San Jose State Frosh Have Turned Around Baseball Program

In past years it has always been veteran leadership that has led the way for any success baseball had. Last year was a good example as juniors and seniors catapulted the Spartans from their yearly cellar dwelling to a third place finish in the MWC and a spot in the MWC Tournament. Most of them have moved on and then you have to turn to newbies to fill the vacancies. This season those newbies have not only filled the holes they are performing at a high level. I thought I’d talk about some of those high flying frosh that the Spartans are putting out on the field.

James Shimashita OF

Let’s look at James’s stats. He’s hitting a robust .366 in 71 AB’s. The BA is third on the team and the AB’s are high also. That means he’s seen lots of action. His first game as a Spartan showed the world; I think he went 4 for 4 or something like that. Hasn’t been out of the lineup since. He’s come back to earth a bit since the opening scene but is still more than a little productive. Be sure and rest him, coach, as he IS a freshman and we don’t want him to hit the wall. In a phrase he looks to be the best freshman the Spartans have had in a long time.

Brandon Peterson OF

But wait, there’s more. How many of you remember the major leaguer that went by the nickname the toy cannon? Well, I do, and he was Jimmie Wynn. He was quite small for a ballplayer but packed a wallop in that small frame. Brandon is that kind of guy. He’s small but he’s hitting a ton. Small strike zone plays to a small player’s advantage. Most strikes will be hittable. Is he doing it? Yes sir. He’s hitting a torrid .414 in 29 AB’s which is more than enough but the OF is crowded which I didn’t think would be a good problem that it has turned out to be. I’m impressed.

Nico Malbrough INF

Nico is the fourth best hitter on the team at .325 in 40 AB’s. Of the three freshmen I’ve listed here, he’s the only infielder and, of the three, there is little, if any, power with only Shimashita showing any pop with one home run. Ah well, I’ll take the average and the team has only 3 dingers. That’s the way this team will fly this season.

Ben Polack, P

He was doing quite well but ran into a bit of a rough streak the last time out. Anyway, he’s 1-0 and 5.40 in 15 IP. That’s acceptable but would be even better if he didn’t walk so many (almost one an inning with 12 vs 10 K’s). That should and must improve.