Eric Gutierrez (Texas Tech)

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Top 25 Breakdown: No. 16 Texas Tech

2014 Record: 45-21. RPI: 14.

Coach (Record at school): Tim Tadlock (71-51, 2 years).

Postseason History: 20 regionals (active streak: 20), 1 CWS trip (active streak: 1).

Texas Tech's Projected Lineup

2015 Lineup Pos. Name, Yr. AVG/OBP/SLG HR RBI SB C Tyler Floyd, Jr. .241/.421/.345 0 8 0 1B Eric Gutierrez, Jr. .302/.399/.539 12 58 0 2B Bryant Burleson, Sr. .272/.325/.402 2 37 2 3B Ryan Long, So. .212/.306/.269 0 22 1 SS Tim Proudfoot, Sr. .309/.369/.356 0 19 1 LF Tyler Neslony, Jr. .375/.454/.600 4 34 2 CF Tanner Gardner, Fr. HS -- Frisco, Texas RF Stephen Smith, So. .287/.417/.395 1 20 2 DH Anthony Lyons, So. .286/.342/.314 0 8 1

Pos. Name, Yr. W-L ERA IP SO BB SV RHP Ryan Moseley, So. 1-2 2.84 50.2 41 25 3 LHP Dylan Dusek, So. 8-0 1.94 74.1 38 14 0 LHP Ty Damron, So. 2-0 5.23 10.1 10 11 1 RHP Corey Taylor, Sr. 5-3 2.61 48.1 32 8 2

SEE ALSO: Five Questions With Texas Tech’s Tim Tadlock

Hitting: 55. Not flashy, but effective, is the best way to describe this Texas Tech offense. The Red Raiders return several key cogs from a lineup that finished last season with a .285 batting average. Gutierrez leads the charge with good power and a consistent approach, while Burleson and Proudfoot are guys more than capable of hitting around .300 this spring, as Proudfoot finished last season with a batting average slightly over .300. There’s also Neslony and Smith, who each showed stints of greatness at times last year. Tech feels like Lyons will take a big step forward following his summer at the New England Collegiate League, while freshman center fielder Gardner could be an immediate contributor with a good approach and athleticism. Tech should be more consistent in 2015.

Power: 50. Tim Tadlock’s club has a chance to surprise from a power standpoint. The Red Raiders finished last season with 30 homers as a club, ranking 64th nationally, and finishing 95th nationally in homers per game. Replacing the power production from Adam Kirsch, who finished last year with 10 homers and 51 RBIs, won’t be easy, but Gutierrez is back and stronger than ever after smacking 12 homers. Neslony has good pop in his bat and should surpass his four home run total from last year, while Burleson has good gap power, showcasing that skill last year by finishing second in the Big 12 in doubles. The Red Raiders also are excited about Lyons, who showed good pop during fall workouts.

Speed: 45. Though the Red Raiders welcome back an experienced and productive offensive lineup, this isn’t a team that will give opposing teams headaches on the basepaths, though Tech hopes to be a bit more aggressive this season. Tech finished last season ranked well into the 200s in stolen bases, and its highest returning stolen base total among returning starters is a whopping two. That’s not to say the Red Raiders can’t execute the small-ball game at times, but this isn’t an ultra-speedy club.

Bryant Burleson (TTU Athletics)

Defense: 65. The Red Raiders will have a good outfield with Neslony and Smith leading the way, but keep an eye on Gardner, who will man center field for the next few months. Gardner, a 6-foot, 210-pounder, showed athletic actions during fall workouts and is an above-average runner. Floyd has improved behind the plate with his blocking and receiving skills, but easily the most impressive part of this team defensively is the middle infield with Proudfoot and second baseman Burleson leading the charge. Proudfoot only made two errors in 42 starts for Tech last season, while Burleson is one of the nation’s better defenders at his position.

Starting pitching: 60. I really like the makeup of this Texas Tech pitching staff, particularly the starting rotation. Everyone knows about Dusek, the outstanding lefty, but the rest of the rotation is solid, too. Dusek tallied a 1.94 ERA in 74 1/3 innings last season, and excels at pounding the bottom of the zone with his 88-91 sinker. Moseley, who really stepped up in the NCAA postseason last year with 13 1/3 scoreless frames, looks ready to have a huge year in the No. 1 role in the rotation. Moseley has a big-time arm with a heavy fastball sitting at 91-94 mph, along with a power breaking ball. Damron, another lefty, rounds out the weekend rotation, and the Raiders have a high-quality midweek starter in fellow lefty Cameron Smith, a mid-80s sinkerballer. Damron had consistency issues last season with a 5.23 ERA, but has a powerful arm with a plus breaking ball. There is some uncertainty with this group: For instance, how will Moseley assume the No. 1 role, and will Damron be that consistent arm the Red Raiders think he can be?

Bullpen: 60. As with other areas of this team, the Red Raiders have plenty of experience in the bullpen, too. The Red Raiders welcome back a pair of very talented relievers in righties Dominic Moreno and Taylor. Moreno isn’t a guy that will blow pitches past you on a consistent basis, but he sits 88-91, and can get up to 93 at times. Moreno also has a quality slider that can miss bats. Meanwhile, Taylor is a very talented senior who has a big-time arm with a fastball that was up to 94 mph during fall workouts. Taylor has a three-pitch mix, and that makes him a very viable option out of the bullpen. There’s also talented righty Matt Withrow, who has a huge arm with a fastball into the mid-90s, but who has had command issues at times. Two-sport talent Patrick Mahomes is someone else to potentially watch out of the bullpen. Mahomes got into the low 90s with his fastball coming out of high school, while he also could contribute at the plate with a good, strong righthanded swing, along with athleticism. Junior college transfer RHP Quinn Carpenter is another arm to potentially watch. Carpenter has a big 6-foot-5, 205-pound frame, and got well into the 90s with good stuff in the fall. The Red Raiders are in good shape here.

Experience/Intangibles: 65. As we’ve said about some other teams in this feature, there’s no substitute for experience—something the Red Raiders have a lot of entering the 2015 campaign. Texas Tech welcomes back several seasoned arms, including Dusek, while offensively, the return of Gutierrez and others is massive both from a production and leadership standpoint. Texas Tech isn’t void of holes, but they are few, and all the pieces are there to make yet another run toward the College World Series.