Although the Bellevue College Bulldogs have begun their season with a 6-4 win last week at Mount Hood (OR), three of the games were cancelled due to snow and inclement weather. Today’s doubleheader coupled with tomorrow’s set at Mount Tahoma High School which will complete a four-game series with Pierce College officially marks the real start of the 2019 season. After a heroic run in both league play and the NWAC Super Regionals last year, the Bulldogs came one game short of making it to the NWAC Championships after a rough start to 2018. Here is the season preview of the squad, featuring a relatively new look in roster composition at nearly every position.
Pitching: Freshest Look With Zero Returners
This might be a good or a bad thing, but all indications so far is that it’s a good thing. Although the ‘dogs lost three workhorses in Brendan Ecklebarger (now a starter at Santa Clara University), Eli Herrick (out of the pen at Duke University), and Calvin Turchin (accepted offer created by Head Coach Mark Yoshino to leave early to pitch at University of Hawaii), one might think this is a rebuilding year; but what made the Bulldogs struggle the most was not the talents of those three in addition to Connor Portugal (who returns but is out for the year recovering from surgery), but it was the depth behind them, since finding strike-throwers behind them has been a battle for the last four years straight. The squad hasn’t had a team deep enough in the bullpen since 2014, a team which took second overall and is considered by Yoshino as one of the all-time great Bellevue clubs based off win percentage, character, and the number of players getting four-year scholarships. So although the Bulldogs have had their annual set of arms who go to bigger and better places, Yoshino knows they’ll need to be 10-11 deep in order to truly factor in at the end of the season. “Sure, we can win with three guys and just ride them all year, which we ended up doing only in the last week of the season and the results showed; we won more, but the reality is you can’t go that far with that approach,” says Yoshino.
Enter 2019; with 11 healthy arms who all throw a decent amount of strikes. “Give credit to the players; they’re all new, and they just seemed to make adjustments and improvements faster than staffs in the past. Not that the previous year’s staffs were uncoachable; they tried, I know they did, but this group seems to make adjustments and get better on the fly. I’ve never seen anything quite like it in the 25+ years here. Every one of the 11 guys can honestly say they’ve gotten better since day one in the fall, when in the past, I’m not sure staffs from top to bottom could say that,” says Yoshino.
Nick Miller and Andrew Ellingson, both are veterans of the club, but both redshirted last year and will be counted on at the front and back ends respectively. Miller is a lefty who had elbow nerve issues in high school that returned right before the season opener last year. He was already a proven arm before and has developed a new angle of attack, velocity, and enhanced movement on his pitches to become an even better prospect this year, even with no experience coming into this year. Ellingson is a side-armer who has many weapons and can be used on both days of a weekend four-game set and even consecutive games. “This year he’s throwing strikes, whereas two years ago (he sat out in 2018 but pitched in 2017) that wasn’t the case; he’s made both physical and mental adjustments to the point where he’ll not only help us, but could be a huge help for a four-year looking for a rubber-arm late inning strike thrower,” says Yoshino.
New arms from the outside coming in this year include righties Michael Attalah (transfer from Oregon State) and Brock Hathaway. Both have exceptional stuff and are expected to be starters in the rotation. Attalah has a live arm, and a ton of projection, with a 6’3” frame and an uncanny ease to throw any pitch. Because of him redshirting last year due to an arm injury, and no summer baseball, Attalah’s biggest area of need is simply experience, as he hasn’t logged a high amount of innings and seen the mound on a regular basis in a competitive atmosphere in nearly two years. Hathaway has movement, strike ability, and a decent idea of how to pitch coming in as a freshman.
Ian Haigh is the other arm, along with Hathaway, who stand as the only two pitchers on the staff that Yoshino relied solely on recruiting coordinator David Olson, to evaluate and offer for this year’s staff. Haigh is a compact version of Clayton Kershaw, with an over the top delivery and tremendous curve ball from the left side. He will be relied on to log innings as the staff has only four lefties, but two are out this year due to injury (Portugal, and recent transfer Marques Titialii, who is also sitting out to meet NWAC transfer requirements). Haigh and Miller will be the only left-handed arms in a staff dominated by righties.
Jared Maxfield, who pitched part-time last year due to his time commitment as a hitter, looks to be in the mix as a starter with decent arm strength and throws strikes galore. With a super clean delivery, Maxfield is the poster child or a big body guy who can throw strikes if the body is under control. Ben Anger and Eric Anderson are two freshman righties who have a good feel to pitch. Anger, who battled arm issues near the end of his high school year and most all of last summer, is healthy and has made major improvements. Anderson is a proven winner (All-WesCo, and one of the top arms in all of Snohomish County last spring), who will in all likelihood log innings this year either as top guy out of the pen or in the rotation. He’s versatile with his ability to throw three pitches for strikes in any situation. Colson Kirchner is a seasoned veteran at 22-years old, but is raw due to the fact that he’s been out of college since 2016. A transplant from the East Coast, Kirchner displays good arm strength and was impressive in his debut last weekend earning the win at Mount Hood. Warren Utschinski is a 6’8” monster who was recruited as somewhat of a bit of a project, as Yoshino offered him a spot on the team after seeing him throw by watching him warm up the left fielder at a summer game, never seeing him even pitch at all. “He’s tall and whippy, and knowing his dad, who pitched against me in way back in the day, I literally had flashback as they are very similar. The dad had huge upside and always threw strikes and was super athletic, as is Warren. At 6’ 8” we laugh when teams try to bunt on him, as he’s the best fielding pitcher I’ve ever had in a long time; he moves like a middle infielder making plays at him,” notes Yoshino. Nate Butcher is as fresh as you can find them; he was a late recruit and is relatively new to the pitching world as he converted from hitter to pitcher only just last summer. The upside is all there as he’s had a ton of delivery work done and has a live arm to work with. With confidence, Butcher might shoot past all the others simply because his ceiling is so high. Trevin Hope may be Bellevue’s top arm. As the squad’s top recruit, Hope will sit out this year recovering from surgery in high school last year after being tabbed as a possible draft with his 6’7 frame. He was an Area Code Games participant with several major league teams following him until the injury last spring. Expect big things next year when Hope is healthy.
Catching: Started With Four, Down to Two
Catching is another area with all new faces. The squad was expecting to have one returner in Kosta Cooper, who split duties last year. Cooper however survived a traumatic neck injury and to make matters worse, suffered a severe concussion taking a line drive batted ball into the head in the off-season. Because of the injury risk, Cooper is thankful he can still play this game but will limit himself to being a pitcher only next season, and will redshirt this spring. Enter newcomers Jake Terao, Mack Mahovlich, and Brett Otterson. Mahovlich, a workhorse local product from the esteemed Lakeside Recovery American Legion program run by Bellevue alum Rob Reese, is a strong body catcher who is currently nursing arm issues which began last year in high school. Once healthy he could be a complete force on both ends with his bat and arm. Otterson brought welcoming news to the team just recently as he is yet another player who had recurring injury issues from high school and sustained a knee injury this winter. With the likelihood of him sitting out this year in addition to Mahovlich, the squad was already auditioning for new catchers amongst the team as the ‘dogs had one catcher left in Terao. However Otterson recently got good news from his doctor and is cleared to play. He displayed an improved bat after being recruited mainly as a catcher for defensive purposes. Terao is a former Area Code Games participant and is one of four division one transfers on the team. He’s a proven bat with power and will reap the benefits of gaining a ton of defensive experience with the limited depth Bellevue has now behind the plate. After this year is over, it would be of no surprise if Terao ends up being one of the top catching prospects for a four-year college out there given his ability to catch and provide a bat as well.
Infield: Four Graduated NCAA Division One Transfers Leaves Opportunity for New Guys To Shine
In yet another area where Bellevue will have fresh faces, the infield lost all four starters from first to third (Brennen Hancock), Griffin McCormick (Sacramento State), Jack Kennelly (University of Hawaii), and Grant DeLappe (Washington State University). Carter Wallace who part-timed at third base and was a utility player, returns and made all-region last year with a proven bat. Wallace is expected to be one of the top bats in the NWAC coming off a solid year last year carrying a hot bat into year three now after leading Puyallup HS to a state title and garnering all-state honors along the way. Nick Hovland is another pure hitter who will play strictly left side of the diamond this year. “He’s hit .480 or better for two years straight; the guy can flat out hit,” says Yoshino. Hovland, who can defend at short, has the strongest arm of all the infielders, and is growing into his 6’ 4 “ frame. Because of this, many project him becoming more of a third baseman at the higher level, so expect Hovland to transition this year more to the hot corner.
Riley Parker, Dac Archer, and Lukas Motta are freshmen who will all be getting at bats and playing on a regular basis with versatility in Archer as the swing guy between both shortstop and second base. Parker will play mainly shortstop while Motta will be stationed primarily at second base, where he was seen when he was recruited as a junior for the same Lakeside summer team Mahovlich was on. “This might be the best infield depth-wise ever. Yes, we’ve had good infields in the past, such as last year, with all four now playing at the four-year level. But we’ve publicly told our guys early in the season that if we have the depth, we actually don’t want a so-called first string and second string infield. There is no depth chart ranking players ideally. The reason is our schedule format. 36 innings in two days is a lot, and our infielders in the past, every one of them will tell you that playing every day at the same position wears the body down, and performance declines. We’ve had generations of players come back and say that ‘nothing is like the NWAC North’ with the crazy 36 innings in two days. Yes, one shortstop or one second baseman works in high school, NCAA division one, and even pro ball, but not in the NWAC North, as we are the only region in the NWAC that goes (4) 9-inning games on back-to-back days. Depth in the field, and the mound is more critical here than anywhere in the country. The fact that Archer, Parker, Motta, and Hovland can all play middle and we don’t lose a beat defensively or offensively is a luxury we have…unless one of them gets hurt,” explains Yoshino.
Parker brings a plus bat, as evidenced by his two home runs in his college debut last week. Archer is a proven winner who proves everything on the field. “He’s the guy who may not cosmetically look perfect in every aspect, as he doesn’t have that ‘showcase’ look, but what he does is he just succeeds and wins. He proves at the end of the day he’s a guy, playing with grit and gives results. He reminds me of a guy I played against many years ago who just played hard and was just good at everything, but he was sort of overlooked. The guy’s name was Gary Van Tol who played at Treasure Valley and has had a storied career as player and coach, and is now the head coach at Boise State. Motta might be the most pure athlete amongst the middles. He’s got whip in the bat, an arm, glove, and can run like a gazelle. Projection-wise, he can play anywhere.
At first base, Wallace will transition to some extent over to the other corner. Maxfield returns with some experience but has started to blossom as a pitcher. That leaves Kye Seitz as the other first baseman. A big power bat out of Canada, Seitz has improved in his athleticism more than anyone else in the off-season training, and is on the verge of becoming the complete player rather that just a left-handed bat. He is projected to get time at first base in addition to designated hitter.
Outfield: The Only Place With Experience
As the squad so far is nothing but new guys, the outfield has two starters back in all-region speedster Ethan Smith and Dylan Ames. Add to that a starter from two years ago in Dominic Marinez (redshirt due to shoulder surgery last year) and you’ve got Bellevue’s lone area where there is actual experience on paper. Smith is the top prospect who didn’t sign early in the entire NWAC. He’s a five-tool player, unfortunately for scouts, in a non-major league body though, which makes him a bona fide top college prospect. He can play any outfield position, runs, hits, and can launch one out of the yard, and when healthy displays a near 90 mph arm from the outfield. Ames came out of nowhere last year and returns with confidence after hitting his stride late last year with a power bat and improved defensive game. Marinez, who came into the program as a speedy centerfielder, has shown being 21 brings strength as well. His body type is now projecting him to possibly be a middle of the order bat now with bat speed and RBI potential, but still brings to the table his top-of-the order game of being a proven leadoff guy who can bunt and run.
Newcomers to the veteran outfield crew are Riley Gill, Al Aurelio, and Garrett Gants. Gill is yet another NCAA transfer (along with Attalah, Terao, Archer) who has truly developed his game in his short time here. Coming in as a guy who primarily just runs, Gill’s swing has improved and most evident is his improved arm strength. “At the start of fall, it was an arm you sort of wanted to hide somewhere, but now is something to show off…it’s unbelievable how he went from non-thrower to one of the better arms in the conference. He’s a hard worker and it’s showed,” says Yoshino. Gill who will play primarily left, will float to center as well if needed. Aurelio has huge upside with a lot of bat speed and can really run. His arm has developed like Gill but his biggest upside is in the strength potential. Of all the position players, Aurelio has the highest ceiling due to natural speed but strength-wise has an untapped potential for development. Gants comes in with a unique history that suggests he might be one of the best hitters around. An accomplished tennis player and golfer, Gants is a poster child that proves playing other sports only helps baseball. His background also includes a father who is a teaching golf professional, so is well accustomed to all of the baseball technology trends that are spinning heads in the baseball world but in reality are about as old school as a Britney Spears music video in the golf industry. “It’s funny how some baseball people say not to play golf or tennis since it supposedly messes up a baseball swing. But Gants is like two other guys I know who are two of the best hitters I’ve been around who ironically are left-handed bats like Garrett and had gifted hand-eye coordination which is why at the grass roots level, they can do all three. One guy’s name is Austin Shenton. Former Bulldog just two years ago and was recently named pre-season All-American. He’s a star tennis player and a scratch golfer. The other guy who had the same traits was a guy who won two World Series rings and the batting title in the big leagues; perhaps you’ve heard of him, his name is John Olerud. I think Gants is in good company swinging the racquet, club, and bat,” quotes Yoshino.
Last Updated March 2, 2019
