The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Friday, March 16, 2018 —7

2018 Baseball Preview

Freshman class looking to provide strong foundation

Last June, Michigan coach 

Erik 
Bakich 
watched 
as 
a 

program-record 11 players were 
drafted to the MLB. It was a 
milestone moment to cap off the 
fifth season of his tenure in Ann 
Arbor that has included five 
winning seasons, two NCAA 
Tournament 
appearances 

and a Big Ten Tournament 
championship.

“We 
want 
everyone 
to 

have the opportunity to play 
professional baseball,” Bakich 
said. “We don’t hide from it, we 
don’t shy away from it. We want 
every player in our program to 
play pro ball.”

While this philosophy may 

be for the long-term benefit of 
the program, the unfortunate 
reality is that it was always 
going to make 2018 a tough 
season for Bakich and his staff.

Even with six of their top 

seven hitters and three-fourths 
of 
their 
starting 
rotation 

departed, 
the 
Wolverines 

could not have anticipated the 
struggles they have endured 
in the first four weeks of 
the 
season. 
Last 
season’s 

tournament berth is now a 
distant memory.

“We’d like to think coming 

into this season that we’ve put 
ourselves into a position to 
reload and not rebuild,” Bakich 
said after a loss to Lipscomb 
last week. “But clearly we’re 
rebuilding right now.”

The hope around Michigan, 

though, is that its rebuilding 
process will be accelerated by 
an acclaimed recruiting class 
that ranked 10th in the nation 
— an all-time best for a Big Ten 
program.

The freshman class includes 

eight of Perfect Game’s Top 
400 from the 2017 class, and is 
headlined by left-hander Ben 
Dragani 
and 
first 
baseman 

Jesse Franklin, the Gatorade 
Players of the Year in Wisconsin 
and Washington, respectively. 
Beyond 
them, 
right-hander 

Jeff Criswell and catcher Joe 
Donovan both turned down 
major league draft offers to 

come to Ann Arbor.

Donovan 
was 
named 
an 

All-American 
by 
Collegiate 

Baseball, 
while 
right-hander 

Blake 
Beers 
was 
All-State 

California 
and 
outfielder 

Jordan Nwogu was All-State 
Michigan. 
The 
acclaimed 

freshmen are joined by junior-
college transfers Blake Nelson 
and Matthew Schmidt.

Their start to life in the 

college 
baseball 
ranks 
has 

not been as rosy. Blomgren 
and Franklin — the only two 
freshmen with over 20 at-bats — 
are both hitting under .200.

“Some of these guys are 

dealing 
with 
adversity 
for 

the first times in their lives,” 
Bakich said, “and we try to have 
a mental game toolbox to go to 
when the garbage is hitting the 
fan but sometimes it’s easier 
said than done.

“They’re 
all 
seeing 
what 

college baseball is all about.”

On 
the 
mound, 
Dragani 

has been a bright spot for the 
freshmen with a 2.77 ERA in 
a team-leading 13.0 innings 
pitched out of the bullpen. After 
giving up two runs in each of 
his first two outings, his recent 

success has catapulted him 
into a relief ace role in pitching 
coach Chris Fetter’s bullpen.

“He’s had success because 

he’s been aggressive with all of 
his pitches in the strike zone,” 
Bakich said. “He’s consistently 
been a strike-thrower every 
time he’s been out there and 
he’s executed the pitch call and 
game plan. He’s done a nice 
job. He’ll continue to get more 
opportunities and may have his 
role expanded.”

The consistency for which 

Bakich praised Dragani has been 
a constant refrain throughout 
the beginning of the season, 
especially on the defensive side, 
where the Wolverines have 
mixed web gems with little 
league errors. This emphasis 
on consistency does not exclude 
the freshmen, who have been 
key contributors to Michigan’s 
erratic play.

Last 
Saturday 
against 

Lipscomb, Blomgren made a 
beautiful diving catch over his 
shoulder before allowing a run 
to score on a bobbled grounder 
four innings later. Franklin, 
meanwhile, went 2-for-4 with 
a run batted-in Wednesday 

afternoon, but came into the 
game just 2-for-21 on the season. 
Criswell has a strikeout in each 
of his four relief appearances 
— three of which have been 
scoreless — but gave up a walk-
off three-run homer at Stanford 
two weekends ago.

Struggling with consistency, 

though, is understandable for 
players with less than a month 
of collegiate baseball under 
their belts.

“You got kids acclimating to 

a lot of different areas,” Bakich 
said. “They’re acclimating to 
school and academics and social 
life and trying to make friends. 
They’re away from home for 
the first time, and now they’re 
trying to play in a very good, 
elite program and it’s a lot of 
balls in the air to juggle at once.”

Added junior shortstop Ako 

Thomas: “Very good group of 
freshmen. I feel like they came 
in and we took them under our 
wing. Very willing to learn, 
always asking questions and 
I feel honored to be able to 
answer some of their questions 
because I was in their situation 
at one point as well, so just being 
a leading figure as well makes 

me feel good and (they’re) just a 
really good group of freshmen.”

As the freshmen traversed 

this process last semester, their 
progress had the coaching staff 
encouraged coming into the 
season.

“We’re at a point where (in) 

our preseason training, we’ve 
started to see that maturity 
take place,” Bakich said at 
media day, “where the younger 
guys are more physical, they’ve 
gotten stronger, they can slow 
the game down mentally. Now, 
you’re starting to see some of 
their performance show up a 
little bit and that’s where there 
is some encouragement and 
some freshman that will be in 
some roles that they’re gonna 
have some opportunities to 
compete in early and make early 
contributions.”

Despite 
their 
occasional 

tribulations, Bakich’s preseason 
prediction has come to fruition. 
The volatile nature of baseball 
prevents it from mimicking the 
one-and-done factory that is 
college basketball — freshmen 
are rarely key contributors in 
baseball.

The 
Wolverines, 
though, 

regularly pencil Blomgren and 
Franklin into their daily lineup. 
Donovan has found his way 
into over half of Michigan’s 
games, while Nelson has earned 
himself back-to-back starts. On 
the pitching side, Dragani and 
Criswell have repeatedly found 
themselves trusted with high 
leverage situations.

“They’ve 
been 
complementary 

pieces so far, would be the way 
I would describe it,” Bakich 
said. “They’re in a learning 
and growth stage still and 
they’re paying attention, they’re 
learning, they’re adjusting to 
the speed of this game and the 
level of competition here and 
some of them are playing more 
than others.”

Despite a 4-11 start, the 

Michigan 
coaching 
staff 

— 
especially 
recruiting 

coordinator Nick Schnabel — 
must be credited for putting 
together a class that has been 
ready to contribute since day 
one.

Recruiting to Ann Arbor is 

no easy task. The minimum 
temperature 
required 
for 

outdoor 
practices 
is 
zero 

degrees, 
a 
mark 
that 
has 

been flirted with more than 
a handful of times over the 
past few months. As a result, 
the Wolverines spend the first 
month of each season on the road 
— this year, migrating from San 
Diego to Palo Alto to Nashville 
over the opening month, and 
they reside thousands of miles 
from 
the 
sport’s 
recruiting 

hotbeds in Florida, Texas and 
southern California.

Instead, Schnabel and his 

staff 
must 
sell 
Michigan’s 

academics.

“The school is certainly one 

of the main reasons that we can 
attract (this) type of talent,” 
Bakich said “… For all those 
kids out there that are very 
good students that want to play 
at a very high level, this is an 
attractive option for them. So 
we’ve gotten in the conversation 
for players that are the best 
students and the best baseball 
players.”

Recruiting is a process that 

compounds, and recently, the 
Wolverines have been able to 
use the success of previous 
classes to reach new heights on 
the recruiting trail, culminating 
in their record-setting 2017 
class.

“A baseball program that — 

even though we’re in a hiccup 
right now — has been ascending,” 
Bakich said of his team. “And 
the trajectory has been up so 
people see the school, they see 
the athletic department, they 
see the facilities, they want to 
be a part of this.

“I think (these freshmen) 

will all make an impact by the 
time it’s said and done,” Bakich 
said. “There’s some guys that 
are very talented out there. 
So we’re certainly excited for 
those guys and their continued 
development.”

For Bakich and his staff, the 

job is to ensure that 2017 was not 
the pinnacle of the program’s 
trajectory. If that job lies in the 
hands of their freshman class, 
they have full confidence.

FILE PHOTO

Michigan coach Erik Bakich has recruited a talented freshman class to Ann Arbor. 

Michigan’s leading man: Ako Thomas ready to take charge

Mount 
Carmel 
High 

School was in the midst of a 
doubleheader and in desperate 
need for some life.

Enter Ako Thomas.
The 
year 
was 
2012 
and 

Thomas was a freshman for 
the Caravan in Chicago, IL and 
was just beginning his fruitful 
baseball career.

After not starting on the elite 

varsity squad at the beginning of 
the year, Thomas was eventually 
called up within the first few 
weeks of the season due to his 
promising play at the plate.

The 
young, 
undersized 

freshman 
stepped 
up 
and 

delivered the performance of 
a lifetime, going 4-for-4. His 
inspiring performance gave his 
team the win — and would prove 
to be the birth of a superstar.

But his hot bat wasn’t the most 

impressive display of the day.

Stepping onto the infield, 

Thomas assumed his position 
at shortstop. A position that 
typically plays second fiddle 
to second base for Thomas, he 
fulfilled his duty well.

Then, on his very first play as 

a high school varsity baseball 
player, Thomas was forced to 
ground an absolute rocket hit 
by the opposing 
batter. The ball 
skipped once on 
the ground then 
thudded off his 
chest. 
Thomas 

collected himself 
and threw the 
forceout to first. 
He had laid his 
body 
on 
the 

line to make a 
play, and it left a 
memorable first impression.

“It just shows how much 

toughness and guts he has,” 

said Thomas’ high school coach 
Brian Hurry. “I mean the four 
hits were impressive, but all that 
was completely secondary to that 
play. I thought that play really 
showed what the kid is all about, 
internally. To me, it spoke to his 
competitiveness and his guts 
more than anything else.”

Added Thomas: “I do whatever 

it takes for the team, so if that 
means getting in front of a line 
drive then I’ll do it.”

His 
sophomore 
season, 

Thomas found himself in a 
position he would come to know 
all too well — leadoff hitter. Due 
in part to his leadership and 
performance in this spot and at 
second base, the Caravan won a 
state championship.

Thomas 
led 
another 

postseason 
surge 
his 
senior 

campaign, leading his team back 
to the state championship game. 
The Caravan would inevitably 
fall, but Thomas had made a 
lasting impression as an all-time 
great Mount Carmel baseball 
player. Needless to say, Thomas’ 
time spent at Mount Carmel 
helped shape him as an athlete, 
leader and person.

Despite 
having 
an 
older 

brother who played baseball for a 
different high school in Chicago, 
Thomas elected to explore an 
alternative route — an all-boys 

Catholic 
high 

school.

“I 
wanted 

something 
different in my 
life,” 
Thomas 

said. 
“I 
could 

see 
where 
my 

life 
was 
going 

and I wanted it 
to change. So I 
decided to go to 
Mount Carmel to 

get away from my neighborhood 
friends and just explore out, so 
that’s why I chose to go to Mount 

Carmel.”

His 
father, 
Zebedee, 
and 

mother, Reeshemah, have also 
helped Thomas every step of the 
way.

“My mom is always the most 

influential 
person 
for 
me,” 

Thomas said. “She’s just so 
hard-working, very independent 
woman and she just drives me 
and I just go out here and play for 
her and for my family.”

Added Michigan coach Erik 

Bakich: “He’s an inner city 
Chicago kid, he plays with 
a ton of energy, a good 
student from Carmel 
High 
School. 

Good parents — 
Reeshemah and 
Zebedee did a 
great job raising 
he and his three 
brothers.

“And 
he’s 

just a winner 
— that’s the 
word.”

Thomas 

finished 
off 
his 

time at 
Mount 

Carmel with a 

.397 
batting 

average, 
.991 

fielding percentage 
and 50 hits in his 
senior season. These 

impressive stats found 

him catching the eye of one 
program in particular.

Three years later, Thomas 

finds 
himself 
in 
a 
similar 

situation as he bats top of the 
order for the Wolverines.

Ever since his arrival in 

Ann 
Arbor, 
Thomas 
has 

shined bright both on and 

off the field. His coaches and 
teammates cannot speak highly 
enough about the quality of 
his play and his character. His 
typical charisma and positive 
personality consistently inspire 
everyone surrounding him.

“When I think of some of 

the 
greatest 
compliments 
a 

player could have, being a great 

competitor 

and 
being a great 
teammate 
are 
right 

there at the 

top,” 
Hurry 

said. 
“He 

certainly 
is 

both of them. 

Positive 
energy, 
he’s 
always 
smiling. 
He kinda 
lights 
up 

a 
room 

when he’s 
around, 
you just get 
in a better 
mood 
it 

seems. His 
attitude 

was 
very 
contagious 
to 

our program.”

Aside from bringing energy to 

the program, Thomas brought 
a quality of play that saw him 
starting from day one as a 
Wolverine.

His freshman year, Thomas 

accumulated 
a 
.258 
batting 

average 
off 
40 
hits 
and 

cemented himself as an integral 
part of the Michigan lineup. 
His proficiency from the plate 
is not — and has never been — 
the only noteworthy aspect of 
his game as he displayed great 
defensive prowess, an element 
the Wolverines take pride in.

“It’s always a thrill just to play 

for Michigan, period,” Thomas 

said. “And then to be the leadoff 
hitter is awesome as well, so 
I’m just gonna 
continue to do 
everything I can 
for the team.”

Thomas then 

broke out as one 
of the country’s 
premier 
second 

basemen 
in 

his 
sophomore 

campaign, 
leading the Big 
Ten 
in 
both 

batting average and on-base 
percentage. Amassing a .354 
batting average, he ascended the 
ranks of the batting order.

Now, 
Thomas 
is 
the 

definitive leadoff hitter and the 
Wolverines’ most prolific batter.

Thomas’ efforts this season, 

however, may come in vain as 
he seeks to lead his team out 
of a rebuilding season. It’s no 
surprise that a squad that lost 
15 athletes — 11 of those to the 
MLB draft — is suffering, with 
a 4-11 record. It’s incredibly 
difficult to guide a retool, rather 
than a rebuild, since many of the 
new players have yet to adapt to 
the pace of the college game.

Nevertheless, Thomas is up to 

the task, willing to do whatever 
his team needs to get it out of its 
slump.

“I 
definitely 

think 
and 

definitely 
the 

coaches and my 
teammates 
as 

well, 
think 
of 

me as a leader 
and 
a 
leading 

figure out there,” 
Thomas said. “I 
try my best to 
be the best vocal 
leader and just 
lead by my play as well.”

Added 
Bakich: 
“He’ll 
be 

one of the guys that will be 

instrumental 
in 
our 
turn-

around this season, and so we’re 

really 
looking 

forward to him 
taking the reigns 
and leading by 
example like he 
always does.”

Another area 

where 
Thomas 

leads is in his 
academics, 
earning 
Academic 
Big 

Ten 
Honors 

last year as a sophomore. A 
practice that began in his days at 
Mount Carmel, Thomas worked 
diligently in the classroom and 
on the field in hopes of acquiring 
the best degree he could.

“I think he just epitomizes 

what I want all our players 
to be,” Hurry said. “He was a 
true student athlete, he worked 
hard with his grades, he was 
relentless in his pursuit of 
being excellent and the greatest 
baseball player he could be.”

At Mount Carmel, Thomas’ 

great play was mirrored by his 
personality and his academics. 
He left a legacy of excellence 
and served as inspiration to his 
teammates.

At Michigan, Thomas is on 

a trajectory to do much of the 
same as Michigan’s leading man. 

Of course, this is 
nothing new for 
him. 
So 
when 

asked about his 
legacy 
for 
the 

Wolverines, his 
answer 
makes 

sense.

“We’ll 
see, 

I’m 
not 
sure,” 

Thomas 
said. 

“I’ll try to leave 
a good one, that’s 

for sure. I just do whatever I 
can for the team. Play hard, run 
hard, just the usual.”

JACOB KOPNICK
Daily Sports Writer

THEO MACKIE
Daily Sports Writer

“I just do 
whatever I 
can for the 

team.”

“I wanted 
something 

different in my 

life.”

“I think he just 

epitomizes what 

I want all our 

players to be.” 

