett Mundell and Jake Shull to the MLB Draft and the graduation of William Munro and Casey Rodriguez after the 2015 season, the Bulldogs will reload their pitching staff with experienced players who look to step into the spotlight in 2016.
Shull, an 11th-round selection of the Detroit Tigers, and Mundell to the New York Yankees in the 23rd round, the 'Dogs lost a pair of all-conference arms who ranked in the top five in the Mountain West in ERA. Shull led the MW with a conference-low 1.90 ERA, and had a team-high five wins to earn second-team All-MW honors, while Mundell finished fifth in the league in ERA (2.93) and had a team-high 53 strikeouts on his way to first-team honors.
Despite the loss of those two MLB arms, the 'Dogs have many experienced and talented hurlers on staff this season as Fresno State will have 10 returning pitchers. That group includes four seniors, two juniors and four sophomores.
The senior cast of Tim Borst, Brennon Williams, Dylan Lee and Dominic Topoozian combined to make 71 appearances in 2015 pitching 132.2 innings on their way to winning 11 games and striking out 81. The Bulldogs will lean on Borst to close out games, while looking to Williams and Lee to pick up critical outs in relief.
Junior Jimmy Lambert returns for his junior season after pitching a team-high 75.1 innings to finish 12th in the Mountain West. A two-year starter, he made a team-high 13 starts and added 44 strikeouts in 2015. Reliever Mark Reece posted a 2-0 mark in 21 relief appearances and added 16 strikeouts.
Sophomore left-hander Ricky Thomas will lead a talented sophomore class after putting together a solid freshman campaign winning four games and added 35 strikeouts. The San Diego native took his game to the next level this summer pitching for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Soxs (Mass.) in the heralded Cape Cod League helping guide Y-D to their second consecutive Cape Cod League Championship.
Thomas was named a Cape Cod League All-Star after posting a 9-0 record in 10 appearances with a 0.92 ERA and 62 strikeouts. His stellar summer did not go unnoticed as Thomas was ranked as the 51st-best prospect for the 2017 MLB Draft by D1Baseball.com and ranked as the sixth-best lefthander on the list.
Anthony Arias also pitched in the Cape Cod League this summer for the Brewster Whitecaps as the sophomore had 38 strikeouts in 27.1 innings of work and displayed his lethal swing-and-miss stuff, posting a pair of 10-strikeout performances.
Classmate Rickey Ramirez looks to make spot starts when needed and be a mainstay out of the bullpen. Ramirez was a Northwoods League All-Star this summer playing for the Mankato (Minn.) Moondogs. Rounding out the sophomores is the return of left-hander Fred Schlichtholz, who missed the 2015 season with a medical redshirt and will look to get healthy this season.
Joining the Bulldogs staff will be the additions of junior college right-hander Chase Hoag out of Glendale Community College and four freshman in right-handers Ryan Sullivan and Edgar Gonzalez and left-handers Alec Gamboa and Kenny Varnell.
Sullivan earned first-team all-league and all-metro honors at Oak Ridge High School in El Dorado Hills, while Gamboa was a two-time County Metro Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year at Madera High School. Varnell also put together a stellar prep career at Moorpark High School as he was named the 2015 Ventura County Pitcher of the Year going 10-1 with a 1.08 ERA and striking out 74 batters in 71.1 innings as a senior.
While making the adjustment to Division I college baseball, the newcomers will look to make mid-week starts and grow into larger roles as the season progresses.
With a deep and talented array of arms set to be on display, the Bulldogs look to make life difficult for opposing offenses this season.
"Be Bold" - Season tickets for the 2016 Fresno State baseball season can be purchased by calling the Bulldog Ticket Office at 559-278-DOGS. Single game tickets and mini plans (6, 8, and 10-game flex plans) are also on-sale by going to gobulldogs.com or calling 559-278-DOGS.
