The junior trio of pitcher Mark Appel, third baseman Stephen Piscotty and shortstop Kenny Diekroeger were all named preseason All-Americans over the break, leaving the Cardinal with lofty expectations heading into the 2012 season.
Appel—who many analysts have predicted will be a top-five pick in June’s MLB Draft—and Diekroeger—who is a potential first-round pick—were both selected to Collegiate Baseball’s All-American teams, with Appel earning first team honors and Diekroeger finding his way onto the second team.
They join Piscotty, who was named a first team All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writer’s Association.
After losing to North Carolina in the NCAA Super Regional last season, the Cardinal figures to be a mainstay in the national title picture this year after returning seven positional starters and the majority of its weekend rotation. Pollsters have certainly taken notice—Stanford is ranked No. 3 in Collegiate Baseball’s preseason poll, the highest ranking for the program since being No. 1 in the 2002 preseason.
The team will face several stiff tests early on, as No. 5 Texas and No. 7 Rice are both on the Cardinal’s non-conference schedule, as well as No. 23 Vanderbilt.
Stanford’s season kicks off on Feb. 17, when the Commodores visit the Farm for a three-game series at Sunken Diamond.
– Miles Bennett-Smith