ASU baseball is experiencing a lot of turnover from last year's team that was knocked out in the Fullerton Regional, mainly in its outfield and starting pitching.
In head coach Tracy Smith's first year, the Sun Devils struggled to find an identity. He said the search for one will start all over again as the new season rolls around.
"I think your identity is formed when you start facing adversity, success, wins and losses, all that stuff," he said before Friday's practice, which was the first extended team session. "It remains to be seen."
ASU lost a combined 193.2 innings with the departures of standout weekend starters Ryan Kellogg and Brett Lilek. Kellogg, who tallied 115 of those innings, also led the team with 92 strikeouts.
In need of another pitcher to separate himself from the pack as a weekend starter, Smith said junior Hever Bueno has stood out. Bueno had a 7.88 ERA in just 16 innings last year.
"Albeit it's practices, it's intrasquad scrimmages, it's controlled," he said. "If (Bueno) keeps doing what he's doing at this level, then yes, we've got a Friday night guy."
Brian Serven, the team's starting catcher who had 34 RBI and six home runs last season, said he got to know the pitching staff throughout the fall. He also echoed the praise for Bueno, but said the staff looks good as a whole.
"I got to see everybody throw, got to catch everybody, see what they throw, how everything movies," he said. "Just seeing it when the lights turn on will be a lot different and I'm excited to see how that goes."
The Sun Devils started a veteran outfield of Trever Allen, Johnny Sewald and Jake Peevyhouse from right to left. And with all of them gone, those combinations have yet to be figured out.
However, Smith said Gage Canning and Andrew Shaps are two viable options, with the field open for others to compete. He noted that Canning has been the most consistent all-around player of the new outfielders.
Canning, a freshman from Ramona, California, played four years of varsity baseball at Ramona High School and earned All-State honors in 2013, 2014 and 2015. Additionally, he was named a Perfect Game All-American in 2014 and 2015.
But in a season with a lot of questions looming, the infield has stayed solid.
Junior shortstop Colby Woodmansee has earned a bevy of preseason honors, including being named a preseason first-team All-American by Perfect Game. Andrew Snow and David Greer are two others who took big steps last season.
Woodmansee, fresh off a breakout season that started with a walk-off home run in the first game, said it will be key for him and Snow to communicate to the outfielders.
"Once in a while just looking back and letting them know different situations," he said. "More experience in the infield will help the outfielders, just communicating."
In January 2015, ASU was a consensus Top 25 team in the polls. The Sun Devils started with tough a home series against ranked opponent Oklahoma State and then-No. 1 TCU—the team won the first, but lost the second.
Now, there are five Pac-12 teams ranked in the DIBaseball.com Top 25 poll, but ASU is not one of them. Regardless, Smith said the predictions reflect the team's inexperience, but more so the difficulty and parity in the conference.
However, it doesn't mean his team isn't capable, Smith said.
"If guys step up like they're capable of doing, I think we'll certainly surprise some people," he said. "If guys don't and we play to the level of our age or whatever expectations, then we'll see. But I don't think that's going to happen."
Reach the reporter at Justin.Toscano@asu.edu or follow @justintoscano3 on Twitter
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