Season Preview 2015

This Friday, Arkansas will embark on another journey through one of their toughest schedules I have seen them play. Head coach Dave Van Horn expressed his frustrations last season when he lost RPI points for beating teams that were so poor.

The SEC is atop the rankings again this season, so there is no surprise that the conference schedule will prove to be difficult. However, the non conference schedule brings some talent to Baum Stadium and takes Arkansas on the road to face some challenges.

The Razorbacks were tripped up early last year in California, losing two games to Cal. They also lost to Gonzaga two years ago in Arizona. These are two teams which they will play a total of 6 games against this year at home. They will also play Maryland (in Mobile) who was only one win away from the College World Series (CWS) last year.

Other notable opponents are South Alabama (who won two out of three at Arkansas last year), Loyola Marymount (32-24 last season), Central Florida (36-23), SE Missouri St. (37-20), and Memphis (who beat Ole Miss and Miss. St.). The Hogs will also get to play in TD Ameritrade Park, where the CWS is played, against Creighton.

I have Arkansas going 40-16 in the regular season and 17-13 in the SEC with home series losses to Mississippi State and Tennessee and road wins at Auburn and Alabama. Player of the year will be Andrew Benintendi, Pitcher of the year will be Zack Jackson, and new comer of the year will be Luke Bonfield.

While watching a practice and scrimmage last Saturday, I wrote some notes about things I thought I might like to add to a blog. I would like to share some things I took away from that day and other practices I have seen, as well as give a little preview of the team and season. First of all I took away a bad sunburn on my face. But I wasn’t even mad. It’s February!

Watching infield outfield drills I got to see the arm strengths of the outfielders. I was very impressed with Fr. Chad Spanberger’s arm strength. He is listed as a catcher but showed that he needs some work back there during scrimmaging. From what I have read his bat will require playing time in the coming years. R-Jr. Tyler Spoon showed a plus and accurate arm in right while So. Andrew Benintendi has gained a lot of muscle mass and improved arm strength in center.

Jr. Bobby Wernes continued to flash the leather at third base. His ability to pick the ball off the ground will come in handy at the hot corner. Jr. Rick Nomura has very quick hands at second base. At 5’9”, 175 he is more of a slap hitter but his speed will stretch some singles into doubles, and his veteran play will run us into some games.

So. Clark Eagan was back at first base after nursing a sore shoulder. He will be a mainstay at the leadoff spot this season and hopefully pick up where he left off last year hitting .301.

The first scrimmage I watched seemed like head coach Van Horn had his starting roster on one team. The players mentioned above were joined by R-Jr. Brett McAfee at short, who will be the sure starter as long as R-Jr. Mike Bernal is out with a knee injury. Sr. Joe Serrano took his spot in left field while Fr. Luke Bonfield filled the DH spot. Junor Tucker Pennell was catching which made me think he will be starting day one. But in subsequent scrimmages that I have seen since then R-Fr. Carson Shaddy and So. Alex Gosser have split time with the ones.

The best news I have indicates that Jr. Trey Killian is coming along well in his recovery. As I arrived late to one of the scrimmages he was running foul poles and the only others that ran that day were pitchers who had actually pitched in the scrimmage. As the ace of the rotation I think it is imperative to have him pitching this season if they are going to go far into post season.

 Other than those mentioned already, I have a few names I would like to mention that I believe will contribute this season and for seasons to come. Sophomores Dominic Taccolini, Zack Jackson, and James Teague are right handed pitchers that have the stuff it takes to start in the SEC. With various amounts of experience under their bills, Dave Jorn will lean heavily on them to account for the majority of innings pitched over the next 2-3 years. 

Fr. Keaton McKinney is the prototypical starting pitcher. He has the size, velocity, and hype coming into this season as a top major league prospect out of high school. I can see him starting mid week games to gain experience and jump into the weekend mix when needed. He is the future of our pitching staff.

Sr. Jacob stone will resume the closer role and will keep hitters off balance with his side-to-sub arm delivery. R-Fr. Parker Sanburn has impressed me in the few innings I have seen him pitch, and Fr. Jonah Patten could be this year’s Zack Jackson of last season. Fr. Kyle Pate is the lone left handed pitcher on the squad that looks to make a difference this season.

As I mentioned, Bernal is down with a knee and that has allowed others to step up and get reps in the infield. This is the deepest offensive team Van Horn possibly has ever had and that is most evident in the infield depth. Jr. Max Hogan brings veteran leadership and a quality bat to the bench. I would not be surprised to see him work his way into the every day lineup. 

I am big on Fr. Blake Wiggins, although as of now there isn’t a place for him. He plays both corner infield positions and also boasts a large bat. Jr. Cullen Gassaway looks the part of a power hitter with his large, thick frame. He, Wiggins, and Jr. Matt Campbell all transferred in this year and will contribute to what I believe is the best bench in the nation.

I alluded a little to the catching position earlier, but I lean more towards Pennell starting over Gosser. He has more experience at the position in college baseball and has shown in the practices I have seen that he can defend the position at a high level.

Sr. K.J. Wilkerson has been wearing a wrist brace during the last couple practices I have seen but once healthy could provide a spark in the DH or pinch hitting roles.

Other than noting who is playing where and how they are doing, I also took notes on random things that stood out to me. 

Assistant coach Tony Vitello was the one hitting infield/outfield. When infielders started turning double plays I noticed that after making the play and the first baseman had thrown to the catcher, someone would yell "two!" and the catcher would throw down to second where another command was yelled out to "cut four!" or "three!" This is to work on making quick decisions and executing when something unexpected happens. This was most unexpected by Van Horn as he immediately yelled at the players that they were not supposed to do this until the second round of double plays. Vitello then turned and apologized, explaining that he had jumped the gun and told players to do it.

There were many fans in the stands for a practice and at one point Vitello looked up behind the dugout at someone he knew and with a straight face and stern voice said "this is a closed practice, you gotta go", then turned and walked off. It took me a second to figure out he was kidding and it made a few people in the area look around as if to say "was he serious?"

In normal practices players go searching through the bleachers after foul balls to bring them back to practice with. During the scrimmage one such ball was hit and a player started after it until Van Horn called for him to leave it. It was understood that he knew plenty of kids were in attendance and would be thrilled to go home with a ball.

Bonfield was batting and hit a ground ball to the left side and noticeably tried running faster than normal to beat it out, but failed. When returning to the dugout Vitello stopped him to tell him to "stay in your stride, you'll be safe or out, don't try to run faster than you are". That was great advice. That will save him from many pulled muscles and potentially falling flat on his face if he listens.

I cannot say enough how much bigger Benintendi is, especially in his upper body. He was unable to play summer ball due to injury so he was able to spend a lot of time in the weight room. While it looks like he will have more power in his swing, he has not lost any speed that his small frame showed last year. On a well hit line drive to left center field, Benny ran the ball down from straight away center just before running into the wall. While he may not have the strong arm that Baum has seen in center in recent years, he will be able to make as many tough plays with the glove.

Thank you for reading and please post comments of questions or suggestions you have for me and my blog.