The USC baseball program is struggling. There’s no way around it. The Trojans went 28-28 last year. This year, they’re below .500 at 17-23.
But there’s also no way around this: Ricky Oropesa is not struggling.
A lefty swinger with as much raw power as any sophomore in the country, Oropesa (Chatham ’10) is delivering the production to match his tools this spring. He’s started every game for the Trojans and he’s hitting .342 with 11 home runs, 16 doubles and 40 RBI. He leads the Trojans in all those categories. He leads the Pac 10 in home runs, ranks second in doubles and is third in RBI.
Oropesa was a 24th-round pick out of high school but didn’t sign. His freshman year, he hit .314 with 13 homers. I liked him as a potential freshman star on the Cape last year, but he arrived late to Chatham, only played in 15 games and hit just .171.
He’s poised for a lot more on his return trip to Chatham. He still has some work to do, but based on potential alone, he’ll be a player to watch. If he has a big summer, he could emerge as one of the top prospects in the league.