Completed Event: Baseball versus No. 11 seed Kansas State on May 19, 2026 , Loss , 5, to, 9
Final Score
Baseball
5
vs No. 11 seed Kansas State
9
The University of Utah Athletics
2015 Utah Baseball Season Outlook: Pitchers and Catchers
2/11/2015 12:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 11, 2015
Click here for the infielders and outfielders preview.
Pitchers
Pitching is one of the areas that was hardest hit among the key losses, with Mitch Watrous, Tanner Banks and Nick Green all going in the MLB draft. Juniors Dalton Carroll and Bret Helton as well as senior Brock Duke (who has sat out most of the past two seasons after Tommy John surgery) return the most starts and innings. Carroll went 1-5 last year with a 5.31 ERA in 15 appearances and 11 starts. He allowed just 11 walks, which was the second-fewest in the Pac-12, with 38 strikeouts. Helton made 17 appearances with eight starts, going 2-4 with a 4.99 ERA and one save, recording 35 strikeouts. Duke is 10-11 with four saves in his career with a 5.52 ERA, making 53 appearances with 27 starts.
"Dalton and Bret head the staff or us, as far as guys who have thrown a lot of innings," Utah head coach Bill Kinneberg said. "They are our projected leaders on the staff. Brock Duke is back. He brings a lot of experience, and he's healthy. We need to find the role for him, whether he's going to start or be in the bullpen, we don't quite know yet, but he'll throw significant innings."
Sophomore Dylan Drachler was second on the team in appearances last year (22) and went 1-2 with a 7.98 ERA and 30 strikeouts. Sophomores Dustin Hughes and Hunter Rodriguez both saw innings as freshmen last season.
Another player who will see innings is junior Nolan Stouder, who redshirted last year after transferring from the College of Southern Idaho, where he earned all-region honors.
Several freshmen are expected to play key roles on the mound, beginning with Jayson Rose, who is expected to both pitch and play in the outfield. Spencer Johnson earned second-team all-league honors at Northgate High School in California. Tanner Thomas was a first-team all-league selection at Grandview High School in Colorado, while Trenton Stoltz was an all-star at Paradise Valley High School in Phoenix, Ariz. In addition to Rose, Andre Jackson will also both pitch and play in the outfield.
"Jayson Rose has established himself as one of the top guys on our team," Kinneberg said. "Again, we don't know the exact role for him. We're hoping Drachler is in the mix as far as a starting role is concerned. Nolan Stouder, who was out for us last year, has really done a nice job of getting healthy and getting back into it. The other four freshmen are going to really add depth to our bullpen and our staff. Spencer Johnson has had a great fall and a great beginning to the spring. He can probably play all three roles - middle relief, short relief or even start, and we're not exactly sure what that will be at this point. Tanner Thomas has a great arm. He's got to be a little more consistent, but he has a chance to throw a lot of innings. Stoltz is the same way - he has a chance to pitch a lot as well.
"Our depth on our pitching staff has been far greater than it's ever been, it's just a matter of lining up roles for everybody and finding what's going to work best for us."
Catcher
Behind the plate, junior AJ Young has started 54 games between catcher and designated hitter over the past two years. He hit .203 in an injury-shortened season last year with a .372 on-base percentage. Sophomore Max Schuman made 25 starts at designated hitter as a freshman and also played in the outfield with one start at catcher, hitting .212 over 45 games with 18 RBI, two triples and a home run. Cole Taylor redshirted last year as a freshman and was all-league at Oaks Christian High School in California.
"We have three players we are going to count on behind the plate," Kinneberg said. "AJ will be the starter, and there is a battle for the second spot between Max and Cole. Cole has really improved offensively and has worked very hard defensively to get himself into the mix. Between those two we'll figure out a backup. Max will be in the lineup most days either catching or at designated hitter, so Cole could play a valuable position for us if we need to pinch run for AJ."
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