Devils in Detail
Fansided

ASU Baseball: Lyle Lin’s Hot Start to Season

By Hunter Robinson

Oct 15, 2016; Boulder, CO, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils mascot Sparky during the fourth quarter against the Colorado Buffaloes at Folsom Field. The Buffaloes defeated theSun Devils 40-16. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 15, 2016; Boulder, CO, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils mascot Sparky during the fourth quarter against the Colorado Buffaloes at Folsom Field. The Buffaloes defeated theSun Devils 40-16. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

The ASU baseball team might not boast the best record (11-12) but they do have an exciting freshman in Lyle Lin.

Lin, a player from Taiwan, is putting up impressive numbers in his first season with ASU baseball.

Lin has started all 23 games for the Sun Devils, and has taken advantage of that opportunity. He currently holds the highest batting average on the team at .356 and leads the team in RBIs with 15.

Being the team-leader in batting average and RBIs is no easy task, top that on top of being a freshman and you are looking at a special player.

More from Devils in Detail

The one area where Lin is lack luster is defense. He has a fielding percentage of .986 and has three errors on the season. Lin is trying to convert from catcher to first baseman, which takes some time, but he needs to get better defensively to step into a leadership role in the coming years.

Another thing with Lin that everyone needs to be aware of is that we can’t get ahead of ourselves. Yes, he has been very impressive offensively so far this season, and yes, he has done a nice job of solidifying his spot as Mr. Reliable, but we need to pump the breaks.

The part that is most impressive/frightening about Lin is that he is a freshman. No one knows what the future holds for him and no one knows what his ceiling is. For all anyone knows, this is the best that Lin can be. A solid offensive weapon. There is also the possibility that the sky is the limit for Lin and he may go on to do great things at both ASU and the MLB, but we just don’t know yet.

How Lin’s season has started off definitely gives reason for optimism and excitement. But in order to fully realize how good of a season he is having as a freshman we need to step back and look at it from a new angle.

Next: Top Storylines for ASU Athletics in 2017

It is unfortunate that no one will know whether this is a good freshman season for Lin until another year or two. If it turns out that we have seen the best of Lin, then it is hard to say that he has had a great freshman year. But if he continues to improve, like most college players do, then we could be witnessing something special.

Home/ASU Baseball