University of Oregon
UC Irvine
Stringer A Fast Starter As Member Of Weekend Rotation
02/22/17 | Baseball, @GoDucksMoseley
New to the weekend rotation this season, Portland native Cole Stringer was spectacular last week.
The book on Cole Stringer as a freshman last spring was a wiry left-hander who changed speeds and locations, and was worthy of the occasional midweek start.
Entering 2017, Stringer is trying to rewrite the book on himself. If the first chapter last week was any indication, it's going to be a great story.
Buoyed by renewed confidence from the coaching staff, Stringer found a new resolve on the mound for the Oregon baseball team over the winter. Entering the Ducks' season-opening series last week, "he had clearly earned the No. 3 starting role," UO coach George Horton said. "It wasn't even close."
Stringer backed up Horton's faith in him last week. He threw seven innings of one-run ball in the Ducks' first win of the season, at Fresno, serving as a stopper after Oregon had dropped the first two games of the season. Stringer remains a weekend starter when the Ducks hit the road again this week, at the seven-team Tony Gwynn Classic in San Diego.
"Not surprised," Horton said of Stringer's 2017 debut last week, in which he surrendered a run in the first and then shut down the Bulldogs. "He looked the part. He filled the mound up, as I like to say. Looked very much like Cole Stringer – and an older version of Cole Stringer."
Stringer showed flashes of his potential as a freshman last season. The lefty from Portland went 2-2 in 15 appearances with a 3.81 ERA. Those numbers included seven innings of two-run pitching in a midweek start against San Diego in Hillsboro, and two shutout innings of another midweek start, against Oregon State.
But entering this season, Stringer wasn't often mentioned among the candidates to join David Peterson and Matt Mercer in the rotation. That didn't have much to do with his performance on the baseball field.
Stringer says that, as a freshman, he was more "athlete-student" than "student-athlete." His desire, he said, is to get his priorities back in the right order.
"Fall was a transition," Stringer said. "I'm still kind of growing into myself, and realizing there has to be a solid balance between the two. Right now, I think I've found my balance."
Once Stringer returned for winter quarter in January, and began workouts with the Ducks for their 2017 season, he felt, "a different presence, different demeanor," he said.
"When things are going good, things are going good, in life," Stringer said. "And things were going good. So I was able to translate that onto the field and just do what I do."
What Stringer does, Horton says, is throw a fastball at varying speeds and with varying movements, to either side of the plate. He boasts two different breaking balls, and also a changeup with which he can change speeds.
"So you take all of his pitches, and they're plus-and-minus, and it's to both halves of the plate, and none of them are straight," Horton said. "He's the consummate 'pitcher,' instead of just a thrower."
That level of confidence from those around him helped Stringer bounce back from a run he allowed in the first inning at Fresno last week. A year ago, he said, that shaky start might have dogged him the rest of his outing. Not so last week.
Stringer was able to stay loose, his preferred demeanor in the dugout; he's not the type of pitcher who wants to be left alone between innings. Teammates at Fresno encouraged him to remain relaxed after the first inning, and the results spoke for themselves.
"A year older means a lot, especially from freshman to sophomore year," Horton said. "Our system, our demands – on and off the field – have helped slow him down a bit. He's grown up. He's more mature."
NOTES: Due to the threat of weather in San Diego on Sunday, the Ducks have been told to prepare for the chance they may need to play a doubleheader Saturday. … Peterson will start Friday against UC Irvine, Horton said. If the Ducks play twice Saturday, they may rely on matchups to determine which game is started by the lefty Stringer and which by the right-handed Mercer. … Junior Brac Warren, projected to be the closer once he's back from an injury, could make his 2017 debut this weekend, Horton said.
