• Follow us on Twitter @buckeyeplanet and @bp_recruiting, like us on Facebook! Enjoy a post or article, recommend it to others! BP is only as strong as its community, and we only promote by word of mouth, so share away!
  • Consider registering! Fewer and higher quality ads, no emails you don't want, access to all the forums, download game torrents, private messages, polls, Sportsbook, etc. Even if you just want to lurk, there are a lot of good reasons to register!

The Ohio State Baseball (Official Thread)

Baseball: Ryan Feltner stepping into ace role in likely last season
By Edward Sutelan: [email protected] February 12, 2018 0



OSU then-freshman pitcher Ryan Feltner (26) throws a pitch during a game against Ohio on March 29 in Athens, Ohio. Credit: Courtesy of OSU

On a cold January day, both current and former members of Ohio State’s baseball team worked in the batting cages at Bill Davis Stadium.

Current professional baseball players Ronnie Dawson, Jalen Washington, Nick Sergakis and Brad Goldberg all practiced and swapped notes.

Standing among them, listening to the discussions and awaiting his turn to step into the net and throw a bullpen session, was junior starting pitcher Ryan Feltner, who will be Ohio State’s ace in 2018.

The right-hander has been drafted before. He knows what it’s like to have his name selected by a team. What he doesn’t know is what it is like to sign with the team and continue in professional baseball, which makes the former players having their winter workouts in Columbus a valuable chance for Feltner to learn about what could be ahead in the future.

“I talked to all of them. They all kind of say the same thing: it can be a grind at times,” Feltner said. “I mean I think it’s all worth it. Everybody’s dream is to get to the big leagues and it’s not really going to be too much fun until you get there, but I think I’m ready for it.”

Feltner hasn’t found much success in two years with the Buckeyes, but he has the repertoire of pitches needed to be drafted. He is viewed by Baseball America and D1Baseball.com as one of the top prospects in the Big Ten.

Because of that, Feltner expects to hear his name called by an MLB team in June, like he did after he graduated high school in 2015 when he was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays 752nd overall in the 25th round of the draft. Feltner will never forget the moment he was drafted as a high schooler.

“I was watching it on my computer and I actually stepped away for a second and then came back to the computer and saw it and then got the call,” Feltner said.

Feltner, who had already committed to Ohio State, began the contract negotiation process shortly thereafter with the Blue Jays, but realized about a week later he was not going to sign with them.

Having been drafted in the 25th round, Feltner was not likely to receive a large signing bonus. He also knew that since he was still somewhat of a raw talent, he could improve his draft stock after developing in the college ranks.

“It would’ve had to take a good amount more than what was available for me to skip out on Ohio State,” Feltner said. “I knew at the time I had a lot more in the tank. Obviously back then I thought I was really good and I thought I was ready, but looking back on it, I wasn’t ready at all.”

The decision initially looked good. Though not dominant, Feltner posted a respectable 4.06 ERA with 61 strikeouts over 68.2 innings as a freshman. He struggled last season, however, posting a 6.32 ERA over 62.2 innings while flipping between the rotation and bullpen. Feltner had issues with control and consistency of his secondary pitches.

Low on confidence and in search of a start to turn around his diminishing draft stock, Feltner traveled to Bourne, Massachusetts, to play for the Bourne Braves in the Cape Cod League, the most-scouted collegiate summer league that many of the best players join to compete against one another.

“I didn’t know if I was going to be a starter or reliever and it turned out I was going to be a reliever,” Feltner said. “I was just happy to be getting a little bit of a fresh start and getting on the right foot again on the mound.”

Pitching solely as a reliever, Feltner dominated batters, not allowing an unearned run in 15.1 innings with a 15-to-7 strikeouts-to-walk ratio. He was given the Cape Cod Outstanding Relief Pitcher Award. While there, he said he faced hitters like Wichita State junior outfielder Greyson Jenista and Duke outfielder Griffin Conine, both considered first-round caliber batters in the draft.

Rather than being spread out over several innings or being unsure whether he was a starting pitcher or a reliever, Feltner pitched strictly in relief, allowing him to use his dominant stuff in shorter appearances.

Baseball America national college baseball writer Teddy Cahill said Feltner’s stuff overwhelmed hitters and that the shorter stints allowed him to throw harder with better location.

“I heard he was up to 97 [mph] from scouts and was throwing his fastball 93 to 97. He has a really good split-changeup and I guess that was working pretty well for him too,” Cahill said. “They just weren’t hitting him up there and I think a lot of people that saw him there and then looked at his numbers from the spring were a little confused as to maybe what had changed.”

Cahill added that Feltner is projected to fall somewhere in the fourth or fifth round of the 2018 MLB draft, but that a lot of his draft stock will be determined by what happens this season.

Feltner will not be a closer this year. He is Ohio State’s most talented pitcher and head coach Greg Beals has already announced he will become the ace.

Beals said the big difference for Feltner this year — and the reason a pitcher with a career 5.14 ERA will open the season as the team’s Friday night starter — is the combination of Feltner’s improved secondary offerings and self-confidence that should give him what he needs to take the ball in the team’s toughest matchups.

“Ryan has always shown flashes of brilliance, but it just hasn’t been there as consistent as we’d like,” Beals said. “This is it. He’s now in the marquee in his college career and we’re trying to give him every opportunity for that to shine this year.”

Beals knows a move like this could build Feltner into a potential first-round talent. Success out of the bullpen is one thing. But if Feltner can translate the Cape Cod success to the rotation, he could go on the first day of the draft instead of the third, like he did in 2015.

Outside of a potential matchup against Oregon State second baseman Nick Madrigal in the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge, Feltner will not face anyone near the caliber of Jenista or Conine, which presents an opportunity for an explosive 2018 campaign.

“Those guys are really, really good hitters and I know that if I execute what I’m supposed to do, I’ll get them out more times than not,” Feltner said. “Just always being in attack mode and that’s something that I’m going to carry over to the starting role. Have a strong first inning and not letting off the gas the innings after that.”

If he has his way, Feltner will be joining the ranks of those former Ohio State players to turn pro. He’s been drafted before. He’ll be drafted again.

“I think I’m really ready for the draft and everything and whatever happens, happens with that,” Feltner said. “I’m just going to go out there and pitch to the best of my ability and I’m going to get some wins for the Buckeyes and then hope that that comes after.”

He’s ready for the bus rides across the country for games and grueling dog days of summer. He’s ready to show that the improvements he made in the Cape Cod League will help guide him to the major leagues.

A season from now, he might be the returning professional player coming to the cages to lead the discussions and practices with other future draft hopefuls on Ohio State. Until then, he just continues to wait his turn to step into the net.


https://www.thelantern.com/2018/02/...stepping-into-ace-role-in-likely-last-season/
 
Upvote 0
SATURDAY SPOTLIGHT: MEET SETH KINKER, OHIO STATE BASEBALL'S MOST RELIABLE BULLPEN ARM WHO IS AFRAID OF SNAKES AND LIKES BUCKEYE DONUTS

91108_h.jpg


Welcome to Saturday Spotlight, where we dive into the lives of Ohio State student-athletes and learn more about their journeys to Columbus, their love of the Buckeye traditions and who they are as competitors and students.

Seth Kinker has been with the Ohio State program for four years.

A senior from Huntington, West Virginia, Kinker was on the 2016 team that won the Big Ten Championship. He has been quoted by members of the staff as "the most reliable bullpen arm on the team."

Kinker went 3-1 last year with a 2.98 ERA in 58 innings pitched for an Ohio State team that desperately needed an elite bullpen arm.

We sat down with him to learn about his favorite Ohio State tradition, place to eat on campus, and much more.

When did you realize you had a chance to play baseball at the collegiate level?

Seth Kinker: Well, my best friend got me into when I was younger. Eventually, I got pretty good. I started playing travel ball in the summer and of course as a young age you get exposed to a lot of different colleges during those events. When I was 16, I started going to showcases and stuff. I discovered that this was the track and this is what I wanted to play so I gave up a couple different sports and focused on baseball.

What drew you to Ohio State outside of baseball?

SK: Everyone in my family went to Marshall, where I’m from. My dad after college lived up [in Columbus] for 3-4 years so as a younger kid I always watched Ohio State sports and knew about the tradition up here. [Assistant coach Mike] Stafford brought me up to a camp and I had never been on campus that I remembered. So I came up here and I looked around and I loved it. I came on a visit my senior visit and loved it even more and it was the best fit for me. Being the only one to go to another university was also one of those things that intrigued me. My parents supported me leaving.

Entire article: https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio...hio-state-baseballs-most-reliable-bullpen-arm
 
Upvote 0
http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/sports/m-basebl/recaps/021618aaa.html

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. - The Ohio State baseball team got the 2018 campaign off to a strong start with a doubleheader sweep at the Snowbird Classic Friday afternoon at Charlotte Sports Park in Port Charlotte, Fla. The Buckeyes (2-0) came from behind to defeat Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 11-7, in game one before taking down Canisius, 6-4, in game two of the twinbill.

"I liked a lot about our offense today," head coach Greg Beals said. "We had eight extra-base hits and several stolen bases in a doubleheader. I wanted to have some action in our lineup and I wanted to hit doubles and we did that. I thought the tale in the first game was we didn't get a two-out hit when we needed it then, but the back half of the game we had those two-out rallies. I was a little disappointed we got all of our runs in game two in the opening innings, but I really liked how our bullpen was able to nail things down for us today."

continued...
 
Upvote 0
http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/sports/m-basebl/recaps/021718aac.html

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. – The Ohio State baseball team fell short against Canisius, 5-4, Saturday afternoon at the Snowbird Classic at North Charlotte Regional Park in Port Charlotte, Fla. The Golden Griffins (1-2) took advantage of three OSU defensive errors to plate five runs, including four unearned, to claim their first win of the year. Ohio State drops to 2-1 on the opening weekend.

Senior first baseman Noah McGowan had another strong performance at the dish, going 2-for-4 with a run scored, walk home run and two RBI to bring his weekend RBI total to 12 in just three games. Fifth-year senior right-handed pitcher Adam Niemeyer received the loss despite allowing just one earned run. He threw five innings and gave up five on six hits with one walk and five strikeouts.

spacer.gif
“We allowed guys on base and my message to the team was all five guys that scored got on base whether it was an error, walk or hit batter,” head coach Greg Beals said. “They got some hits to get the RBI but we led them on base to start it. I think that has to be mentioned when we talk about Niemeyer’s outing tonight. It’s great to see Noah swinging the bat really well. We made an adjustment in his swing between the practice weekend and this weekend, trying to free his hands up and trust his strength. The thing I really like, he’s hitting some big balls but also getting some singles to the right side of the field. Another positive note was our bullpen. We got three good innings again tonight with Curtiss and Kyle. We trust those guys late in games.”

continued...
 
Upvote 0
http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/sports/m-basebl/recaps/021818aab.html

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. – The Ohio State baseball team finished off the 2018 Snowbird Classic with a 13-3 victory over Wisconsin-Milwaukee Sunday at North Charlotte Regional Park in Port Charlotte, Fla. With the win, the Buckeyes improve to 3-1 in 2018, while the Panthers drop to 1-3 overall in 2018. Fifth-year senior Yianni Pavlopoulos tossed innings and scattered two runs on four hits with two strikeouts and one walk to improve to 1-0. The OSU bats scored 13 runs on 14 hits in the getaway day victory. In all, nine Buckeyes made their season debuts vs. the Panthers.`

Conner Pohl was 3-for-5 with a double, two runs scored and walk. Jacob Barnwell went 2-for-3 with two doubles, run scored and walk. Dominic Canzone had a pair of runs and hits with one walk, two stolen bases and one RBI. Brady Cherry drove in three runs on two hits and Bo Coolen had a pair of hits and two RBI with a run scored.

continued...
 
Upvote 0
MCGOWAN NAMED NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Senior Buckeye recognized by Collegiate Baseball Monday
13130983.jpeg

Feb. 19, 2018




RELATED INFO: Big Ten Baseball |2018 Schedule| 2018 Roster | Collegiate Baseball Release | Follow the Buckeyes on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

COLUMBUS, Ohio Noah McGowan, a senior on the Ohio State baseball team, was named Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week, announced Monday afternoon. McGowan, a native of Houston, Texas, becomes the first Buckeye since the 2016 campaign to be recognized as a national player of the week.

McGowan powered the Buckeyes to a 3-1 record at the Snowbird Classic last weekend in Port Charlotte, Fla. He collected 13 RBI, including 12 RBI with two outs, batting .400 with a double, two home runs, six runs scored and three walks. He had four-consecutive games with at least one RBI, including a career-high six RBI in the 2018 opener against Wisconsin-Milwaukee. By the end of the opening day doubleheader at Charlotte Sports Park last Friday, McGowan collected an impressive 10 RBI. McGowan had 19 RBI during the 2017 season. McGowan leads the country with 13 RBI.

The Buckeyes (3-1) are set to play No. 2 Oregon State (3-0) and Utah (0-3) in a four-game set Thursday-Sunday at the 2018 Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge at Surprise, Stadium in Surprise, Ariz. The tournament will feature three of the nine national players of the week highlighted today by Collegiate Baseball.




spacer.gif

The last Buckeye to be honored as a Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week: Jacob Bosiokovic, 2016.

Collegiate Baseball National Players of the Week
RF Trevor Larnach, Oregon State
LHP Trey Cumbie, Houston
Brett Brocoff, Utah
RF Eric Gilgenbach, Notre Dame
LHP Cody Bradford, Baylor
Chase Strumpf, UCLA
RHP R.J. Freure, Pittsburgh
RHP Micah Kaczor, East Tennessee State


http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/021918aaa.html
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0
Back
Top