Fire up the grills and start chuckin’ the peanuts, it’s almost that time of year.
All that remains between the long winter and opening night at Packard Stadium is three short days.
With that in mind, it’s time to list the pecking order of the Pac-10 before the 2011 season kicks off.
1. UCLA (No. 1 USA Today/ESPN, No. 2 Baseball America)
The Bruins finished the 2010 season just shy of winning their first national title in school history, falling in the championship series to South Carolina.
They return six position starters but are deadly on the mound. Junior All-American pitchers Gerrit Cole and Trevor Bauer combined for nearly half the team’s wins last season while boasting ERAs of 3.37 and 3.02, respectively.
Both will likely go in the top half of June’s MLB draft.
2. ASU (No. 12 USA Today/ESPN, No. 11 Baseball America)
The Sun Devils are still waiting to hear back from the NCAA on whether they will be eligible to participate in the postseason this year.
In the meantime, the four-time defending conference champions bring back the reining Pac-10 player of the year in junior second baseman Zack MacPhee.
MacPhee hit .389 last season with nine home runs and 64 RBIs. He also played phenomenal defense with his double-play partner, sophomore shortstop Deven Marrero.
After losing Jake Borup, Merrill Kelly and Pac-10 pitcher of the year Seth Blair to the pros, ASU will look to a new group of starting pitchers to carry the load.
3. Stanford (No. 16 USA Today/ESPN, No. 13 Baseball America)
The Pac-10 coaches actually picked the Cardinal to finish ahead of ASU in their preseason poll.
Stanford is one of the youngest teams in the country. The team could start seven underclassmen in field positions. But given that the school has signed the No. 2 and No. 1 ranked recruiting classes the past two years, the youth might be a really good thing.
Cardinal sophomore ace Brett Mooneyham competed on the U.S. national team last summer in Japan.
4. Oregon (No. 10 USA Today/ESPN, No. 14 Baseball America)
The Ducks are just three years removed from the revival of their baseball program after a 28-year hiatus, yet they already find themselves in the thick of national scene.
With a solid lineup and a deep starting rotation headlined by junior Tyler Anderson, Oregon could make a run at its first trip to the championship in Omaha, Neb., since 1954.
5. Arizona (No. 25 USA Today/ESPN, No. 19 Baseball America)
The historic Wildcat program has struggled lately to get back to the elite level.
UA hasn’t been to the College World Series since 2004, but it is back on the rise again.
The Wildcats return six of their top seven hitters from a season ago, including junior right fielder Steve Selsky, who hit nine home runs and drove in 52 RBIs in 2010.
Their pitching staff is above average, but the offense will need to carry most of the load.
6. California (No. 17 Baseball America)
The Golden Bears are a team with plenty of experience.
They return most of their starters from a team that finished second last season in the Pac-10 in scoring.
On the mound, junior Erik Johnson and sophomore Justin Jones lead the starting rotation. They combined for 16 wins and 146 strikeouts in 2010.
7. Oregon State
OSU coach Pat Casey, who led the Beavers to back-to-back national championships in 2006 and 2007, faces a tough road ahead in 2011.
The team returns six position starters, including the multi-talented sophomore Matt Boyd. During his freshman campaign, Boyd both pitched and played in the infield. He was named a freshman All-American.
8. Washington State
The Cougars were ranked No. 31 by the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper’s preseason poll.
The team is coming off consecutive NCAA postseason appearances. The Cougars finished last year 37-22, but lost to Arkansas to end their season.
WSU brings back senior shortstop Cody Bartlett, who led the team in batting with a .323 average and seven home runs.
9. USC
The Trojans have 12 national titles to their name but have not lived up to the prestige in recent years, as they haven’t made an NCAA tournament appearance since 2005.
If USC hopes to get back to the postseason this year, it will need a big season from junior infielder Ricky Oropesa, who hit .353 with 20 home runs last season.
He was recently named a 2011 preseason First-Team All-American by Baseball America.
10. Washington
Second-year coach Lindsay Meggs still has some rebuilding to do.
His 35-man roster includes 21 new faces. The Huskies’ most veteran pitcher is senior Jacob Clem.
Clem earned honorable mention All-Pac-10 last season by posting a 3.14 ERA in conference games.
Reach the reporter at tyler.emerick@asu.edu
