Losing Gage Canning to the Washington Nationals in the fifth round of the MLB draft stings, but the outlook for the ASU baseball outfield in 2019 is certainly promising.
Despite the fences being moved in, there will still be a big gap in center field at Phoenix Municipal Stadium in 2019.
Gage Canning, who owned .369/.426/.648 slashing lines in 2018, will not be a member of the Sun Devils outfield in 2018. As a junior last season, Canning skipped his senior season with ASU to enter the MLB Draft where he was eventually selected by the Washington Nationals in the fifth round.
“How you replace Gage Canning is that you don’t do it with one guy, you do it with two,” ASU hitting coach Michael Earley said. “Maybe someone can do the home runs and someone can do the batting average. You combine it and you’re good.”
With freshman Hunter Jump transferring this offseason, the Sun Devils now have two holes to fill in the outfield this season. But despite the losses of Jump and Canning, ASU should be able to survive these latest subtractions to its starting lineup.
Center Field
Last season, Canning, along with Cal’s Andrew Vaughn, were the only players in the Pac-12 last season to finish in the top five in batting average and slugging percentage in 2018. As a third team college All-American and first team Pac-12 All-Conference team member, Canning’s production at the position was second to none.
Likely inheriting his absence is Hunter Bishop. The junior from San Mateo, California struggled to stay on the field for the Sun Devils and has shown flashes of being a star at the collegiate level thanks to his elite combination of power and speed.
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The issue with Bishops game has been consistency and more specifically, consistent contact.
Bishop struck out in over one third of his at-bats in 2018 with ASU and in the Cape Cod League this summer, struck out 45 times in 120 at bats.
“The biggest thing is staying on my backside when I’m hitting,” Bishop said. “It’s no secret that when I hit it, it goes pretty (far).
“Now it’s just dialing back a little and hitting it more consistently.”
Although Bishop’s speed is above average, the center fielders instincts and route to the ball need improvement.
But, if these improvements click into place for Bishop, expect his production, and draft stock, to skyrocket.
Left Field
Expect left field to be a revolving door for the Sun Devils in 2019.
With Jump out of the mix, Carter Aldrete, Spencer Torkelson and Trevor Hauver should all have a crack at the position. All three are returning players, but of the three, Hauver is the only natural outfielder.
Aldrete, a middle infielder by trade, improved in his sophomore season in Tempe. His OPS jumped over .100 points while posting an impressive .373 on base percentage.
If Drew Swift, Alika Williams and Gage Workman plan to be starters in the infield this season, Aldrete may be seeing at least some time in the outfield; a position he played at times last season.
Hauver, after spending his summer in the Cape League with a number of his teammates, lacks power (only one home run in 2018), but has a knack of getting on base. The Sun Devils outfielder posted a .344 OBP despite just hitting .227 last season.
In the Cape, Hauver’s .353 on base percentage was fourth on the Hyannis HarborHawks for players on the team with 50 or more at bats. Although he was a shortstop at the high school level, Hauver’s move to the outfield as a collegiate player gives his a leg up on Torkelson and Aldrete defensively.
Finally, there’s Spencer Torkelson.
After leading the country in home runs as a freshman and smashing Barry Bonds’ school record for homers as a freshman, Torkelson returns to Tempe in his sophomore season with a target on his back and a much steeper mountain of expectations to climb.
When adding his seven home runs on the Cape, Torkelson finished 2018 with 32 home runs, a staggering feat. But, without Canning in the lineup, there is a chance that the freshman will be more exposed and pitched around in 2018.
“We need someone to protect him,” Earley said.
And as prolific as the outfielder/first baseman is at the plate, Torkelson needs to make strides defensively with his speed and instincts in the outfield to become an above average defensive outfielder.
As everything now stands, expect Aldrete to have the slight edge as the starting left fielder especially is Torkelson is planted at first base to start the season. If not, then Aldrete could be moved to right field, as him, Torkelson and Hauver all have the ability to play in right as well.
Right Field
Outside of Hauver, Torkelson and Aldrete, there are not a ton of other candidates that could fill up the remaining corner outfield spots for the Sun Devils in 2019.
With that said, one candidate who could potentially fill an outfield spot is freshman, and Washington native, Dusty Garcia.
According to Perfect Game, Garcia was the No. 1 outfield prospect in the state while also being the No. 3 overall prospect in Washington.
Garcia, undoubtedly, is talented. But, Sun Devil fans must wonder if the freshman can be productive on a team already deep with sophomores up and down the lineup.
But, being a natural outfielder should be an advantage for Garcia, even if his lack of experience hitting collegiate pitching is not.
All quotes in this article were obtained firsthand by Devils in Detail unless otherwise noted.