2023 Baseball Season Preview
2/22/2023
With the long offseason now in the rearview mirror, the Brown baseball team is set to open up the 2023 season this Friday, February 24 with a three-game series at Georgia State. The Bears will start the year with 11 straight games on the road spanned over three southern trips to Georgia, Louisiana and North Carolina.
Brown was tabbed sixth in the 2023 Ivy League Preseason Poll after finishing the 2022 season with a 13-23 (8-13 Ivy) record. The 2023 squad will feature a deeper, more experienced lineup that saw a large amount of innings last year after the entire 2021 season and most of 2020 were wiped out by the pandemic.
“There has been an eager anticipation to face an opponent besides ourselves,” head coach Grant Achilles said. “We have a core group that’s done it before, and I think their leadership has been key in setting the direction internally for our players and helping to guide the newcomers into roles. With the depth and wealth of experience we have, you see players coaching each other, which is always a positive sign when you see leadership from within.”
STARTING PITCHING
Brown returns three of its top four starters from last season, all of whom combined to make each of the team’s 36 starts. The Bears’ 2022 pitching staff boasted the second-lowest ERA (5.44) in the Ivy League. Senior ace Tobey McDonough will once again anchor the Bears starting rotation after earning First Team All-Ivy honors last season after ranking third in the league with a 3.17 ERA. He struck out 52 batters in 65.0 innings while holding opponents to a .226 batting average.
“Tobey has been that consistent starter for us,” Achilles said. “He has a track record of continually attacking the zone and keeping hitters off balance. He’s sharpened his existing repertoire and we’re excited about him.”
Sophomore Santhosh Gottam tied for the team lead in wins last year as a freshman and totaled 35 strikeouts to just 10 walks over 44.0 IP. Senior right hander Bobby Olsen also returns as a weekend starter after making 10 starts a season ago. Freshman Dylan Reid is expected to start the season in the rotation, filling the void left by graduated senior Zach Fogell, who made the team’s remaining 10 starts in 2022.
“Santhosh has been in attack mode every time he takes the ball,” Achilles said. “His maturity has developed at an accelerated rate and the high-leverage innings last year and over the summer has helped him in that regard. Bobby probably has the best stuff of any of our starters and for him it will come down to consistency. Dylan has been a pleasant surprise from a freshman. I think he’s attacked in and around the zone with multiple pitches and has a good game plan every time he goes out there.”
BULLPEN
A strong returning core of relievers, as well as a host of newcomers will help round out the Bears’ bullpen and figures to contribute to a strong pitching staff once again this season.
Junior Paxton Meyers ranked second in the Ivy League last year with a 3.16 ERA, led Brown with 19 appearances, and tied for the team lead with four wins. He struck out 39 batters over 37.0 innings and limited opponents to a .223 batting average. The Honorable Mention All-Ivy honoree will once again be relied upon in high leverage situations and can eat multiple innings.
Sophomore Jack Seppings, who is a member of Team Great Britain in the upcoming World Baseball Classic, will serve as the Bears closer to open the year after totaling two saves last season and striking out 23 batters and issuing just two walks over 15.0 innings pitched. Sophomore southpaw Jacob Young has also impressed this preseason and will serve as one of the team’s high leverage options.
“Those three are the components of our bullpen where if they get the ball with the lead, we expect to win the game,” Achilles said of Meyers, Seppings and Young. “I’ll put them up against any lineup that we face. With some of our freshmen, we’ve got a variety of options that come after you with different looks, different breaking balls and aggressive changeups. With the four-game sets to open the year, they’ll get some opportunities early.
Senior outfielder Derian Morphew will see an expanded role in Brown’s bullpen this season. Morphew struck out two Rhody Rams in his lone outing - a one-inning scoreless appearance - last season. Several newcomers will also factor into the bullpen.
OUTFIELD
Morphew will return to hold down center field and give Brown a strong defensive anchor up the middle, having not committed an error in 89 chances last season. Sophomore Jared Johnson started the final 13 games last season and will start in left field, after batting .292 with four homers in 22 games as a freshman. Sophomore Nathan Brasher made 24 starts as a rookie and will begin the year as the team’s starting right fielder.
Three rookies - Mika Petersen, Logan Meusy and Olivia Pichardo have all been pushing for time and will slot in and provide depth in the outfield.
“Derian is a quality defender and he makes the other outfielders better,” Achilles said. “Nate and Jared both benefit from a year of experience out there and give us solid defense and athleticism out there in the outfield. It’s as competitive of an outfield as I’ve seen since I’ve been here.”
INFIELD
All four of Brown’s projected starting infielders are back this season, albeit with a different alignment than what was shown throughout much of last season.
Senior first baseman Ryan Marra is back after earning Second Team All-Ivy accolades last season. He ranks seventh in the Ivy (second amongst first baseman) with a .990 fielding percentage and will once again represent the team’s biggest power threat in the heart of the batting order, after ranking third on the team with 10 home runs and posted a .304 average with nine steals.
The remainder of the infield are all former high school shortstops, something that Achilles believes helps make the group more athletic and versatile. Senior Ray Sass, who saw time at both shortstop and second base last season will start the year as the team’s starting second baseman after leading the squad with 21 walks and 12 steals in 2022. Sophomore Gunner Boree was second on the team with 22 RBIs and a .408 slugging percentage last season and will start at shortstop in 2023.
Junior Reece Rappoli ranked in the top 10 in batting average in the league last season at .333 and will move from second base over to third to start the year. He led the team in several offensive categories last season including average, on-base (.404), hits (43) and doubles (9).
“Ryan is a dangerous hitter, and makes people around him better,” Achilles said. “Certainly, with Ryan and Reece, we expect pitchers to not want to pitch to either of them. Ryan has shown a lot of maturity with his approach and not trying to do too much.”
Charles Crawford and Quinn Rooks will provide veteran depth offensively and defensively with DJ Dillehay, Mark Henshon and Zack Siegal providing quality depth from the freshman class
“In the recruiting process, we try to go after high school shortstops that we see playing the left side here and that allows us to have some interchangeable parts on the defensive side of things,” Achilles said. “Reece has proven himself as one of the best hitters in our league and I think he makes us better defensively at third. The number of collegiate reps that group has seen, and their ability has us feeling really good about our infield defense. Henshon has had a good preseason and he’ll have some opportunities offensively as well. Crawford has shown flashes of having power potential and has had productive at bats and sprayed the ball around the field. He’s seen a lot of growth as a player over the last year and I expect him to impact our lineup.”
CATCHER
Senior backstop Jacob Burley returns behind the plate after starting all 36 games and catching all but one inning last season. Defensively he caught 14 runners stealing to lead the Ivy League and posted a .984 fielding percentage. Sophomore Conor Cooke will slot in behind Burley and help lead the pitching staff.
“Jake works fantastically with our pitchers,” Achilles said. “He does a great job and has built such trust with our pitching staff. Conor is our backup right now and we’ll see him in there early in the year. He’s been shutting down the running game and is somebody that we know when Burley isn’t out there, he’ll slot in there without skipping a beat.”
SCHEDULE
Brown’s 2023 season schedule features 40 games, including 21 Ivy League games, 20 non-league games and 18 home games to be played at Attanasio Family Field at Murray Stadium. Click here for full details
