Baseball Season Preview: Gasper ready to take reigns behind the plate

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – After hitting nearly .400 throughout all of 2016, junior Mickey Gasper (Merrimack, N.H.) enters this season as the leader behind the plate for the Bryant University baseball team.

"Our [catching] group is headlined by Mickey," head coach Steve Owens said. "He's been catching in a secondary role behind Buck [McCarthy] and now is ready to be the everyday guy."

Gasper, named a captain in the fall, enters his third season in Smithfield with high expectations for himself and from others. He was named one of the top prospects in the region by the New England Baseball Journal and one of the top pro prospects in the Northeast Conference by D1Baseball.com.

This is all despite the fact that Gasper has just 107 career at-bats in his two seasons with the Bulldogs. He had 28 at-bats as a freshman before earning 79 at-bats last year. Gasper thrived in his limited time though, hitting .392 with seven doubles, two home runs, 22 RBI, 16 runs scored and a .489 OBP in 2016. He followed that up by hitting .418 with 22 doubles, 11 home runs, 47 RBI and 51 runs scored on his way to MVP honors in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League.

"He plays with a lot of energy, is a good communicator and is solid defensively," Owens said. "Mickey has worked incredibly hard in the offseason to get his body in shape to play a demanding position. He is a very good hitter who can hit both left and right handed and won't come out of our lineup."

Owens also added that Gasper could see time at DH and at first base throughout the season. Gasper made 11 starts as the DH last year, including each of the last six.

Gasper's backup to start the year will be freshman Gaby Cruz (Miami, Fla.). Cruz played for a high level program at Coral Reef High School and came to Bryant with a high strong understanding of the strike zone but has made his biggest jumps defensively.

"Gaby has made big strides since getting on campus in all aspects of his defense; receiving, blocking and throwing," Owens said. "He's getting more acclimated to catching our pitchers and the speed of the game at the DI level."

At Coral Reef, Cruz helped his team win a state championship as a sophomore before putting together an outstanding junior year in which he hit safely in all 25 games. Cruz wound up hitting .536 as a junior and was the district catcher of the year all three years.

"He has a much better comfort zone and confidence level in handling the position than he had when he got here," Owens said. "Gaby's a very good hitter who should be a strong contender to be our DH when he's not catching."

Another freshman, Ryan Ward (Grafton, Mass.), could also see time behind the plate this year. Bryant's projected starting left fielder, Ward caught in high school and has been working behind the plate during the winter practices.

"We are confident that we could still win games with Wardo behind the plate," Owens said.

The last two catchers on the roster are sophomore Nolan Hayward (Glendale, R.I.) and walk-on freshman Matt Mercurio (Wakefield, Mass.). Hayward adds depth to the position and also has the chance to be a key bat off the bench for the Bulldogs after going 4-for-5 last year. Mercurio will serve as the bullpen catcher and will be a key piece of getting pitchers ready before going into the game.