Though it is early in his collegiate career, freshman designated hitter and first baseman Collin Priest has already earned his stripes. As a true power hitter, Priest has flashed a strong bat, having no difficulty hitting for extra bases. But at the same time, he still has a long way to go.
Priest isn’t the only one to grow through struggles. Many other players have fought through inconsistent streaks, at the plate and on the mound.
But Priest’s personal struggles have come facing left-handed pitchers. That weakness was exposed on Saturday in the Michigan baseball team’s doubleheader against Minnesota, going a combined 0-for-4 with four strikeouts.
“Collin had a rough day,” Michigan coach Tracy Smith said Saturday. “The lefties he doesn’t look like he’s seeing.”
While not every player is equally strong against right-handers and left-handers, it is important to be competitive against both. Otherwise, a player is a liability, and can’t play every day. So over the past handful of games, freshman designated hitter Bradley Navarro has pinch hit for Priest against lefties.
“Bradley has been doing a good job in practice or whatever (else),” Smith said. “He hasn’t had at-bats lately. It’s one of those where I’m like, ‘Hey, man, let’s give him an opportunity.’ And I thought (he’d) do a good job. He had one bad at-bat but other than that I thought he thought he had a couple of good at-bats.”
And those good at-bats are a result of Navarro’s hard work. Within the organization, it has been an emphasis to work to improve, pushing pitchers and hitters through the process.
“Whether it’s Collin or anybody else you earn your stripes,” Smith said. “I’ve always strived to have competition at positions because I think that makes players better.”
That internal competition between Priest and Navarro has contributed to the Wolverines’ 8-4 conference record and fourth-place standing in the Big Ten. It has helped both Priest and Navarro grow and contribute, helping Michigan develop the offensive depth to keep up with conference foes despite having an overall record under .500.
With weapons galore in their arsenal, it’s no surprise that the Wolverines have been able to produce at the plate. But with injuries disarming players such as sophomore center fielder Jonathan Kim, other players have been forced to step into new roles. Hence, Smith’s preference for competition within the depth chart at each position has proven both valuable and necessary.
Michigan has also seen growth on the mound as of late, starting the construction of a full bullpen and starting rotation. Like the lineup, it will continue to be a work in progress as the Wolverines continue to build experience. But a successful bullpen game against Wisconsin-Milwaukee and six innings of scoreless pitching from freshman arms on Saturday is an encouraging sign.
“We just shut (the Golden Gophers) down for six innings after that with guys that really haven’t been pitching on the weekend,” Smith said. “So that’s a huge improvement. Are we where we need to be? Absolutely not. … We’ve got to do a better job and still continue to be as good as it was today. Be able to finish and put people away.”
Whether it’s Priest, Navarro or freshman pitchers, all have faced struggles. Instead of surrendering to those struggles, though, they have shown growth due to Michigan’s approach to challenge its players. This contributed significantly to the Wolverines’ impressive performance in their last 10 games, compiling a 7-3 record and two series victories.
Over the past month, Michigan has shown major growth. Intrasquad battles have shifted a team that was rarely competitive during nonconference play into a dark horse racing for the Big Ten regular season title. And while there is a lot of room left to grow more, by reinforcing internal competition, Smith has a blueprint to move the Wolverines forward.