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2021 Cal Poly Baseball Season Outlook or years, Cal Poly has been known to develop some of the best hitters on the West Coast. That development has slowed over the past few years.
"We're should be much better than we have been the last four or five years offensively," said Larry Lee as he enters his 19th season at the helm of the Mustangs. "A number of players have developed their hitting skills from last year and, with the addition of several newcomers, we hope to put together a more stressful lineup." Catcher Myles Emmerson led the squad a year ago with his .317 average, but no other Mustang starter finished above .280. Emmerson is the only one of the five seniors on last year's squad who is returning this season under the NCAA rule allowing every 2020 spring sport athlete another year of eligibility due to COVID-19. Cal Poly also lost starting right-handed pitcher Taylor Dollard to the Major League Draft (Seattle Mariners, fifth round) and outfielders Bradlee Beesley (Cubs) and Elijah Greene (Angels), both of whom signed free agent contracts last summer. Dollard one of just 12 players from California colleges selected in the 2020 draft. However, the 2021 Mustang roster has been bolstered by the addition of three transfers from Boise State, which dropped its baseball program last summer, and one from Washington State, first
Tate Samuelson Cal Poly’s Home Run Leader as Freshman and Sophomore Career: .283 Average, 10 HR baseman/designated hitter Matt Lopez.
tained during preseason in late 2019.
Last year's freshman class, which includes the likes of shortstop Brooks Lee, infielder Nick Marinconz and pitchers Drew Thorpe, Derek True and Kyle Scott, is considered one of Lee's strongest and the lineup also will feature the likes of veterans Cole Cabrera in center field, Taison Corio at second base and Tate Samuelson, who will move from first base across the diamond to third base this year.
Samuelson, Cal Poly's home run leader with five in each of his first two seasons, will occupy the cleanup spot, followed by Doss and Emmerson. Perhaps the biggest key, the bottom third of the order is expected to be filled with Yorke, Lopez at DH and either freshman Sam Biller or junior Nick DiCarlo.
In addition to Thorpe, Scott and True, the pitching staff will be led by returnees Andrew Alvarez and Bryan Woo in the starting rotation and Dylan Villalobos out of the bullpen. All three Boise State transfers figure to play prominent roles with the Mustangs this spring. Southpaw Travis Weston could be Cal Poly's Saturday starter, Joe Yorke is penciled on the depth chart No. 1 at first base and Reagan Doss is listed No. 1 in right field. A closer look at the three major facets of the game:
Offense Lee has a simple plan to cure the recent offensive woes of his club. "Some of the keys with our offensive lineup are the evolution of Cabrera as a leadoff hitter, creating a stack of quality hitters in the middle of the lineup and the ability to be productive at the end of the lineup," Lee said. OK, maybe not simple, but it's a plan that Lee hopes to fulfill in 2021.
Brooks Lee, limited to two at-bats due to a leg injury prior to the 2020 season, is ready and healthy for his sophomore campaign.
With Cabrera atop the batting order, Corio likely will hit second and Brooks Lee in the No. 3 slot. Lee was used as a pinch-hitter in two games last year during his recovery from surgery for a leg injury sus-
"Looking at our lineup, with Corio, Lee and Samuelson, there is the possibility of being strong in the middle," said Lee. "Doss and Yorke are new to the program but come from a quality Division I program, and whoever are our designated hitter and left fielder need to bring some production with them." The depth chart also features Marinconz and redshirt sophomore Connor Gurnik in the middle infield spots and sophomore Collin Villegas, a transfer from Irvine Valley College, backing up Emmerson behind the plate. Cal Poly's team batting average dropped to .271 by 2016, to .260 by 2019 and all the way down to a school Division I record .231 mark in 16 games during the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign.
Defense Dollard, last year's Friday night starter for four weeks before the season was shut down, was 9-0 in his Mustang career with a 2.43 ERA and seven saves, striking out 121 batters over 111 1/3 innings. Moving into the top of the starting rotation will be Thorpe, the Desert Hills (Utah) High School product who was 1-1 with a 3.21 ERA as a true freshman a year ago and struck out a school freshman record 13 batters in a win over BYU. Weston, 1-2 with a 5.06 ERA and 20 strikeouts over 16 innings at Boise State last spring, likely will
