'23 BEAVER ROSTER - A FEW NUMBERS

A roster exercise - working again without that elusive official roster. 

The impact of new NCAA legislation cannot be exaggerated, it has created a new dimension for college coaches in recruiting, roster management and the wise use of NIL and the collectives.

Recruiting has become transformed with NIL payments and the one-time transfer rule via the transfer portal. Planning and allowing for transfers must now be factored in along with graduation and early MLB Draft losses. Failure to assess and plan correctly can destabilize a roster and set a program back a year or two.

I believe Oregon State's coaching staff recognized those issues and is ahead of the curve in maintaining equilibrium with their roster. Some analysis is indicative of a smart approach and insulating against position shortfall in the future. Let's take a look by crunching some numbers;

FALL ROSTER BREAKDOWN
If the reporting was accurate, the Beavers had 50 players participate in Fall Practices. Breaking that down, we see;

28 roster players from 2022 returning to play the 2023 season.
OSU signed 3 JuCo transfers.
OSU signed 3 transfers from four-year schools.
OSU signed 16 High School athletes

If you analyze the 50 player practice roster, the class breakdown would be:

Seniors 4
Juniors 12
Red Shirt Juniors 1
Sophomores 12
Red Shirt Sophomores 1
Freshman 16
Red Shirt Frosh 4

BREAKDOWN BY POSITION:
A breakdown by position would look something like this with a word of caution here. Players are identified by PRIMARY position with the understanding most players have SECONDARY positions they have also played. One of this staff's recruiting strengths is evaluating "position flexibility" capability, and recruiting that skill where possible. OSU has players that are capable of being equally skilled at 2 or 3 different positions. Garrett Forrester for example, was recruited as a 3B and C by college suitors but ended up playing 1B at Oregon State. It wouldn’t surprise me to see Garrett play some 3B this year for the Beavers.

Again, working without an official OSU '23 roster the primary position assignments involved some guesswork. With the exception of a slight imbalance of pitching, this roster is well balanced in terms of talent, and depth at each of the position groups. I believe there are 8 LH hitters on the 50 man roster but only 3 LHP.

RHP - 24
LHP - 3
C - 3
IF - 10
OF - 9
UTL - 1

SOME THOUGHTS:
1. In compliance with the NCAA active roster limit of 35 players, plus up to 5 more to accommodate any players that were granted the additional 2020 Covid year. Oregon State has 4 players qualified (Dernedde, McDowell, Lattery, Brown) which would allow us to carry 39 players in 2023, then revert back to the 35 limit in the following year. The Beaver staff must cut 11 players prior to their opening game. The rationale in making those cuts is material for an interesting thread on this board.

2. Since pitchers make up 54% of the Fall Roster, I suspect that might be a starting point on the topic of "roster cuts". Logic would dictate, the Beavs probably do not need 27 pitchers on their roster this season. We know that at least two will be red-shirted (transfer Noah Ferguson and freshman Isaac Hill). It might be a fair assumption to see 7 or 8 of the 11 cuts made will be pitchers. We have to keep in mind that the Beavs will run a little heavy on pitchers because of Coach Dorman's belief in one inning (or less) relief appearances and we will carry red-shirts. I believe Injury avoidance, fresh arms and a "different look every inning' are at the core of that thinking.

3. With only 4 Seniors and barring any transfers, with perhaps only 1 or 2 draft prospects, the Beavers could return as many as 30 players for the 2024 season while welcoming the 2024 recruiting class that currently holds 13 strong commitments that include a half dozen highly touted prep pitchers. Back to the cutting board

4. A careful review of this Beaver roster reveals quality and quantity (depth) at every position. It is demonstrative of a clear coaching philosophy in place and dictating the makeup of the ideal OSU recruit. Pitching and defense have been a Beaver staple for a long time and now there appears to be an added emphasis on exceptional speed which translates to wins both on offense and defense. Led by Gavin Turley's blistering 6.29 sixty, six freshmen alone have recorded sub 7.0 sixty yard dash times. Returning players Reed, Bazzana, and McDowell will also be part of the "Steals on Wheels" group.

5. Baseball writers analyzing this '23 Beaver squad project almost 70% of the 39 man roster will be Freshman and Sophomores. From that perspective, yes, this is a young Beaver squad, and in some areas relatively inexperienced. I have seen the term "transitional year" used in describing OSU's 2023 prospects, but I don't think the coaches, the players and their great fans are thinking that way at all. The team is focused on improving their skills, playing great baseball and their pursuit of a CWS appearance.

6. The Beavers were relatively inactive in Portal activity. The 6 transfers appeared to come through conventional recruiting channels. Our coaches seem to prefer recruiting prep players and developing them within the OSU system as opposed to using the transfer portal to fill a hole or prop up the roster.