Three Stanford baseball players have been named 2023 Preseason All-Americans by the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper: Senior left-handed pitcher Quinn Mathews, junior first baseman Carter Graham, and junior third baseman Drew Bowser. Mathews and Graham both were named to the first team while Bowser was named to the third team.
Mathews was drafted in the late rounds of the 2022 MLB Draft by the Tampa Bay Rays but decided to come back for a senior season so as to boost his draft stock. Mathews had a really strong 2022 season, going 9-2 for a 3.08 ERA and nine saves. Last season, he did most of his work in a bullpen role, really giving the team a much-needed boost. This year he projects to return to a starting role. Possibly on Friday nights.
What makes Mathews so good is that he’s a lefty and he knows how to get strikeouts, leading the team in that category last season with 111. He’s also just really good in the clutch. His nine saves speaks to that. Given how effective he was out of the bullpen, he’s got a chance to make an impact there as well, though I do think we’ll see him in a starting role for most of the season. I think where his bullpen skills will really come into play is in the postseason when it becomes much more of an all-hands-on-deck approach to pitching.
Graham was arguably the top bat for the Cardinal last year, hitting .331 to go along with a team-high 22 home runs, a team-high 79 RBIs, a .399 on base percentage, and a .642 slugging percentage. Graham also played good defense at first base with 426 put outs, 24 assists, and a .989 fielding percentage.
Graham was a consistent offensive threat all season long and was one who opposing pitchers feared. With Brock Jones drafted into the major leagues, Graham is going to have to adjust to being the consensus top hitter on the team. Jones struggled at times last year because of how he was pitched to and Graham better prepare to get similar treatment.
Bowser brought a lot of firepower to the plate as well, hitting .293 for 18 home runs, 50 RBIs, a .350 on base percentage, and a .573 slugging percentage. His defense needs to improve as he had a .897 fielding percentage, the lowest on the team while also committing a team-high 13 errors. Still, he did have 40 put outs and 73 assists, so the potential to be a good fielder is there.
Bowser was one of four players on the team to hit 18+ home runs and really is an offensive force at the third base spot. He should look to build on the offensive success he had last season and be even more of a force in the lineup.
Stanford will begin their season on the road for a three game series at Cal State Fullerton February 17-19 before coming back home to face Cal on February 21st. That game against Cal will be the first game of a nine-game home stand that will also feature Rice, Pacific, CSU Bakersfield, and Santa Clara. The homestead will conclude on March 7th against Santa Clara before Stanford hits the road for a three game series at USC (March 10-12).
To connect with CardinalSportsReport.com on Facebook and Twitter, click here.
To connect with Ben Parker on Facebook and Twitter, click here.
Email: slamdunk406@yahoo.com
