There are going to be three primary guys, and Cohen says that they will play all three positions- which is kind of interesting. Brent Brownlee, Jaron Shepherd, and CT Bradford.
If it were me- I would put Brownlee in RF. He is very good at leaping over the wall and bringing balls back into the ballpark. Right field is slightly shorter than left at Dudy-Noble, so I figure there might be more situations where you need someone to take a home run back in in right field. But Brent has to stay healthy. He has had issues all the way back to Oxford HS.
Jaron would be in CF. He is familiar with that field at Dudy-Noble and he has tremendous range. I really think Shepherd is going to have a big year for us at the plate as well. He does need to get his average up a little bit, and I expect 20 steals from him.
CT Bradford would be in LF. He is our CF and lead off hitter of the future. He may hit 2 or even 9 next year, and he may get to lead off as well. Bradford can defend, run, bunt, and he has a great arm- he will pitch for us some as well. Typically, you want your RF to have the strongest arm of your three outfielders, so I can buy arguements for putting him there as well.
What's exciting to me- two of our three outfielder have been drafted by MLB.
Who else is there and where do they fit in?
I think Nick Vickerson will be our DH, but I think he may be our fourth outfielder because we have to get his bat in the lineup. Thing is, he is not an outfielder by trade, so you have to worry about his defense.
Trey Johnson may be officially our fourth outfielder. He has to step his game up next year, if he wants to play because hitting below .200 isn't going to cut it. As it is, I think he is going to be a pinch hitter/pinch runner/occasional defensive replacement/occasional relief pitcher. I'm not really expecting a lot from him, but it would be really nice if he could be a good role player for us.
Ryan Collins has to be mentioned although I think he will mainly play first base for us. He certainly could get a few starts at the corner spots, and he will do OK if he has to play the outfield.
Now the freshmen minus CT Bradford:
Taylor Stark, from Northwest Rankin and was drafted by the Nationals, could be a very valuable player for us in the future. I say that because he can play practically any position on the field. And he can pitch pretty well. Just a great athlete. As far as next year, I think he will play some- but I'm not exactly sure where, and it could very well be all over the place. He may pitch more than anything else, too. He could be a good role player for us next year- especially as a pinch runner. I'm not sure that his bat is quite ready yet.
Cody Abraham- he is related to Jimmy Abraham and played in the Little League World Series. He may be our top pinch runner next year because he is very, very fast. He is a left hand hitter and he has a pretty good arm too. He may hit for a little bit of power, but if he does, it will be down the road. He may be a nice option to pinch hit some as well since he is a left hand bat. He was recruited by Texas and Rice out of high school.
Hunter Renfroe may play some in the outfield as well. He is our cather of the future, and he can play several positions. I'll talk about him more with the catchers.
Demarcus Henderson- He is more of an infielder, but he is athletic enough that he could play the outfield if we need him to. I'll talk about him more with the infielders.
If it were me- I would put Brownlee in RF. He is very good at leaping over the wall and bringing balls back into the ballpark. Right field is slightly shorter than left at Dudy-Noble, so I figure there might be more situations where you need someone to take a home run back in in right field. But Brent has to stay healthy. He has had issues all the way back to Oxford HS.
Jaron would be in CF. He is familiar with that field at Dudy-Noble and he has tremendous range. I really think Shepherd is going to have a big year for us at the plate as well. He does need to get his average up a little bit, and I expect 20 steals from him.
CT Bradford would be in LF. He is our CF and lead off hitter of the future. He may hit 2 or even 9 next year, and he may get to lead off as well. Bradford can defend, run, bunt, and he has a great arm- he will pitch for us some as well. Typically, you want your RF to have the strongest arm of your three outfielders, so I can buy arguements for putting him there as well.
What's exciting to me- two of our three outfielder have been drafted by MLB.
Who else is there and where do they fit in?
I think Nick Vickerson will be our DH, but I think he may be our fourth outfielder because we have to get his bat in the lineup. Thing is, he is not an outfielder by trade, so you have to worry about his defense.
Trey Johnson may be officially our fourth outfielder. He has to step his game up next year, if he wants to play because hitting below .200 isn't going to cut it. As it is, I think he is going to be a pinch hitter/pinch runner/occasional defensive replacement/occasional relief pitcher. I'm not really expecting a lot from him, but it would be really nice if he could be a good role player for us.
Ryan Collins has to be mentioned although I think he will mainly play first base for us. He certainly could get a few starts at the corner spots, and he will do OK if he has to play the outfield.
Now the freshmen minus CT Bradford:
Taylor Stark, from Northwest Rankin and was drafted by the Nationals, could be a very valuable player for us in the future. I say that because he can play practically any position on the field. And he can pitch pretty well. Just a great athlete. As far as next year, I think he will play some- but I'm not exactly sure where, and it could very well be all over the place. He may pitch more than anything else, too. He could be a good role player for us next year- especially as a pinch runner. I'm not sure that his bat is quite ready yet.
Cody Abraham- he is related to Jimmy Abraham and played in the Little League World Series. He may be our top pinch runner next year because he is very, very fast. He is a left hand hitter and he has a pretty good arm too. He may hit for a little bit of power, but if he does, it will be down the road. He may be a nice option to pinch hit some as well since he is a left hand bat. He was recruited by Texas and Rice out of high school.
Hunter Renfroe may play some in the outfield as well. He is our cather of the future, and he can play several positions. I'll talk about him more with the catchers.
Demarcus Henderson- He is more of an infielder, but he is athletic enough that he could play the outfield if we need him to. I'll talk about him more with the infielders.