BTH Preview 2007: Northwestern

Head Coach: Paul Stevens
2006 Record: 26-33 (21-11 in Big Ten)
2006 RPI: 149
Projected 2007 Big Ten Finish:
Baseball America: 8th
Collegiate Baseball: 6th


At The Plate: The Wildcats return a number of hitters from their miraculous 2006 squad. However, the leader of the NU offense is unquestionably Antonio Mule. Mule, the ’Cats DH, hit .357 a year ago and paced the Big Ten in homers with 11. Mule is one of two returning Big 10 stars to have an OPS over 1.000 and is a leading candidate to be conference player of the year. Second team All-Big Ten 3B Caleb Fields returns (although, he appears to be an OF in 2007) as does third team All-Big Ten catcher, Geoff Dietz. OF Aaron Newman, 2B Jake Owens, SS Tommy Finn, and OF Max Mann are also returning starters for Coach Stevens.

If the first two contests of 2007 are any indication, freshmen will play a big role in the Northwestern offense this season. 3B Kenneth Avila and 1B Jake Goebbert have already made an impact on the Wildcats’ run production.

On The Mound: NU lost most of their pitching staff from a year ago, most notably Big 10 Pitcher of the Year, Dan Brauer. The burden of leading a very young pitching staff appears to have fallen upon senior Dan Schwartz. Schwartz should be the Wildcats Friday starter. After Schwartz, freshmen may be asked to step into the void.

The Schedule: The ‘Cats didn’t fare well in non-conference action a year ago, but don’t have any of college baseball’s super powers on this year’s docket, either. Interestingly, their non-conference schedule does have Ohio State on it. They won’t play the Buckeyes in Big Ten action this season. Overall, the schedule is rather favorable for NU.

Bottom Line: It’s hard to imagine the very young Wildcats repeating last year’s remarkable Big Ten regular season. Offensively, they should be solid with Mule and a number of veterans back in the fold, but the pitching staff seems to be in the hands of mostly unproven underclassmen. If a number of inexperienced players make waves, then NU might find itself back in the race. The guess here is that NU gets enough help from the freshman class that they battle for a conference tournament berth.