Newport Gulls 2014 Preview

Louisville pitcher Kyle McGrath. /UofL photo

NECBL.com has released the first of their team previews for the upcoming season, so I've decided to breakdown the lineups, rotation and bullpens of every teams to accompany their players to watch. Every team will be previewed by the season opener on June 5th.

If any NECBL fan was asked to pick the best franchise in the league, odds are that they would choose the Newport Gulls. They didn't come away with the league championship last season, despite going 30-14, falling to Keene in the championship. With five Fay Vincent cups under their belt, Newport has accumulated 117 wins since 2010 and have posted a .692 winning percentage.

The key to their success? Last season, it was dominant pitching that led the league with a hard-to-believe 2.18 team ERA. There wasn't a clear star on the staff as the depth the Gulls had was amazing.

This season, the Gulls return with strong pitching and a group of very talented hitters that could combine into one of the most feared lineups in the NECBL this summer. Here's a complete breakdown of the Gulls roster:

Rotation:
Last season, the rotation was headed by Missouri's Brett Graves, a name that has been circulated around the top 250 draft prospects. He doesn't return, but several others do, including Michigan State's Mick Van Vossen. Van Vossen went 3-0 with a 2.46 ERA over six starts in Newport last summer, and he only improved this spring for the Spartans. He started 13 games, going 6-3 with a 3.07 ERA over 85 innings. After Van Vossen, Stanford's Brett Hanewich and Arkansas State's Chandler Hawkins are both viable rotation pieces. After them, a majority of the incoming Gulls haven't started for their college teams so it's hard to tell who will fill out the rotation. Texas Tech's Jonathon Tripp and Boston College's Mike King both could start some games.

Bullpen:
Definitely a strength for this years Gulls team, the bullpen is led by Louisville returnee Kyle McGrath. McGrath had a 1.45 ERA in 10 appearances for the Gulls last year after making a transition into the bullpen from being a starter in the Northwoods league. Michigan State's Anthony Misiewicz (3.61 ERA, 23 APP) and Vanderbilt's John Kilichowski (1.47 ERA, 10 APP) are both solid relievers. The teams closer appears to be Armand Rugel, a Stonehill senior who has 13 saves and a 0.97 WHIP in 24 appearances.

Offense:

Salter /Lansing State Journal

Somehow, Newport managed to bring back two of their better hitters last season and bring in a crop of talented hitters, led by Michigan State power hitter Blaise Salter and Kansas two-way DH Dakota Smith. Breakdown below.

Lineup
C         Will Smith (R)
Hit .239 for Louisville, 12 RBIs in 34 games
1B       Blaise Salter (R)
Stands 6-5, hit .339 with 20 doubles and 46 RBIs, .533 slugging
2B       Shea Donlin (L)
Returning Gull, hit .274 in 33 games with 15 walks
SS       Nick Zammarelli (L)
Hit .273 for Elon, 19 RBIs and 18 runs in 47 games
3B       Reed Gamache (R)
Binghamton junior hit .290 with 19 runs, 13 RBIs and 7 doubles
OF       Jose Vizcaino, Jr. (R)
Hit .317 for Santa Clara, 10 stolen bases, three triples and 30 runs
OF       Ben Roberts (L)
Returning All-NECBL first teamer, hit .308 this spring
OF       Dakota Smith (R)
Hit .335 for Kansas, 35 RBIs, can also pitch w/ 95 mph fastball
DH       Tommy Edman (S)
Stanford second basemen worked 22 walks in 40 games

Rotation
RH        Mick Van Vossen
Went 6-3, 3.07 ERA in 13 starts for Michigan State
RH        Brett Hanewich
2-4 over 12 starts for Stanford, 1.45 WHIP and 3.76 ERA
LH         Chandler Hawkins
Arkansas St lefty averages a strikeout an inning over 55.2
RH         Jonathon Tripp
Texas Tech reliever can start, 3.22 ERA over 22 innings
RH         Mike King
Boston Col sophomore has a 3.18 ERA over 40 innings

Bullpen
RH        Armand Rugel (Closer)
Had 13 saves for Stonehill, 1.16 ERA and 0.97 WHIP over 38 innings
LH         Kyle McGrath
Dominant lefty from Louisville, 0.83 WHIP and 0.93 ERA over 29 innings
LH         Anthony Misiewicz
Michigan St, 3.61 ERA over 23 appearances and 52 innings
LH         John Kilichowski
Vanderbilt reliever has 1.47 ERA, 10 APP/18 innings
LH         Marc Huberman
Southern Cal product averages 13.4 strikeouts per nine

Player to watch:
Blaise Salter if you like offense or Kyle McGrath if you like pitching. Salter crushes doubles in the gaps and has serious power that could be exploited when he visits stadiums like Alumni Field in Keene. McGrath is a dominant pitcher who doesn't make mistakes, as is evidenced by the fact that both his WHIP and ERA are under one after almost 30 innings of work.