Baseball preview: UCLA reloads, hopes to stay atop Pac-12

The last time UCLA converted an infielder into a catcher it tued out pretty well. Shane Zeile came to Westwood never having caught a game in high school and when he was done with his three-year career, he was a power-hitting catcher drafted in the fifth round.

The defending Pac-12 champion Bruins are hoping to find similar success with freshman Jake Hirabayashi, a freshman out of Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks.

Catching is the biggest area of conce as the Bruins open the 2016 season.

UCLA, ranked as high as No. 9 in the preseason polls, lost seven players from last season but reloaded with one of the best freshman classes in the country and boasts a solid veteran core.

However, with the recent news that Darrell Miller Jr. will miss the season with a shoulder injury and the early departure of Mike Benson, the Bruins are thin behind the plate.

“It’s unsettling, I guess you could say,” UCLA head coach John Savage said. “The biggest question that we have is clearly catching.”

Hirabayashi was primarily an infielder during his standout prep career but began the conversion by catching in summer ball, playing in the West Coast League. Rosica, a redshirt freshman, was brought in as a bullpen catcher but may now be pressed into service.

“They’re both athletic guys,” Savage said. “Rosica has been in our system for a year so he has a lot of trust and knowledge there. Hirabayashi is a talented guy but he caught no games in high school, he was a third baseman.”

Where the Bruins aren’t thin is on the mound. Each pitcher fits into predetermined roles and has specific jobs and innings to lock down, much like a pro-style pitching staff. It’s a system the Bruins have found success with in recent years and they have the personnel in place.

All-conference reliever Grant Dyer (4-2, 1.83 ERA in 2015) will move from the set-up position to the starter on Friday nights. Dyer’s fastball touches the low-90s and his curveball and changeup have improved. A junior right-hander, he’s eaed the trust of his team over the past two seasons. Sophomore Griffin Canning and freshman Kyle Molnar, both righties, will round out the weekend rotation.

UCLA has become known for its bullpen depth and it’s no different this year. Redshirt junior right-hander Tucker Forbes, who was recently named to the Stopper of the Year watch list, will be handed the ball in the eighth inning. Freshman Brian Gadsby is slated to replace David Berg in the closer role.

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Savage says Gadsby, a right-hander out of Crescenta Valley High, is a “clone of Berg” with an unconventional delivery from multiple arm angles.

“A lot of different arm actions and really tough on right-handers,” Savage said. “We really think he’s going to be able to handle that work load.”

With the departures of key veterans to graduation and draft, the left side of the field is a conce for the Bruins at the moment. It will be less conceing once shortstop Nick Valaika, brother of former UCLA shortstop Pat Valaika, retus March 1 from hamate bone surgery.

Outfielder Eric Filia, a key player in UCLA’s 2013 College World Series run, will retu this year after a two-year absence. Filia missed the 2014 season after undergoing shoulder surgery and was suspended by the school for the 2014-2015 academic year after plagiarizing a quote in a philosophy paper.

A left-handed power bat, Filia put up big numbers in the Northwoods League over the summer, hitting .340 with a league-leading 55 RBIs, and has improved not only his plate discipline but his personal discipline.

“I see a different persona,” Savage said. “He couldn’t get out of his own way. I see a much more mature player off the field and on the field, I also see a different player. This guy, I think, is in for a huge year.”

Filia had to watch from the sidelines as the Bruins failed to defend their national title in 2014 and was away from the team completely in 2015. He’s done watching and ready to right his wrongs in his senior season.

“I leaed a lot from the mistake that I made,” Filia said. “To put so much work into something and have it taken all away, it was really hard. But I tried to stay positive. I knew that coming back, I was going to make the best of this opportunity that Coach Savage gave me.”

2016 UCLA Bruins baseball preview

Last season: 45-16

Pac-12 finish: 22-8 (1st)

Postseason finish: Lost in NCAA Regionals

Coach: John Savage (9th season, 414-161-1)

Ballpark: Jackie Robinson Stadium, 100 Constitution Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90095 (1,820 capacity)

Big losses: OF Ty Moore, SS Ty Moore, RHP David Berg, RHP James Kaprielian, C Darrell Miller Jr. (injury)

Key retuers: OF Eric Filia, 2B/SS Trent Chatterton, RHP Grant Dyer, RHP Tucker Forbes

Top newcomers: RHP Brian Gadsby, OF Daniel Amaral, RHP Kyle Molnar

Coach’s quote: “Major innings gone and major at-bats gone, but at the same time, we feel pretty good about what we’ve seen,” Savage said. “We’re much stronger, physically, we’re running better, our depth in the outfield kind of reminds me of our 2010 team, it’s that dynamic and athletic. Miller is a blow, so that’s a little bit of a conce, to say the least. But we have good young arms. It’s exciting, it’s just a little unsettling.”

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