While it has been a bit of an up-and-down season as the Blue Devils have been forced to navigate through college baseball’s toughest conference, there is certainly reason to be excited about the future as a number of freshmen have been making significant contributions. Infielders Marcus Stroman and Eric Brady and starting pitcher Chase Bebout have been particularly impressive.
Head coach Sean McNally knew that he had brought in a talented recruiting class and had expectations that they would be able to contribute in some fashion, but it wasn’t until the fall that he got a good feel for how the incoming players would fit into the mix.
“Our fall was really important as it gave these guys the chance to compete internally against the other guys in our program,” McNally said. “It was then that they and I realized that these guys had a chance to step in and play a lot immediately.”
Although the freshmen’s talent level has never been questioned, their role at Duke wasn’t immediately defined.
In the case of Brady, the coaching staff was always impressed with the readiness of his defensive game at the college level, even though there wasn’t an opening for him in the infield. However, when senior Ryan McCurdy vacated third base to fill the void at catcher, Brady—a high school shortstop—was the logical replacement.
The Cary, N.C., native has had to adjust to battling ACC pitchers and is hitting a respectable .242 on the season. But getting comfortable with the different angles playing third and quicker reaction times on the defensive side is something that has come relatively easier.
“You are so much closer, and everyone is hitting the ball hard,” Brady said. “Now, I know why they call it the hot corner.”
Joining Brady in the infield on a regular basis has been fellow freshman Marcus Stroman, who was picked in the 18th round of last year’s MLB Draft by the Washington Nationals but never seriously considered bypassing the collegiate level. In high school, the Long Island native excelled both on the mound and at shortstop.
Stroman, the regular second baseman, has been an anchor up the middle for a unit with one of the nation’s highest fielding percentages and has continued to make strides at the plate. He has also been impressive late in games on the mound, going 3-1 and even locking down three games with saves.
“We knew Marcus was really talented from the get-go,” McNally said. “We always knew that he would be able to contribute but just didn’t know where. He’s done great things out in the field and out of the back end of the bullpen as well.”
With Stroman and Brady busy trying to solve opposing pitchers, their fellow first-year, Chase Bebout, has been trying to quell opposing bats. By his own admission, the 6-foot-6 righthander wasn’t always the favorite to be the first freshman to crack the regular pitching rotation.
“I was one of the most rocky guys coming in,” Bebout said. “I wasn’t in good shape, and I wasn’t mentally tough. The older guys have been tough on me, but it’s helped me in getting the most out of my ability.”
Bebout, who got his feet wet in starts against lesser nonconference competition such as Quinnipiac and Liberty, is a perfect 4-0 on the season with an impressive 3.21 ERA. Last weekend, McNally gave him a vote of confidence in the form of his first weekend start and ACC debut against Clemson. He rewarded his coach’s faith by pitching into the eighth inning of a 7-2 win that clinched the series, and he will start the Sunday game this weekend against Florida State.
Though the Blue Devils are still a long way from where they hope to be a few years from now, and the freshmen’s dearth of experience definitely has led to some mistakes, winning matchups against top-25 teams like Clemson with crucial contributions from the younger players is certainly promising.
“The more you play early, the better,” McNally said. “The more exposure you get to the ACC, the better. These are the guys that are going to be setting the bar for the other guys in their class and guys coming in after them.”
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