Broadcasting will have to wait — Stanford’s Kris Bubic has pitching to do

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Somewhere, there has to be a role for Kris Bubic in the big leagues.

Who knows? Maybe it will be on the grounds crew. The Stanford left-hander is in charge of manicuring the mound at Sunken Diamond before games.

Maybe it will be in the broadcast booth. The communications major would love to be a color commentator someday.

More likely, the 6-foot-3 junior will work his way into some team’s rotation. He’s 7-0 with the third-best ERA (2.25) in the Pac-12, helping Stanford lead the nation with a 2.54 ERA.

The Pac-12-leading Cardinal (38-6, 17-4) visit second-place Oregon State (36-7-1, 14-6-1) in a three-game series this weekend. It promises to be one of the best sets this season not only in the conference but in the nation, matching the Nos. 2 and 4 teams.

The Beavers regularly attract capacity crowds to 3,315-seat Goss Stadium in Corvallis.

“It’s one of the best, if not the best, atmosphere on the West Coast in college baseball,” Bubic (pronounced BOO-bich) said. “You’ve got a passionate fan base and two of the best teams in the country.”

As his teammates look on, Stanford pitcher Kris Bubic throws during practice on Wednesday. As his teammates look on, Stanford pitcher Kris Bubic throws during practice on Wednesday. Photo: Josie Lepe / Special To The Chronicle Photo: Josie Lepe / Special To The Chronicle Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Broadcasting will have to wait — Stanford’s Kris Bubic has pitching to do 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Head coach David Esquer regards Bubic and Friday night starter Tristan Beck (7-2, 2.66) as co-No. 1 pitchers.

“We have a luxury of having that,” he said. “Both guys have had the experience of pitching on Friday night. It’s a great 1-2 for us.”

Both could be first-round picks in June MLB draft. Bubic has impressed scouts on both coasts, having been the Cape Cod League Pitcher of the Year in 2017.

Bubic went to Mitty High, where then-head coach Bill Hutton taught him the value of hard work and determination, Bubic said. “You control your own fate based on how hard you work.”

Stanford pitching coach Thomas Eager, who arrived with Esquer this year from Cal, helped him develop a better breaking ball.

“It’s much more effective this year,” Esquer said. “He’s getting outs with it, not just dumping it in for a strike.”

Bubic’s best pitch, however, is a changeup that fools batters because it has roughly the same spin rate as his fastball.

“The deception I get is from the spin, not necessarily the movement,” he said. That’s important because with a fastball in the low-90s, “I’m not going to blow it by anybody.”

The chief person in his development, he said, was his mother, Jela, who — after splitting with his father a decade ago — raised him as a single parent. Their home in Cupertino is 20 minutes from campus, and Jela frequently visits him besides attending almost all the Cardinal’s games, home and away.

His father, who lives in Miami, was born in Croatia, and his mother’s parents were born there, too. The tight-knit extended family gives him a solid rooting section at Sunken Diamond.

Bubic wryly dubbed teammate Will Matthiessen “Shohei Ohtani” in reference to the Angels’ pitcher-hitter after the sophomore struck out the side against Santa Clara in the top of the eighth Tuesday night before clouting a three-run homer in the bottom of the inning. The rangy designated hitter had clubbed the first four homers of his college career last week.

Bubic enjoys listening to the Giants’ announcers and hopes to follow the career path of John Smoltz, a Hall of Fame pitcher who became a TV commentator.

“I’ll play as long as I can and see where that takes me,” Bubic said. “I’ve always had a passion for watching a lot of sports on TV, whether it’s baseball, football, basketball or whatever. I’ve always had a fascination for broadcasters and how much knowledge they have.”

Tom FitzGerald is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: tfitzgerald@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @tomgfitzgerald

Key series

Who: No. 2 Stanford (38-6, 17-4 Pac-12) at No. 4 Oregon State (36-7-1, 14-6-1)

When: 7 p.m. Friday; 2 p.m. Saturday; noon Sunday

TV: P12Net