Valley Sports

Tonight’s dreadful offensive output has Arizona State quarterback Danny Sullivan on the hot seat.

And, as the fans who chanted ‘We want Brock’ will attest, the popular choice to replace him is strong-armed true freshman Brock Osweiler. Osweiler has ascended the depth chart and has all the measurables to become a good quarterback.

But in the rush to anoint Osweiler ASU’s next big thing, Samson Szakacsy has been completely forgotten.

The big question mark surrounding Szakacsy is his health. Elbow problems have hindered him since high school, and I’m not even sure if he could withstand an entire season without doing more damage.

However, if Szakacsy is healthy enough to play, he’s an intriguing option for the Sun Devils.

Szakacsy will never put up consistent 300-yard passing games or be a long-bomb threat. But if you put him and Ryan Bass in the backfield, it becomes a lot harder for opponents to defend.

As it stands, the read-option that ASU does has bark but no bite, because Sullivan is not a threat to run. The same would hold true with Osweiler. While the possibility technically exists for the quarterback to pull back the ball and run it himself, Sullivan and Osweiler wouldn’t do it regularly.

But Szakacsy can beat teams with his legs, which would force defenses to stay honest. In turn, this makes play-action passes better and forces teams out of the Cover 2 packages that hinder big passing plays.

Oregon has great success using running quarterbacks in recent years. Arizona State should consider it.

Arizona State kicker Thomas Weber will miss the next five or six games after Monday’s MRI showed a serious groin injury, coach Dennis Erickson said on his KTAR radio show Tuesday.

Weber, the 2007 Lou Groza Award winner, didn’t play on Saturday against Louisiana-Monroe and now likely won’t be back until late October or early November.

True freshman walk-on Bobby Wenzig will take over field goal kicking duties, although Erickson might look for a more powerful leg on the team to do kickoffs. Punter Trevor Hankins and linebacker Mike Nixon - who was a kicker in high school - could be possibilities.

Wenzig was 5-for-5 on extra points and connected on his only field goal attempt from 24 yards in the game against the Warhawks.

Keala King, a 6-foot-5 combo guard from Compton, Calif. has committed to play for Arizona State in 2010, ASUDevils.com is reporting.

The left-hander committed to ASU coach Herb Sendek during an in-home visit on Wednesday.

Recruiting service Rivals.com has King rated the top player in California and 25th overall in the country. King’s stock soared this summer on the AAU summer circuit.

He played for Dominguez High last season but is transferring to Mater Dei for his senior year. His new teammate, Gary Franklin, will be getting an in-home visit from Sendek on Thursday. Franklin is a four-star prospect ranked No. 72 nationally by Rivals.

The big news from Arizona State football practice on Tuesday was ‘five or six’ players getting suspended for the season opener against Idaho State, coach Dennis Erickson told reporters afterwards.

Other items are in the notebook, but here are a few that did not get in:

- Oft-injured wide receiver Brandon Smith was on hand after having surgery for a torn ACL on Friday. He is a senior but can apply for a medical hardship, which would give him an extra year of eligibility if granted.

- Linebacker Vontaze Burfict was not at practice. ASU is still awaiting word on whether he will be deemed academically eligible this season, but if he misses tomorrow as well, it seems highly unlikely that he would play on Saturday if the ruling comes in late in the week.

- Ryan Torain, who played for the Broncos last season but was recently cut, was also at practice.

- I think freshmen are often hyped up too much because people love potential, but quarterback Brock Osweiler does look good. He has a striking resemblance to Andrew Walter on the field, although the arm strength obviously isn’t as great and the mobility is probably a bit better. Next year’s quarterback competition could be a lot of fun.

Brandon Allen, the first baseman the Diamondbacks received in the trade that sent Tony Pena to the White Sox, is making quite the impression in his limited time with Triple-A Reno.

Allen is hitting .400 with seven homers and 16 RBIs in 12 games for the Aces. Furthermore, he has nine walks to five strikeouts and sports an on-base plus slugging percentage of 1.495, an astronomical number.

It’s just 40 at-bats, but his continued success would seem to give Allen the first shot at seizing the starting first basemen’s job in Arizona in 2010.

He is getting attention for it too, currently residing on the front page of the Baseball America Web site, with a link to this prospect hot sheet article.

Former Arizona State center fielder Jason Kipnis has signed with the Cleveland Indians for a reported $575,000 signing bonus, according to the Cleveland Plain-Dealer.

Kipnis was the Pac-10 Player of the Year as a junior this season and led the Sun Devils to the College World Series.

He was a second round pick of Cleveland - 63rd overall - after batting .384 with 16 homers and 71 RBIs this season for ASU.

There was talk that Kipnis may be turned into a second baseman, but he will begin his career as an outfielder.

“Center field will be his primary position,” Brad Grant, the Indians’ director of amateur scouting, told the Plain Dealer.

Kipnis reports to Class A Mahoning Valley today.

Many Arizona State fans remember Jason Urquidez, the right-hander who put up two impressive years with the Sun Devils and helped the team to a third place finish at the College World Series in 2005.

He was drafted by the Diamondbacks in the 17th round that year.

While his name isn’t brought up when there is talk of Arizona’s top prospects, Urquidez continues to perfom.

He had surgery on his arm following the 2005 season and missed all of 2006, but has quietly been working his way through the minor league ranks ever since.

In his minor league career, Urquidez is 10-5 with a 2.63 ERA, nearly all in relief. He went 1-0 with a 3.15 ERA in 12 games this year at Double-A before being promoted to Triple-A Reno. In his time there, Urquidez is 2-1 with a 2.30 ERA.

He won’t blow away hitters with an overpowering fastball, but Urquidez is walking just 1.1 batters per nine innings and striking out a respectable 7.5 batters per nine in Reno.

He doesn’t have plus-stuff, so he might not be a longterm answer for the Diamondbacks in the bullpen, but it would be nice to see Urquidez get a shot.

While the Diamondbacks continue to flounder all around him, Mark Reynolds is having a productive year.

Here are his numbers following Sunday’s game: .281 average, 17 home runs and 45 RBIs with 42 runs scored and 13 stolen bases. He has 31 walks, giving him an on-base percentage of .371, and an OPS (on-base-plus-slugging-percentage) of .947, both impressive numbers.

Are there are still holes in his game? Sure. He still strikes out a bunch and is a defensive liability.

These numbers also come following a hot streak, which has his batting average at its highest point since April 22.

Still, the consistency Reynolds has shown bodes well.

His run-producing numbers have always been there, but his ability to hit situationally and for average were concerns. Last season, Reynolds would go through tremendous hot streaks, and then cool considerably for weeks.

This year, he’s still been able to get hot, but battle enough to stay away from prolonged slumps.

In 152 games last year, Reynolds went hitless in 52 games, or 34 percent of the time. He went hitless in three consecutive games on four occasions.

In 62 games this year, Reynolds has gone hitless in 16 of them, or 26 percent of the time. He hasn’t had a stretch of three games without a hit, and has gone hitless in back-to-back games just twice.

Reynolds probably won’t ever hit .300, but if he can hit .260-.270 and knock in runs, the front office will be plenty pleased.

And with the season practically over, A.J. Hinch should give him a try at second base. Reynolds might not have as much range as a typical second baseman, but if he can do a serviceable job, his offense more than makes up for it.

Felipe Lopez is clearly a stopgap, and the Diamondbacks will go into next season needing a player at that position. It wouldn’t hurt to give Reynolds a try.

Arizona State baseball coach Pat Murphy has not yet announced his starting pitcher for Sunday’s game against North Carolina, and it may not be as cut and dried as it would seem.

With the season right-hander Mike Leake is having (16-1 with a 1.36 ERA), it would almost seem like a no-brainer to throw him out there. But with the way North Carolina’s lineup stacks up, left-hander Josh Spence could be the pick.

North Carolina’s top four hitters all bat from the left side, including Dustin Ackley, the No. 2 overall selection in Tuesday’s draft. Against Clemson, Spence gave lefties fits with a slider that broke down and away. His three-quarters delivery sometimes drops to an almost sidearm angle, which can really make it tough on left-handers.

If Murphy pulls the trigger on Spence, it would also mean Leake would be ready for a possible matchup with Texas in the second game. The Longhorns are the No. 1 seed in the tournament, and the team that wins the first two games in the College World Series plays at a tremendous advantage.

Murphy has never been afraid to do things unconventionally. We’ll see what he decides soon.

The Arizona State football team has gotten  a 2010 commitment from Norco (Calif.) High running back Deantre Lewis, according to recruiting Web sites.

Lewis is a 5-foot-10, 189-pound versatile athlete who was being recruited by Oregon, Oregon State and UTEP. Other schools were looking at him as a defensive back, though the Sun Devils will likely keep Lewis on offense.

Lewis’ former high school teammates Garth Gerhart, Adam Tello and Kyle Johnson currently play for ASU.

Lewis join Chandler High running back Taylor Walstadt as the Sun Devils’ two 2010 recruits. Phoenix St. Mary’s tight end Byron Fulton verbally pledged to Arizona State, but recently reopened his recruitment.