Husky Baseball: Experience vs Youth

During the upcoming season, some important decisions need to be made for the future of the Husky Baseball program. The decision will be between players with experience and those with potential.

For the past few seasons, the program has struggled to win ballgames. For the most part, the same players that won just six conference games last season will be returning to the Huskies this season. In fact, out of the nine position players that led the team in starts last year, only two will not be on the Husky roster on opening day.

If the team turns to their returning starters, they will be keeping a majority of an offense that ranked last in nearly every offensive statistic in the Pac-10 last year. They were last in runs, hits, homeruns, RBIs, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, and stolen bases.

Despite this core of players’ offensive woes, they will have one thing on their side: experience. Experience can be a difference maker in success. Not only have older players had a chance to adjust to the speed of the game at the college level, but they have also had time to accumulate knowledge of opposing players that they can use to their advantage. In addition, these returning players have gained a year to develop both their strength and skill.

Some of the notable upperclassmen that may be potential starters are: catcher Chase Anselment and infielder Ty Afenir. These two particularly showcased their skill in the intra-squad games in November.

On the other hand, the Huskies are bringing in an excellent young class of players. The current freshmen class has twelve members and is recognized as one of the best incoming classes in the country with players like Trevor Mitsui, Branden Berry, and Erik Forgione.

Some of the freshmen were

chosen relatively early in the MLB draft and have the potential to be difference makers at the college level. However, these players are just a just a few months out of high school. It is too early to put huge expectations on these freshmen, especially when you consider that the only college experience they have comes from inter-squad games.

For time being, the Huskies have a class of experienced players who have struggled to win, and a lot of promising youth that lack experience. It will be interesting to see how the Husky coaching staff approaches this season’s personnel decisions.