Adley Rutschman, Oregon State (Mandy Sorenson)

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2019 Preseason Staff Bold Predictions

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The college baseball season is finally here, and, as usual, we begin our in-season coverage with our staff bold predictions.

Last season, four of our staffers correctly picked Oregon State as the national champion, while one picked Arkansas to be the national runner-up. This season, it should come as no surprise that top-ranked Vanderbilt leads the charge with four of eight staffers choosing the Commodores to win their second national title.

In terms of Player of the Year selections, Oregon State catcher Adley Rutschman earned four of eight votes, while California’s Andrew Vaughn earned three votes. In other words, the Player of the Year race has a lot of Pac-12 flavor, with Arizona State hard-hitting sophomore Spencer Torkelson another powerful candidate to keep an eye on this spring.

The most contentious vote was for Pitcher of the Year, where there are no clear frontrunners outside of Duke lefthander Graeme Stinson. Stinson had a strong summer and fall and was picked by three of eight writers to win the award in June, while another close contest was that for Non-Top 25 sleeper. Both Southern Miss, the Conference USA favorite, and Minnesota, a Super Regional participant last season, earned two votes.

Last but not least, the Freshman of the Year voting was slanted toward LSU freshman righthander Landon Marceaux. Marceaux jumped on the scene in a big way in the fall and has been terrific in early spring scrimmages. Marceaux received four of eight votes, while UCLA’s Matt McClain, a former first-round pick last summer, received three votes. Also worth noting, Mississippi State righty JT Ginn, who also was chosen in the first round last summer, received a single vote.

Here’s how our staff sees the national accolades stacking up at the end of the 2019 campaign:





D1Baseball Bold Predictions