St. John’s Red Storm
Overall rank: #25
Conference rank: #1 Big East
St. John's Team Page
Can St. John’s storm the NCAA tournament gates for the third year in a row? Veteran coach Ed Blankmeyer and his staff certainly hope so. Although the Big East has a solid reputation in basketball, its baseball experience isn’t as well known. The Red Storm have won five Big East regular-season titles and six tournament championships. Two-thirds of the St. John’s players return to active duty in 2012, and hopes for a three-peat are running high on campus. Whether or not that happens, we’ll see in May.
2011: 36-22, 18-8
2011 Postseason: Eliminated in Charlottesville regional (beat East Carolina, lost to Virginia and East Carolina)
Coach: Ed Blankmeyer
Field Players:
Outfielder Jeremy Baltz (see Who to Watch) will be the one the St. John’s offense relies on now that shortstop Joe Panik is gone, having been drafted as the 29th overall selection by the San Francisco Giants. First baseman Paul Karmas is also gone, taking his .310 average and 67 hits with him. Outfielder Jimmy Brennan (.282-3-21) is back for his junior season. Second baseman Matt Wessinger returns for his final season, having batted .273 with 15 doubles and 14 stolen bases. Expect the team to take advantage of his speed early and often. Infielder Pat Talbut only started 40 games but still hit .273 with eight steals.
Pitchers:
The Red Storm are very glad to have Kyle Hansen back as the No. 1 pitcher on the roster. Hansen posted an 8-7 record, one complete game and one shutout to go with his 3.09 earned run average. The team is hopeful he can replicate the success of a year ago, when he walked just 41 and struck out 106 en route to a solid season. Sean Hagan (7-2, 4.05) is also back with a good, solid walk/strikeout ratio (18/56). Brendan Lobban only struck out 52 to go with 37 walks, but his 6-2 record and 4.22 ERA will be a huge part of any St. John’s success in 2012. Matt Carasiti (2-2, 2.47, eight saves), the team’s top closer, returns for one more go-round.
Who to Watch:
Not only were the Red Storm projected as Big East champions, Baltz is the preseason Big East Player of the Year. That’s a strong sign the conference thinks an awful lot of the star outfielder. He batted .311 with 12 doubles, three triples and six home runs, a sure sign the hitter’s slugging prowess will be a key part of the St. John’s lineup. Baltz drove in 60 runs, had an on-base percentage of .444 and a slugging mark of .483. Blankmeyer has high hopes for his hitter as he should help overcome the loss of several strong sluggers to graduation or the major leagues.
Final Projection:
The Big East is not a strong baseball conference, although some of the individual schools will certainly make their mark come tournament time. St. John’s will be right there. The Red Storm should finish in first place in 2012, overcoming schools like Connecticut and Louisville to reach that top spot. Enough pitching remains so that the Storm should make a strong run through the season and into the conference tournament. What happens from there is unknown, but St. John’s wants to go back to its third straight NCAA tourney.
Projected Postseason: NCAA
Returning Leaders:
At bats: Matt Wessinger, 2B, 227
Hits: Jeremy Baltz, OF, 65
Home Runs: Jeremy Baltz, OF, 6; Matt Wessinger, 2B, 6
RBIs: Jeremy Baltz, OF, 60
Runs: Jimmy Brennan, OF, 45
Stolen Bases: Matt Wessinger, 2B, 14
Wins: Kyle Hansen, P, 8
Innings Pitched: Kyle Hansen, P, 107.2
Strikeouts: Kyle Hansen, P, 106
Saves: Matt Carasiti, P, 8
Madness 2012 MLB Draft Rankings:
#55 Jeremy Baltz
#102 Kyle Hansen
