A Sit Down with Head Baseball Coach Bakich
4/6/2017 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 6, 2017
By Steve Kornacki
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Michigan's baseball team is ranked No. 18 nationally in the D1Baseball.com poll, placing ahead of every other Big Ten team.
The Wolverines (23-6, 4-2 Big Ten) lead the conference in virtually every important hitting and pitching category and also rank first with a .982 fielding percentage. Michigan pitchers are tops with a 3.07 earned-run average, .228 batting average against and 263 strikeouts. Its hitters are first with 208 runs, a .396 on-base percentage, 284 hits and 67 stolen bases.
Yet, Michigan head coach Erik Bakich is far from satisfied. He realizes more than six weeks of play remain. Big Ten rival Illinois visits Fisher Stadium for a three-game weekend series beginning Friday (April 7), and No. 16 Oklahoma visits April 13-15 for three big games.
I sat down with Bakich after Wednesday's (April 5) game with Bowling Green was postponed because of stormy weather to discuss the play so far and challenges ahead:
Q. You have three sophomores -- right fielder Jonathan Engelmann (.338), designated hitter and utility man Nick Poirier (.329) and second baseman Ako Thomas (.327) -- leading the team in batting average as well as on-base percentage. What have the young players in that class meant to this team?
A. Engelmann and Poirier have caught fire this last week, and we knew that potential was there. Engelmann was a big prospect out of high school (in San Mateo, California). Poirier led our team in hitting in the fall, and so we knew what was in there, and Thomas is Mr. Consistent with everything he does -- offense, defense and base running.
It's interesting that three sophomores are at the top right now. But for the majority of the season, three of the guys we pointed at going into the season -- Jake Bivens, the returning Big Ten batting average leader; and Harrison Wenson, the returning Big Ten RBI leader; and Drew Lugbauer, being the prospect he is -- those guys for the first third of the season statistically hadn't performed up to potential. Some of it was just bad luck -- hitting balls right at people. But you knew other guys in the lineup would have step up for us to be the best team we could be.
Then, when those guys got going, we'd be very dangerous. Lugs had a big week last week, and we have a lot of different weapons in this lineup. (Note: Third baseman Lugbauer leads the team with eight homers and 34 runs batted in and ranks in the top three in the conference in both.)
Q. Thomas, your leadoff hitter, leads the Big Ten 28 runs, 22 walks and 16 stolen bases in only 18 attempts. Describe the dynamic he brings to your team.
A. His personality is what sets him apart. He's a positive life force. He's a catalyst in every way. It's what he does on and off the field. He's a glue guy who has a relationship with everyone in the locker room and has a permanent smile on his face. He has the total 'It' factor in being a personality everyone is drawn to and feeds off of.
So, it makes sense that he's our table-setter who gets on base and finds a way to score a lot of runs.
Q. Senior shortstop Michael Brdar (.325, 21 RBI, 24 runs and nine steals) is on a 15-game hitting streak and has been steady for you, hasn't he?
A. In 16 years of coaching, he's one of the most savvy, high-basebalI IQ players that I've coached by far. He's like having another coach on the field and is going to make a tremendous coach someday. I look out to shift a player on the field, and he's already shifted them. I could see him coaching in college or getting into pro ball as a manager or roving infield instructor. He also could be a valuable front-office asset.
And he's one of the better shortstops in college in terms of securing the ball and making the plays, and he's a savvy hitter with a very good idea of what pitchers can do and can sometimes outthink the pitching coaches on pitches. He has that same awareness on the bases. I give him the green light (to steal). I totally trust him.
Q. You've moved Bivens to first base this year after his Tommy John elbow surgery.
A. He now plays shortstop at first base, and we have a ton of range over there. It makes our infield defense extremely athletic. He was hitting .100-something for the first quarter of the year and was hitting balls right at people. But he's getting on base a lot, and you see it with that .412 percentage, and he has 14 steals. Now, he's well over 50 percent in quality at-bats, and that's something important we track. He's having tough, gritty at-bats, and the batting average will come.
Q. Center fielder Johnny Slater is healthy now and has made a big jump for you by hitting .281 with 25 RBI and seven steals in as many attempts.
A. He broke the hamate bone in his hand and missed six weeks last year and struggled to find his footing offensively his first three years. Moving him to center (from right) was the best thing we've done because he's an elite defender and is extremely explosive and fast. He has a plus arm, and now that there's some power in his bat; he's got all five tools.
He's the type of guy, as his offense keeps improving, you can visualize him playing center for a long time. I think he's got a chance to play at the highest level in this game.
Q. What you have up the middle with Wenson catching, Brdar at short and Slater in center with Thomas at second is special isn't it?
A. This is my first time as coach that I've had three seniors up the middle at catcher, short and center with an Ako Thomas at second. Our up-the-middle is as premium as it gets.
Each of them experienced the collapse we had at the end of last season. Each of them has a little bit of a chip (on their shoulder). We don't talk about it as much as we did at the start of the season, but it remains motivation.
Q. Oliver Jaskie (4-1, 3.38 ERA and a Big Ten-leading 54 strikeouts) has been your Friday guy. Can you talk about what Oliver's giving you?
A. Oliver is an (NSCA) Strength and Conditioning All-American who not only sets the tone on Friday (to start a series) but sets the tone in the weight room and with our conditioning work ethic.
Q. Michael Hendrickson (3-0, 2.94 ERA and 32 strikeouts) has been so solid behind Jaskie, hasn't he?
A. He wants to go into neuroscience and do brain surgery. He's the Student-Athlete Council president and is incredibly gifted as a student in pre-med.
This ties into him being a cerebral pitcher. While Jaskie and Ryan Nutof may both throw harder with sharper secondary offerings, Michael Hendrickson understands pitching. He's got four pitches and can mix and match them. Michael has an advanced feel for pitching.
Q. Ryan Nutof (2-1, 5.84, 39 strikeouts) tops out at 95 mph but what does he need to be more effective as your third starter?
A. The reason his numbers don't jump off the page are the two outings when he hasn't pitched well against Seton Hall and Northern Illinois. He pitched up in the zone but also had a long delay at Seton Hall. But he pitched extremely well against Southern Cal and really well in other games. When he's down in the zone, he's really good. (Note: Nutof has a 3.07 ERA in his other five starts).
Q. Senior Jackson Lamb, who was drafted by major league teams both out of Temperance (Michigan) Bedford High and after his junior year here, seems to have finally found his niche as you closer. He's 2-0 with seven saves and hasn't allowed an earned run in 12 2/3 innings.
A. He was a premium prospect who turned down a lot of money to come here, and his first three years couldn't have gone more sideways, coming in as a right fielder and pitcher. He had the back injury as a freshman, Tommy John surgery as a sophomore and had a great four-week stretch as a junior, throwing up to 94 mph and working the eighth and ninth innings. And he throws the last pitch against Rutgers and feels something in his oblique. It turns out he fractured three ribs and was done for the year and still got drafted again in the 35th round by the St. Louis Cardinals.
Now, he's healthy and has found his role. What makes him so good is that he's one of the most confident kids you will find out there. He's out there to compete and win, and the bigger the stage, the bigger the moment, he thrives in those settings. The closer's role is perfect for him because it's an adrenaline situation.
Q. So, it's all coming together for your team, isn't it?
A. It is, but at the same time we haven't done Jack Squat yet. We have started strong. But we said this year we want to start strong, stay strong and finish strong. That's the concept we're working towards.
