Baseball hosts Baylor to kick off finale month of regular season action

PHOENIX -- No. 25 Sun Devil Baseball returns home to kick off the last month of Big 12 action, starting with a three-game series against Baylor beginning Friday, April 24. The series will get underway with a pair of 6:30 p.m. AZT first pitches on Friday and Saturday before concluding with a 1 p.m. AZT finale on Sunday.

FOLLOW THE ACTION

• Each game this weekend against Baylor will all be available to stream via ESPN+. Braiden Bell and Alex Coil will be on the call for all three games. Fans can check with their local cable or internet providers to see if they are on an ESPN+ plan or visit https://plus.espn.com/to sign up.
• Each game will be broadcast live over local airwaves on KDUS 1060 AM with Tim Healey and Max Rossiter on the call. 
• Fans are encouraged to follow along in-game content and schedule updates throughout the weekend on the Sun Devil Baseball Twitter account (@ASU_Baseball).

#10THINGS (Twitter-Friendly Notes)

1.  Dominic Smaldino has a line drive% of 36.8, which is good for fourth in the country. It’s especially notable as it sat at just 14.8% as a freshman and 24.8 last year.

2. Opponents have swung and missed on 188 of Cole Carlon’s pitches this season, the most of any pitcher in the country.

3. When one of the first 3 batters a reliever has faced in a game, Landon Hairston’s 11 HRs are 3 more than anyone else and he leads in hits (24) and RBIs (32)

4. Of Landon Hairston’s 75 hits, 45 have gone for extra bases (18 doubles, 25 homers, 2 triples) - a total that is 12 more than any other player in the country.

5. Only 33.4 percent of ASU pitches have been put into play this season, the ninth-lowest total in the country.

6. The Sun Devil pitchers have 63 strikeouts this season with runners in scoring position and two outs, a total good for 25th  in the nation.

7.  Arizona State’s aggressive nature on the basepaths has seen the team advance a runner from 1st to 3rd on a single 37 times, 13th-most in the country.

8. ASU’s bullpen has allowed just 16 homers, tied for 78th-lowest in D1 but notable as the team ranked 255th of 307 teams last year with 38 homers allowed.

9.  Opponents put Sean Fitzpatrick’s fastball into play just 10.9 percent of the time - the lowest percent of the country among pitchers with 100+ fastballs.

10.  ASU has 22 two-out RBIs over its last four games, notable as it had just 11 in its nine games prior to the current stretch.

BY THE NUMBERS

93 - Sun Devil pitchers have posted an average fastball/sinker velocity of 93.1 this season, a total that currently sets good for ninth among all Division I programs. Arizona State also ranked ninth last season at 92.5. ASU ranked no higher than 28th in the category from 2019-2024 (28th in 2019 at 89.5 MPH). ASU’s overall average pitch velocity on all pitches is 88.2, good for 12th in the country. Among pitchers with at least 20.0 innings pitched this season, ASU has the No. 16 (Cole Carlon, 95.8), No. 25 (Derek Schaefer, 95.4) and No. 28 (Alex Overbay, 95.4) pitchers in the country in average fastball velo.  For perspective, from 2019-2025 the Sun Devils had just two players TOTAL that averaged 95+ MPH fast balls for a season (Lucas Kelly and Will Koger, both last season).

91 - Conversely, Arizona State’s average exit velocity at the plate this season is 90.7 MPH - good for the eighth-highest tally in Division I. The Sun Devils currently have a hard-hit ball average (exit velo over 95 MPH) of 45.8 percent, which is 19th in Division I baseball and the team’s 343 hard-hit balls (exit velo over 95 MPH) are 10th.  ASU has put a barrel on 236 balls this season, good for 10th in the country and the squad’s 20.6 overall barrel percentage is 41st. 19.1 percent of ASU’s balls put into play this season have qualified as line drives  with an exit velocity over 95 MPH with a launch angle between 10-30 degrees, the 22nd-highest percentage in the country. Dominic Smaldino’s line drive percentage of 36.8 is fourth-best in the country while his average exit velo of 94.4 is 35th.

72 - Landon Hairston has 72 RBIs this season, good for second country and one off the national lead. HOWEVER, all 72 RBIs have come while hitting as the leadoff batter in the Sun Devil lineup, which is easily the most of any Division I player - THIRTY-TWO more than Graham Grahovac at Texas A&M.  For perspective, that total is already for most for ANY leadoff hitter in Division I f RBIs for a season, surpassing Christian Moore’s 71 over 65 games in 2024.  24 of Hairston’s RBIs this season have come in pitcher’s counts (0-1, 0-2, 1-2, 2-2) - eighth-most in the nation. His eight homers while trailing in the count are tied for fifth nationally. His 28 hits overall in pitcher’s counts are tied for seventh-best in the country with his .394 average in that scenario good for ninth and his .859 slugging percentage is second.

1 - No team in the country has gotten more swing-and-miss from their pitchers than Arizona State’s 974 this season. Cole Carlon  leads all individual pitchers with his 188 whiffs on the season. The team’s overall 32.7 swing-and-miss percentage on all pitches is fifth-best in the country. Only 33.4 percent of ASU pitches have been put into play this season, the ninth-lowest total in the country. The Sun Devils have accomplished this success without necessarily getting opponents to chase a ton as 23.1 percent of the team’s pitches in the zone have been whiffed on, the third-highest total in the nation while the squad’s 25.6 percent chase rate is 41st. Opponents are swinging and missing on 26.4 percent of ASU fastballs (5th nationally) and 41.5 percent of the breaking/offspeed pitches (13th nationally).

A LOOK BACK - BYU/NMSU

• Arizona State went on the road and took two of three from BYU last weekend, shaking off a humbling 19-9 run rule defeat in the opener with a 13-0 run-rule victory of its own followed by a thrilling seven-run comeback to take the rubber match on Saturday, 12-8.
• Arizona State moved to 8-1 in weekend series this year and picked up its third road-series win in the process.
• The Sun Devils won their fourth rubber match of the season, moving to 4-1 in such series. Arizona State was 5-1 in such games last season and are a combined 9-2 over the last two seasons - an absurdly notable number as the team was 15-25 in rubber matches from 2016-24. Saturday marked ASU’s second road rubber match victory of the season.
• Cole Carlon was the star on Friday, going 6.0 innings with no runs, no walks and just three hits allowed as he punched out 11 and touched triple digits on the radar gun for the first time in his career.
• In the month of April prior to the BYU series, the Sun Devils had just 11 two-out RBIs in nine games - a total that ranked 253rd in the country. The team had 19 alone in the BYU series, the third-most in the country and most among power conference teams for any series played last weekend.
• Arizona State played its third extra inning midweek contest of the season on Wednesday against New Mexico State, falling in 11 innings, 10-9, despite a day that saw Landon Hairston homer twice and get intentionally walked three times.
• The Sun Devils have fallen into a hole of three or more runs prior to batting in the eighth inning in 8 of the team’s last 10 games including two of three at BYU and on Wednesday against the Aggies.

ON DECK - BAYLOR

• Arizona State leads the all-time series, 9-6, over the Bears and rallied to take the series in Waco last season after dropping the opening contest of the three-game set. This will be Baylor’s first trek to Phoenix since the 2014 season.
• The Sun Devils sit in a tie with UCF for third in the Big 12, a game back from West Virginia in second and three games back from the Big 12 leader, Kansas.
• The Bears sit in a four-way tie for sixth place in the league standings at 9-9, alongside Kansas State, Utah and BYU.  Last week, BU posted a 2-2 week that included a 10-9 victory in 12 innings over UTSA on Tuesday night and an 11-4 win over TCU on Friday night in front of the largest home crowd since 2017.
• The Bears have 10 comeback victories in 2026 and have come from behind in each of their last four wins.
• Baylor is 8-2 in series openers so far in 2026 and has won seven of its last eight series openers. Prior to the Cincinnati series, BU had won four-straight series openers in Big 12 play, marking the first such
• streak for the program since 2021.
• On Wednesday, a pair of Bears picked up midseason honors as shortstop Travis Sanders was named a semifinalist for the Brooks Wallace Award and closer Caleb Bunch was tabbed to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award Midseason Watch List. Sanders leads the Bears with 55 hits and a .353 AVG, while Bunch has six saves and four wins in 17 appearances.

NO LUMP OF COLE

• Cole Carlon has shown no signs that moving to a starting role has fazed him this season, entering this weekend ranked 5th in the nation with his 86 strikeouts and fourth with his 14.88 strikeouts per nine innings.
• Carlon’s 12.64 career K/9 is 11th among active Division I players.
• Carlon has been at his best with traffic on the bases as he has allowed just a .132 batting average against (7-for-53) with runners in scoring position - the 13th-lowest tally in the nation (min. 50 innings). He has allowed just one extra-base hit with a runner in scoring position, tied for eighth-lowest.
• With a runner in scoring position and two outs on the board, Carlon’s 14-inning ending strikeouts are fourth-most in the country (min. 50 innings).
• Carlon’s 95.8 MPH fastball/sinker average velocity is seventh-best among pitchers with 50.0+ innings of action this season. His fastest velo of the season of 100.7 is second-best as an individual with at least 50.0 innings of work this season.
• Only 26.5 percent of Carlon’s pitches have ended up in play this season, the lowest total nationally (min. 50 innings).
• Carlon became one of the top relievers in college baseball last year, earning All-America honors from the NCBWA to become ASU’s 135th all-time All-American. He also earned All-Big 12 first team recognition and was named the Collegiate National Team for USA Baseball.
• Carlon received a slew of preseason recognition coming into 2026 with a trophy case that includes  being D1 Baseball’s #9 Big 12 2026 Draft Prospect, D1 Baseball’s #68 of Top 200 starting pitchers , a 3rd Team NCBWA Division 1 Preseason All-American, Baseball America’s #8 Big 12 2026 Draft Prospect , Baseball America’ 3rd Team Preseason All-American (Relief Pitcher) and on the Big 12 Preseason Team (Relief Pitcher).
• Last season, Among D1 pitchers with at least 500+ pitches in the regular season, Carlon’s 41.9 whiff percentage was 2nd in the nation. His 55.3 whiff percentage on his slider was fifth among pitchers who threw it at least 150 times.
• He had 82 strikeouts in the regular season, third on the Sun Devils, 10th in the Big 12 and 105th in the nation - but notable as all came out of the bullpen. Of the 117 players in D1 baseball to record 80 strikeouts in the regular season, Carlon accomplished the feat in the second fewest innings of work (Vanderbilt’s Connor Fennell, 82 in 50.1 innings).

SLIDING INTO THE DM’S

• Among pitchers with at least 200 sliders thrown this season, Carlon’s .198 average against on the pitch is the 34th-lowest in the country.
• He has induced an in-zone whiff percentage of 43.3 percent on the slider that is highest of any pitcher in the country that has thrown it at least 200 times this season and sixth-lowest among ALL pitchers with 50+ innings of work, regardless of total sliders thrown.
• Batters are making contact in the zone on the slider just 58.4 percent of the time, which is the the lowest total in the country (min. 200 sliders).
• Carlon is getting batters to swing on the slider 52.8 percent of the time, which is 13th-most in the country (min. 200 sliders).
• His 56.5 overall slider whiff percentage (including sliders out of the zone) is fourth in the country among those with 200+ thrown. He has gotten batters to chase out of the zone 37.5 percent of the time, 27th-best in the country.
• His 86.5 MPH average velo on the slider is seventh in the nation among pitchers with at least 200 sliders thrown.
• Opponents have swung and missed on 188 of Carlon’s pitches this season, the highest total in the country.
• Carlon’s overall whiff rate on pitches in the zone of 34.9 percent is third among all pitchers with 50+ innings of work (258 total). His 44.3 overall miss percentage is fourth in the country.

HAIRY BONDS

• Landon Hairston has not experienced any sort of sophomore slump in Year Two with the program, quickly establishing himself as one of the elite pure AND power hitters in the country.
• Hairston is second in the nation with his .446 batting average and rides a 25-game hitting streak into the weekend - the second-longest active streak in the country (Gonzaga’s Maddon Haley, 26). The streak is tied for the sixth-longest in Sun Devil school history.
• Hairston enters the weekend 25 home runs, a total that leads the nation and is tied with Spencer Torkelson (2018) and Bob Horney (1978) for second-most in single season history. ASU’s single school record of 27, set by Mitch Jones in 2000 is very much worth keeping an eye on in coming week.
• His 18 doubles this season are also sixth in the country and leads the Big 12.
• Should he reach 20 in both doubles and homers, he would join Bob Horner’s 1978 season as the only other time a player reached the 20/20 club at ASU.
• He enters the weekend as one of just two players in the nation with at least 15 homers AND 15 doubles (the other player having 15 doubles and 18 homers).
• Hairston’s leads the entire nation with his 1.570 OPS (min. 3 PA per game) - nearly .100 points higher than the next closest pitcher. He is also the only player in the nation with a slugging percentage over 1.000, currently sitting at 1.024.
• Of his 75 hits this season, 45 have gone for extra bases (18 doubles, 25 homers, 2 triples) - a total that is 12 more than any other player in the country.
• Hairston had just one extra-base hit through his first 27 games as a Sun Devil. In his 69 games since, he has 61 extra-base hits.
• He has had just 10 games this season WITHOUT an extra base hit. He had a streak of 13 consecutive games with an extra-base hit ended against Arizona on April 13.
• Hairston is the national leader with his four grand slams this season - also tying the ASU school record in the process.  The NCAA single season record is six.
• His 407.95 average distance on his homers is 12th among D1 players with 12+ home runs this season (159 total). Hairston’s 94.2 average exit velocity is 40th in the nation.
• Hairston’s WAR of 4.44 is tops in the country (.30 ahead of any other player) while his 60.41 total Offensive Runs over Replacement is also first - 14 more than another other player.

ALL EYES ON THREE

• Landon Hairston (who wears #3) has 72 RBIs this season, good for second country and one off the national lead. HOWEVER, all 72 RBIs have come while hitting as the leadoff batter in the Sun Devil lineup, which is easily the most of any Division I player - THIRTY-TWO more than Graham Grahovac at Texas A&M.
• For perspective, that total is already for most for ANY leadoff hitter in Division I f RBIs for a season, surpassing Christian Moore’s 71 over 65 games in 2024.
• 24 of Hairston’s RBIs this season have come in pitcher’s counts (0-1, 0-2, 1-2, 2-2) - eighth-most in the nation. His eight homers while trailing in the count are tied for fifth nationally.
• His 28 hits overall in pitcher’s counts are tied for seventh-best in the country with his .394 average in that scenario good for ninth and his .859 slugging percentage is second.
• Hairston is batting .378 overall with two strikes this season, good for ninth in the nation.
• Other teams have continuously tried to keep Landon Hairston off guard as 52 times this season an opponent has made a pitching change either directly before facing the lefty or within two batters of facing him - tied for 27th most in the country. And continuously, Hairston has shown that it doesn’t make a difference.
• His 11 home runs as one of the first three batters an opponent reliever has faced are 1st in the country and three more than any other player. He has 24 hits and 32 RBIs in that scenario, ranking first in both categories. He is batting .571 off new pitchers that face him within their first three batters faced - third-best in the country.
• The numbers can be further extrapolated to include his leadoff AB of the game against opponent starting pitchers. As one of the first three batters faced by ANY pitcher this season, his 14 home runs are tied for the national lead. He is batting .506 (fourth nationally) with a nation-leading 26 extra-base hits - nine more than any other player.
• Opponents have intentionally walked Hairston ten times this season, the third highest total in the country.
• Landon Hairston became ASU’s 38th Freshman All-American last season, as selected by the NCBWA and was named to the All-Big 12 first team as a utility player and to the Big 12 All-Freshman team.
• Hairston moved from D1Baseball’s No. 101 outfield in its preseason rankings to its No. 2 outfielder in its Week 6 update.

NOT SO NU’U ANYMORE

• Nu Contrades is ASU’s most veteran presence as he enters his fourth year with the program - a rarity in the modern age of college baseball.  Contrades was selected by his teammates as a Co-Captain of the 2026 squad entering the year.
• Contrades’  11 homers are 10th in the conference despite missing a decent chunk of time this season and batting off one leg for the majority of the season.
• Contrades’ 410.42 average distance on his homers is 11th in the nation among players with at least 10 homers this season.
• Contrades is one of 37 players with at least 11 doubles and 11 homers this season.
• Contrades has struck out just 18 times this season. Last season, he notably struck out just 30 times - compared to 28 walks -  on 181 ABs on the year (16.6 percent) after striking out 51 times with just 9 walks his freshman season on 217 ABs (23.5 percent).
• Unfortunately the veteran was down a couple games while dealing with a hamstring injury sustained in the finale against LMU, missing nearly three weeks and the first two weekends onf Big 12 action.
• Prior to his injury, Contrades was credited with saving 3.09 runs on infield ground balls this season, good for 34th in the nation but third among all second basemen.
• Contrades made his long awaited return to the diamond last season after missing the majority of 2024 season with a back injury. He enteredl last season on D1Baseball’s sixth-ranked third baseman in the country and the No. 22 MLB Draft prospect in the Big 12. Contrades has shifted over to second base this season. He was ranked by D1Baseball as the #21 second basemen in the country entering the year.
• Unfortunately, after a strong season for the majority of last year, Contrades missed ASU’s final month of the season with a hand injury. Prior to the injury, Contrades was reaching base at a .416 clip over his .309 average while posting 15 doubles, three triples and six homers. His 24 extra-base hits were tied for second on the team at the time
• He ranked third in the Big 12 at the time with those 15 doubles and tied for second in the Big 12 with nine doubles in conference-only games.
• Contrades played exceptionally well at the hot corner, and was second on the team in defensive assists prior to the injury with 75 - the most among Big 12 third baseman
• Contrades was 14-for-15 on stolen bases last year, bringing his career tally to 23-of-26. The 14 stolen bases were tied for 9th in the Big 12 at the time of the injury
• Contrades batted out of the leadoff position often last year and reached on 21-of-51 (.412) leadoff opportunities
• He was named the Big 12 Co-Player of the Week for his efforts against Oral Roberts, where he homered three times and batted at a .385 average with five RBIs and six runs scored. 

TOIG-A PARTY

• Dean Toigo was voted by the Big 12 coaches as the conference’s Preseason Newcomer of the Year and has been one of the most prolific offensive threats in the conference thus season.
• Toigo’s 15 homers this year are 22nd in the country and fifth in the Big 12. His 404.06 average on those homers is 21st among players with at least 12 this season.
• Toigo is one of 37 players with at least 11 homers and 11 doubles this season.
• Toigo has at least one RBI in 21 of his last 29 games. He had nine RBIs through his first 13 games this season and has 34 since then. The 43 total RBIs Top-100 in the country and 13th in the Big 12.
• Toigo’s offensive WAR of 2.28 this season is 38th in the nation.
• After having just eight hits in the first 10 games of the season, Toigo has 45 in the last 32 to bring his season average up to .331.
• Toigo’s OBP is over 100 points higher than his average at .435, due in large part to being a magnet for the baseball as his 13 HBPs this season are third in the Big 12.
• The transfer from UNLV was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week on March 16 for his efforts against TCU and named to Baseball American’s National Team of the Week as well.

BIGGIE SMALS

• New Sun Devil infielder Dominic Smaldino is anything but small, giving his teammates a 6-6, 230-pound target over at first base.
• Of the D1 baseball players averaging 3+ plate appearances per game this season (2,115 total), Smaldino’s 94.4 average exit velocity is 35th in the country and his 58.0 hard-hit ball average (exit velo 95+) is 62nd..
• Smaldino’s 420.11 average home run distance is third in the country among players with at least seven homers this year.
• Smaldino’ mammoth blast against Mississippi State at Globe Life Field was officially logged at 480.74 feet, the 10th-longest RECORDED homer by any Division I player this season and the longest recorded by a Sun Devil since 2019.
• Smaldino has seen his line drive percentage jump to 36.8 percent this season, which is the fourth-highest rate in the nation. That total is especially notable as it sat at just 14.8 percent as a freshman and 24.8 last season. His 41 total line drives are fourth in the nation.
• Conversely he has watched his groundball rate drop from nearly 45 percent in 2024 to 30.8 percent this season.

MOUTZ SEE TV

• PJ Moutzouridis (pronounced MOOT-zerr-EE-diss) is another Sun Devil quiet putting up a solid start to the season.
• Moutzouridis leads the team in seeing 182 pitches with two strikes this season - 19 more than any of his teammates.  His 49 balls fouled off also pace the team with two strikes, nine more than his teammates.
• HOWEVER, it’s his ability to battle back from early holes in the count that has stood out. With two strikes on the board, Moutzouridis’ 2.46 pitches seen per plate appearance is the 43rd-HIGHEST total in the country (among batters with 3+ PA per game).
• That said, Moutzouridis is arguably ASU’s best hitter while being aggressive in the count as well. His 17 hits this season on the first pitch of at at-bat are tied for 45th-most in the country and he has a .436 average when putting the first pitch he sees into play.

LASER SHOW

• Arizona State’s average exit velocity at the plate this season is 90.7 MPH - good for the eighth-highest tally in Division I.
• The Sun Devils currently have a hard-hit ball average (exit velo over 95 MPH) of 45.8 percent, which is 19th in Division I baseball and the team’s 343 hard-hit balls (exit velo over 95 MPH) are 10th. 
• ASU has put a barrel on 236 balls this season, good for 10th in the country and the squad’s 20.6 overall barrel percentage is 41st.
• 19.1 percent of ASU’s balls put into play this season have qualified as line drives  with an exit velocity over 95 MPH with a launch angle between 10-30 degrees, the 22nd-highest percentage in the country.

A DISCIPLINED APPROACH

• The Sun Devils have recorded a 53.2 quality at-bat percentage this season (plate appearance ending in a hit, walk, sac bunt, sac fly or HBP, is eight pitches or longer, moves the runner, or with an exit velo over 95 MPH). That total is currently tied for 21st nationally.
• ASU has done a good job of not simply watching pitches taken for strikes, with an in-zone swing percentage of 70.3 percent that is 18th in the country.
• The team makes contact on 87.2 percent of the pitches in the zone, the 28th-highest total in the nation.
• When sticking to the team’s approach of hunting pitches up in the zone, few teams are better than the Sun Devils and their .376 team average that is ninth nationally. 
• The Sun Devils are batting .268 as a team when trailing in the count this season, which is the seventh-highest in the country. The team’s .466 slugging percentage in pitcher’s counts is second in the country behind Georgia Tech (.473).
• The Sun Devils have recorded 63 of their RBIs this season by way of hits to the opposite field, the 28th-most in the nation while rankings 45th as a team with a .375 average to opposite field.
• Arizona State is 16-4 in games in which it has at least three hits to opposite field this season compared toa  12-10 record when it doesn’t.
• Among D1 teams with at least 40 games played this season, ASU’s 279 strikeouts offensively are the 21st-fewest in the country.
• The team has just 67 strikeouts looking on the season, which is eighth-lowest among teams with 40+ games.
• The Sun Devils are producing quality at-bats even while being agressive at the plate. The team’s .402 average on first pitches put into play this season is 46thnationally. The squad’s 103 hits on first pitches are the 21st in the country and the 16 first pitch homers are 11th.
• Arizona State has advanced a runner from first to third base on a single 37 times this season, 13th-most in the country.

THE HEAT SHEETS

• Sun Devil pitchers have posted an average fastball/sinker velocity of 93.1 this season, a total that currently sets good for ninth among all Division I programs.
• Arizona State also ranked ninth last season at 92.5. ASU ranked no higher than 28th in the category from 2019-2024 (28th in 2019 at 89.5 MPH).
• The only non-SEC team ranked ahead of ASU in the category is Wake Forest, which leads the country at a 94.4 MPH rate.
• ASU’s overall average pitch velocity on all pitches is 88.2, good for 12th in the country.
• Among pitchers with at least 20.0 innings pitched this season, ASU has the No. 16 (Cole Carlon, 95.8), No. 25 (Derek Schaefer, 95.4) and No. 28 (Alex Overbay, 95.4) pitchers in the country in average fastball velo.
• For perspective, from 2019-2025 the Sun Devils had just two players TOTAL that averaged 95+ MPH fast balls for a season (Lucas Kelly and Will Koger, both last season).
• Colin Linder has a swinging strike rate (misses/pitches) of 14.3 percent on his fastball this year that is 22nd-best among all pitchers with at least 300 fastballs thrown.
• Opponents are putting Linder’s fastball into play just 26.6 percent of the time - the eighth-lowest total in the country among pitchers with 300+ fatballs.
• Opponents are making contact with the pitch just 69.8 percent of the time, which is 21st-lowest among the 300+ crew.

FITZ-MAGIC

• Sean Fitzpatrick enters his fourth season of college baseball and third season with the Sun Devils and was elected a team captain by his teammates entering this season. The southpaw bulked up over the offseason and it has resulted in a noticeable uptick in velocity.
• Fitzpatrick has appeared in 77 games over his career in relief (74 at ASU), which currently ranks 11th among active Division I players.
• Fitzpatrick has recorded 57 outs this season and 35 of those have come by way of strikeout. Among pitchers with 19.0+ innings of work, his 16.58 K/9 is second-best in the country.
• He has inherited a team-high 24 baserunners this season and just 11 have scored.
• Out of all D1 pitchers with at least 15 appearances this season (691 total), Fitzpatrick has given up just one base hit to the first batter he has seen in an appearance, tied for the 14th-lowest total in the country.
• He has struck out the first batter he has seen 11 times, which is tied for third-most in the country (min. 15 appearances).
• Fitzpatrick is getting a called strike 47.7 percent of the time he throws his slider, the 20th-best percentage in the country among pitchers with at least 100 sliders thrown.
• Conversely, Fitzpatrick gets a swinging strike on 18.6 percent of his fastballs thrown, the 10th-highest percent in the country among pitchers with at least 100 fast balls. Opponents put Fitzpatrick’s fastball into play just 10.9 percent of the time - the lowest percent of the country among pitchers with 100+ fastballs (nearly four points lower than anyone else).
• The 56.4 contact rate on Fitzpatrick’s fastball is the eighth-lowest in the country among pitchers with 100+ fastballs thrown.

YOUR BEST SALES PITCH

• Sun Devil pitching coach Jeremy Accardo’s addition to the staff paid immediate dividends last seasonand continues to excel this season.
• The team has a K/9 ratio of 11.2 that is ninth in the country and tops in the Big 12.
• The team is inducing a 23.1 whiff rate on pitches IN the zone that is third in the country while the 32.7 OVERALL miss rate is fifth.
• The team is allowing a Z-Contact rate (pitches in the zone where contact was made divided by total pitches in the zone) of just 49.4 percent, the 13th-lowest total in the country.
• The team’s 974 overall swings-and-misses induced are the most in the country.
• Only 33.4 percent of ASU pitches have been put into play this season, the ninth-lowest total in the country.
• Opponents are missing (swing and miss/total swings) offspeed/breaking pitches 41.5 percent of the time - the 13th-highest total in the country.
• Kole Klecker has had plenty of success getting batters to chase his slider OUT of the zone, with a 44.7 percent chase rate that is foruth in the nation among pitchers with at least 200 sliders thrown. His 56.9 percent swing rate induced on the slider in general is sixth-highest in the nation (min. 200 sliders thrown).
• Taylor Penn is getting a swing and miss rate (miss/swings) of 42.9 on his changeup - 43rdth among pitchers that have thrown at least 100 changeups this year. His swinging strike rate (miss/pitches) on the pitch of 22.2 percent is 36th among those pitchers.
• Last season, ASU had seven pitchers with 10.0+ innings pitched and a sub-4.55 ERA in the regular season. In 2024, the team had just a single player that met that criteria.
• ASU’s overall team WHIP was 78th nationally at 1.48 last year. While not eye popping, It was notable as the team had not finished in the Top-100 in the category since 2012 (6th, 1.17). In fact, ASU had been outside the Top-200 five different times since then and outside the Top-150 eight times.
• The team’s strikeout-to-walk ratio of 2.44 ranked 36th in the nation. The Sun Devils had not ranked in the Top-100 in that category in a non-COVID season since the 2015 campaign where ASU checked in at 79th in the nation with a ratio of 2.20.
• ASU was first in the Big 12 with a 11.3 K/9 average last season, good for third nationally. The Sun Devils struck out double digit batters in 37 of 60 games.
• ASU was one of just three schools in the nation with three different pitchers with 80+ strikeouts (Vanderbilt, Florida State) in the regular season.
• ASU struck out 653 batters last season, the seventh-most in the country.  The tally was the second-most in school history in the aluminum bat era, just behind the school record 675 set by the 1975 team.
  

GRABBING THE BULL-PEN BY THE HORNS

• As many fresh faces as there are in the starting rotation and in the field, the most veteran force on the roster likely comes from the team’s bullpen.
• The bullpen has a 5.13 ERA this season with an 20-4 record and a 266-98 strikeout to walk rate over 205.0innings. The 266 strikeouts are the third-most of any bullpen in the nation.
• The ASU bullpen has been responsible for just 16 homers allowed this season, tied for 78th-lowest nationally but notable as the team ranked 255th of 307 teams last season with 38 homers allowed.
• Derek Schaefer has taken hold of the back end of the bullpen, settling in as the team’s closer with a mid-90s fastball and electric secondary pitches. Schaefer’s 95.4 average fastball velo is 25th in the country among pitchers with at least 20.0 innings of work.
• Schaefer six saves are 35th in the nation this season and first in the Big 12. He was named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award Midseason Watch List.
• Schaefer was ASU’s fireman when its needed it last season, allowing just three of his 15 inherited runners on the season to score.
• Taylor Penn has ate up valuable middle relief innings, posting a 4-0 record over his 20.1 innings out of the pen, striking out 20 and posting a 1.77 ERA. That ERA ranks 34th in the nation among all players with atl least 20.0 innings of work in relief this season.
• Alex Overbay has not given up a home run out of the bullpen this season.
• Last regular season, ASU had three players with a bullpen ERA of 3.00 or less with 10.0+ innings pitched (Cole Carlon, Easton Barrett, Jaden Alba) - a feat that hadn’t been achieved through the regular season at ASU since the 2013 team (Ryan Burr, Matt Dunbar, Josh McAlister). 

PLAYING THE FIELD

• The Sun Devils currently sit 37th in the country with a .977 fielding percentage, also good for third in the Big 12.
• The team’s numbers have been largely skewed by just a handful of games with just eight games with 2 or more errors while posting 34 with 1 or fewer (20 with none).
• The Sun Devils posted 31 games last season without an error and quietly put up a .980 fielding percentage in the regular season - good for first in the Big 12 and 14th in the country. ASU ranked outside the Top-100 in each of the last three seasons in the category.
• The 31 games without an error easily surpassed ASU’s total for the  the 2024 seasonof 21. ASU had a seven-game streak without an error at one point last year - which was  its longest since a nine-game stretch in the 2015 season.
• The Sun Devil pitchers were amongst the most improved in the area, with just four errors credited against them in the regular season (10.2 percent) - notable as ASU pitchers were responsible for 12 of ASU’s 60 errors in 2024 (20.0 percent).

HEADED TO THE GAP

• The Sun Devils currently rank ninth in the country and third in the Big 12 with 94 doubles this season, paced by Landon Hairston’s 18 - sixth in the country.
• The team has recorded at least one double in all but six games this season and has multiple doubles in 26 games.
• ASU led the nation with its 149 doubles last season and  recorded multiple doubles in 42 of 60 games. The team was  seventh in country at 2.48 per game.
• ASU has had a player reach 20 doubles five times under Willie Bloomquist and at least one player do so in each season (2022-p). ASU had just two players, total,  reach 20 doubles from 2011-21.
• 11 players recorded at least four doubles last season and eight reached double digits in the category.
• The Sun Devils were tops in the Pac-12 and sixth in the country with 143 doubles in 2024 in 58 games and the 2.47 doubles per game were fourth in the nation. The total was 15 more than any other team in the Pac-12 even without making the postseason. 15 different Sun Devils had multiple doubles that season - the most of any school in the Pac-12.

CHICKS DIG THE LONG BALL

• Arizona State is currently fifth in the nation with 82 home runs. . Twelve different players have homered for the Sun Devils.
• The team hasn’t had many cheapies either, with its average home run distance of 402.52 ranking 10th in the country.
• The team has a home run rate per fly ball rate of 13.8 percent on the season, a tally that sits seventh in the country and the squad’s 329.1 average fly ball rate is 10th.
• The squad’s 12 opposite field homers are tied for 23rd in the nation and its 23 homers to center are eighth.
• The Sun Devils are third in the nation when behind in the count with 30 homers.
• ASU’s nine grand slams this season are tops in the country - two more than any other school
• Arizona State had 87 home runs last season, a total that was fourth in the Big 12 and 38th in the country.  ASU was 19-3 when hitting two or more homers in a game.
• Five times last season, ASU recorded five or more homers. That included a school record eight homers against BYU and 6 in two other games that were tied for third in school history.
• The Sun Devils set a school record with eight home runs in the finale of the BYU series, surpassing its previous record of seven against Arizona on March 4, 2000. ASU got that in the first two innings of the game alone as eight of the team’s first 10 hits all left the ballpark.  ASU’s 15 home runs in the BYU series (8 Saturday, 6 Friday and 1 Thursday) were a school record for a three-game series.
• The Sun Devils had 102 homers in 2024, good for 30th nationally and surpassing the program’s BBCOR record of 94 from the 2019 season. ASU became just the eighth Sun Devil team in the program’s illustrious history to reach 100 home runs and the first to do it since having 101 in 1990. The 2024 Sun Devils were the fastest to reach triple digits in the category in program history, doing so in 56 games.
• ASU had five Sun Devils reach doublle digit homers in 2024 (Ryan Campos, Kien Vu, Brandon Compton, Jacob Tobias and Nick McLain), marking the first time at ASU since 1993 that five players accomplished the feat (Todd Cady, Doug Newstrom, Antone Williamson, Paul Lo Duca, Jacob Cruz). It was the first season that even four had reached the tally since 1994. The 2024 Sun Devils were the first ASU team to have 13 players homer since the 2008 squad also had 13.
  

COMING IN HOT

• ASU has outscored opponents 1075-694 over its last 115 regular season games, going 79-36 in the process.
• ASU has scored multiple runs in 81 of its 142 half-innings with runs this season. . ASU has 47 innings with at least three runs scored, 28 with at least four and 23 with at least five.
• Last season, The Sun Devils put up 69 innings where the team had scored at least three runs, 32 with four or more and 21 with 5 or more.
• The team has reached double digit hits in 29 games this season.
• ASU’s 475 total hits this season are third in the country while the team’s .323 average is seventh nationally and second in the league. The team’s .568 slugging percentage is sixth in the nation
• ASU is averaging 8.9 runs per game, good for 14th nationally.
• ASU scored 253 runs in its 30 conference games last season (8.4 per game) - tops in the league. The team bat .328 in Big 12 games - tops in the league by 11 points.
• Last season, ASU ranked 9th nationally and 2nd in the Big 12 with a .318 batting average in the regular eason and was 19th in the country and first in the league with a .527 slugging percentage. ASU was first in the Big 12 and 27th nationally with 8.4 runs per game in the regular season.
• Eight times in the Willie Bloomquist tenure have the Sun Devils recorded 20 or more hits (since 2022). The team had just eight from 2008-21 and only three from 2011-21.
• Both of ASU’s 20-hit games last season came on the road and three of the eight total under Bloomquist have met that criteria. Of the team’s 36 games with 20+ hits from 2000-2021, only eight came on the road.
• The Sun Devils have scored 20 or more runs six times in 4+ seasons under head coach Willie Bloomquist. That total is notable as the team had just five such games TOTAL from 2009-2021.

HOLD ON TO YOUR SEATS

• The team posted the game-winning RBI/run in the sixth inning or later in 12 of the team’s wins last year. It has done so nine times this season.
• The Sun Devils have walked off ten games over the last two-plus seasons (not including run-rule games).
• On the season, when ASU has a potential go-ahead or game-tying plate appearance (7th inn. or later), the team’s .368 average (93-for-106) in the 14 games the scenario has occured is ninth in the country.
• ASU has trailed at one point in 70 of its last 108 victories dating back to 2023 - including 20 of its wins last season and 14 times this season.
• With the team’s 9-3 loss in the finale of the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series at Globe Life, the Sun Devils lost their first regular season game by more than five runs since a 17-7 run-rule loss at Cal State Fullerton on April 17, 2024 - ending its nation-leading streak of 85-straight regular season games.
• In four seasons under Willie Bloomquist, the Sun Devils have shown that no opponent lead is safe, with plenty of grit in erasing multi-run deficits. ASU has 25 wins over the last three+ seasons when trailing by at least three runs at some point in the game.
• In 2022, the seven-run deficit overcome by the Sun Devils to defeat and take the series from Cal was the most since March 3, 2000 against Arizona. ASU doubled down at that in 2023  with the victories over North Dakota State and GCU, overcoming a 7-0 deficit in both (and 9-2 in entering the eighth against GCU) for victories in both.
• ASU came from behind 13-6 in the regular season finale in 2024 against UNLV to walk it off in the ninth - the fourth seven-run comeback in the Bloomquist era.
• It added its fifth and six such comebacks this season after rallying from a 7-0 deficit at Grand Canyon to win 12-8 and also from 7-0 against BYU to win 12-8 as well.
• ASU has won 13 games in which it has trailed by at least five runs at some point in the game under Willie Bloomquist.

A FRESH LOOK

• The Sun Devil roster will look quite a bit different in 2026, especially in the field. Arizona State welcomes a whopping 27 new faces (12 on the mound anf 15 position players) as ASU was aggressive in both the transfer portal and the high school ranks.
• The Sun Devils brought in the nation’s No. 11 portal class according to 64Analytics. It was the highest-ranked class west of the Mississippi and the highest ranked class NOT in the SEC (8 teams) or ACC (2 teams).
• ASU brought in six portal players rated in the Top-250 in the nation while not losing any players to the portal that were ranked in that Top-250.
• Right-handed pitcher Kole Klecker was the highest-rated of the group, checking in at No. 54 after returning back home to the Valley after his time at TCU. Klecker was a Freshman All-American in 2023 and started a game for the Horned Frogs in Omaha at the College World Series. The Chandler native previous starred at Hamilton High School, winning a State Title as the starting pitcher his senior year in the championship game.
• A pair of Cal transfers in PJ Moutzouridis (No. 98) and Dominic Smaldino (No. 155) will look to serve a prominent role in ASU’s infield. Moutzouridis was a Freshman All-American himself in 2024. Smaldino is anything BUT small, standing at 6-6 and offering a big target over at first base. The junior launched 11 homers for Cal last season and figures to greatly enjoy the lefty-friendly hitting confines of Phoenix Muni this season.
• Dean Toigo has already been asterisked by the Big 12 coaches, who voted him the Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year entering 2026. Toigo was the Mountain West Co-Player of the Year for UNLV last season and was also named a NCBWA Preseason All-American heading into this year as 64Analytics’ No. 187 transfer.
• A pair of ACC transfers in Florida State’s Brady Louck and Virginia Tech’s Garrett Michel checked in at No. 242 and No. 243 in the transfer rankings. Louck was the top-rated southpaw out of Illinois out of high school while Michel is a light tower power-wielding bat that has battled through injuries in the last two seasons after a freshman campaign that saw him log 11 homers and 16 doubles.
• Austin Roellig looks to man the hot corner for ASU this season and just missed being a Top-250 transfer prospect, checking in at No. 255. Roellig earned Big 12 All-Freshman honors and was a All-Big 12 Honorable Mention after his redshirt freshman campaign at Utah last year.
• Junior College transfer RHP Finn Edwards was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 18th round of the 2025 MLB Draft before electing to continue his collegiate career with the Sun Devils thus year.
• Alex Overbay (UNLV), Nick Annello (Jacksonville), Colby Guy (UNC Asheville)  and Taylor Penn (Western Kentucky)  bring a glutton of experience to the mound while Coen Niclai (Oregon), Dominic Longo (Utah Valley), Matt Polk (Vanderbilt) and Sam Myers (TCU) all figure to contribute in the field over the course of the season.
• ASU signed the nation’s No. 22 freshman class in 2025 and while the veteran-heavy lineup will allow the group to mature, there is plenty of talent in the form of INF Finn Leach (No. 141 prospect nationally by Perfect Game), Marcelo Rodriguez (No. 244), Austin Musso (No. 331), Cooper Clouser (No. 416), Brenden Lewis (No. 433) all flashing throughout Fall and Spring practices.
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