It may only be February, but baseball’s back.

It’s no secret that the Arizona State Sun Devils — who open their 2019 season Fri., Feb. 15 against Notre Dame — are entering a make-or-break season with head coach Tracy Smith on the hot seat after back-to-back sub-.500 performances.

And with only 27 players on the roster after a sea of departures, it’s no question that ASU could be described as “new-look” entering. A thin roster could be seen as a bad thing, but the general mindset permeating the program seems to be that some negative influences got weeded out in the process.

“We had a rough season last year,” pitcher Boyd Vander Kooi said. “But the way we turn it around, basically, is just getting rid of so-called cancers. I think we have a pretty small team, but the group is pretty close, and I think us being so close together will help us become something that we should be.”

As far as that shallow roster is concerned, here’s a position-by-position look at how it breaks down entering 2019.

PITCHERS

As the Arizona State season started crumbling a year ago, en route to back-to-back 23-win seasons, Tracy Smith’s outlook remained consistent. The Sun Devil skipper continuously said that his team was just an arm or two away from a far different season.

The arms didn’t come in time. The ASU pitching staff finished with a 4.72 ERA, forced to rely on a patchwork rotation and a shaky back-end of the bullpen.

Smith tried to fix the pitching problems through recruiting, but even there ASU’s luck fell dry. Two of the Sun Devils pitching prospects -- Connor Van Scoyoc and junior college transfer Tyler McKay -- left for the draft, Juco transfer Darius Vines failed to qualify academically and another Juco transfer, lefty Chas Sagedahl, left the program less than a month ago.

The departures leave the Sun Devil pitching staff with just a dozen arms, including five freshmen.

“I think the biggest thing, especially with the freshman that came in … you saw them develop more emotionally and mentally as the fall went on,” pitching coach Mike Cather said, “and they started to get more comfortable in their own skin at this level. For me, that was a huge relief.”

The Sun Devil coaches don’t really have a choice, they need to rely on their newcomers. So far, though, they seem content with that notion.

Smith and Catcher have said that Sun Devils top three starters, as of now, are junior Alec Marsh, sophomore Boyd Vander Kooi, and freshman RJ Dabovich, projected to be ASU’s Friday, Saturday and Sunday starters, respectively.

“He’s got electric stuff,” Cather said of Dabovich. “We heard he had a fastball and could flash a changeup and the breaking ball wasn’t there. He really showed he could throw the breaking ball in the fall. It’s nice to actually have competition.”

Along with that line, freshmen Erik Tolman, Will Levine, and Luke Laflam may have the chance for a weekday start and, if not, then plenty of relief appearances. Cather has already said that freshman Blake Burzell, whose fastball sits just under 100 MPH, is the front-runner to be ASU’s closer.

But let’s get back to the Devils’ top-two starters for a second.

A starting spot kind of fell into the lap of Marsh last season after the struggles of Spencer Van Scoyoc, who has since transferred, and the injury to Vander Kooi in the middle of the season. He posted a respectable 3.89 ERA in 12 games started but had major control issues, walking 31 batters in 71 innings.

He spent the summer in the Cape Cod League and devoted a lot of time in the fall, coming back to campus with better command and a firm grasp on his role.

“I know what’s expected and know what’s going to happen and I know how to achieve what I want,” Marsh said. “I’m really excited to be in the weekend rotation.”

Vander Kooi missed a large chunk of last season injured after a stellar first month that gave optimism for the future. He came back in a relief role but didn’t look the same. Looking back on it, Cather says, it may have been the best thing for him.

“I think last year was an excellent thing for Boyd and having discussions with him, I’ll say, ‘What’s the difference between this year and last year?’” Cather said. “And he’ll say, ‘I didn’t know how to work and I know better how to work.’”

CATCHERS

As far as the faces behind the plate are concerned, it’s likely that only two will see legitimate playing time this season, and for good reason. Redshirt sophomore Sam Ferri and junior Lyle Lin have four combined seasons of experience in the program and have each proven themselves to be valuable pieces of the Sun Devils’ roster.

For Lin, there was always a possibility this season would be played elsewhere — at the professional level. Lin received plenty of MLB Draft interest before being selected in the 29th round by the Houston Astros. The 6-foot-1 Taiwan native, however, returned for his junior season, looking to build upon an impressive season a year ago.

In 2018, Lin was one of a few bright spots at ASU, compiling a .312/.344/.407 season at the plate and starting all 55 of the Sun Devils’ contests. Lin drove in 18 runs and doubled 16 times.

“Come back to school, get better,” Lin said. “Obviously, have one more year of education, and then get drafted higher. It’s my goal every season to help the team win and have a good season.”

That said, Lin may see a significant portion of his junior season spent in the role of designated hitter, as Ferri — while a less impressive offensive presence — has been regarded as the better game manager behind the plate.

“Sam makes the pitching staff better,” Smith said. “He’s like having a coach on the field, he understands — I wouldn’t say instinctively, because I think he’s very cerebral — he understands what we’re trying to do. He’s able to communicate, he’s very mature.”

Ferri redshirted last season with an arm injury and only has 33 at-bats to his name as a Sun Devil. During that time, he batted .182 and drove in five runs, while walking three times and striking out 10.

That said, hopes are high that he can make a major impact in 2019 — especially from a defensive perspective — now that he’s fully healthy and has two full years in the program under his belt.

“We haven’t him for two years,” Smith said. “We see a difference right now, just how confident our pitchers are throwing to him. That’s not taking anything away from Lyle. It’s just, Sam’s pretty good.”

INFIELD

For the first time in a while, the youth movement was in full effect in Tempe last year. With criticism chiming in from the fan base, Smith stuck to his plan of really giving reps to freshman and hoping it betters them for the future.

The best example of that was ASU’s infield, a group that featured four freshmen that have grown to a quartet of sophomores this season. As it stands now, Spencer Torkelson will play first base, Drew Swift will be at second, Alika Williams will be at shortstop and Gage Workman will play third base.

The concerning part for the group is defense. Led by 12 from Swift, the four boasted a combined 38 errors in an infield that constantly looked lost and made some head-scratching plays.

Smith kept them on the field, though, in large part because he didn’t have anyone else. This year, that problem only grows.

The ASU head coach announced last week that West Virginia transfer Cole Austin is out for the season with an injury, leaving freshman Mark Lidd and Carter Aldrete, who will likely start the year in right field, as ASU’s only backup infielders.

On offense, the four infielders induce more hope for ASU’s success.

Torkelson racked up a flurry of awards after breaking the ASU single-season freshman home-run record with a nation-leading 25 dingers. After being flexed around to the leadoff spot towards the end of the season, he hit .320 with 53 RBI and 38 walks.

“I think I can get better in multiple aspects of my game and I think I will,” Torkelson said. “I’m going to stick to my same approach and good things will happen.”

Torkelson is the lightning rod of ASU’s offense, making it imperative that the Devils have protection for him in the lineup. For now, it seems that Hunter Bishop and Aldrete may be the two guys taking up the majority of that role, which leaves the bottom of the order for Swift, Williams, and Workman.

“In a perfect world, you’ve got guys with .400 on-base percentages behind him and you let (Torkelson) come up with guys on base,” Smith said. “I think more important than who we have in front of him is who we have behind him because, what he finds out here is, teams aren’t going to want to pitch to him.”

Workman had his moments despite hitting .276. He boasted an OPS of .805 and drove in 25 runs while playing at scattered spots on the field for the first half of the year. Williams’ numbers are near the same but he doesn’t quite bring the pop that ASU’s third baseman has.

Swift, on the other hand, is the Devils’ biggest work in progress. Smith lauded his fielding before last season but he went on to lead the team in errors, and his bat didn’t aid to his cause. The Sun Devil second baseman had a slash line of .201/.214/.535 with just 31 hits and 15 RBI.

ASU hitting coach Michael Earley said he worked with Swift in the offseason to re-configure his swing, a need that grows even more drastic when considering the infield’s lack of depth.

OUTFIELD

With no more Gage Canning to lead the ASU outfielders, a new leader appears to have filled his void in Carter Aldrete. The junior — who has repeatedly been regarded as of one of 2019’s key leaders on the entire team, not just in the outfield — spent most of his time at third base last season but played some right field as well.

With the aforementioned infielders growing into more experienced roles, it’s like Aldrete will find himself in the outfield once again, as that’s likely where his efforts will be most needed.

Last season, Aldrete was one of the Sun Devils’ better bats, slashing .293/.373/.414 — all significant improvements from his 2017 outputs — and driving in 31 runs, while hitting 10 doubles, two triples, and three home runs.

According to Aldrete, plate discipline is his major focus entering this season; as a sophomore, he walked 22 times and struck out 40 — both improvements upon his freshman year — but wants to take another major step forward in that regard in 2019.

“Told every scout, every coach, every player, every teammate, that’s what I’ve been working on the most,” he said. “I know my walks went up, strikeouts went down freshman year to sophomore year, but I still don’t think my ratio is where it needs to be.”

Aldrete’s fellow projected starting outfielders are no newcomers, though. Trevor Hauver and Hunter Bishop, the likely right field and center field starters, have three combined years of playing experience heading into the upcoming season.

While Bishop saw his hitting numbers take a drop last season from .301/.363/.484 in 2017 to .250/.352/.407 in 2018, his fielding percentage improved from .934 and .962.

As for Hauver, the rising sophomore appeared in 42 games last season, slashing /227/.344/.293 while knocking in seven runs. While his numbers are nothing mind-boggling, Smith raved about Hauver’s offseason improvement.

“He was a little up-and-down there last year, not really consistent, but he has developed through great work ethic, and a patience factor, into a solid fielder,” Smith said. “And offensively, he’s having as good a preseason as anybody we have.”

And now Hauver, along with the rest of the team will try and turn any preseason gains into their first winning season and postseason appearance since 2016.