So, this is all based on what I've heard.
C- Renfroe and Mitch Slauter. Renfroe will probably either DH or play the outfield when he is not catching. His bat is too good to not be in the lineup. Slauter seems to have emerged ahead of Amiratti as the top back-up catcher.
1B- Rea I think will get the job to himself and probably will not platoon. He can defend and he has a ton of power. I'm not really sure where Porter will fit in- more than likely as a role player.
2B- Frazier
3B- Flair- he has a separated shoulder, so hopefully he will recover soon from that. He has really good potential. He is more of a corner infielder than a middle infielder though.
SS- Philip Casey seems to have the inside track. He is possibly our best defensive infielder. Can he hit and how soon will he hit, though? Demarcus has a minor leg injury, so I wouldn't totally rule him out. I wouldn't be surprised to see a platoon here unless Casey defends at Matthew Maniscalco levels.
OF- Brandon Woodruff- may DH some when Renfroe plays the outfield.
OF- Bradford- Has CF locked down.
OF- Brownlee- Long time Cohen favorite. As always, health is an issue, but we can cover for him if he is hurt- Renfroe, Stark, Henderson.
DH- Daryl Norris- he is starting to hit with some power.
P- Routt and Stratton have spots locked down. They should be pretty solid. The Sunday spot is up in the air a little bit- I think it will ultimately come down to Evan Mitchell, Daryl Norris, and Trevor Fitts. Yes, Brandon Woodruff and Jacob Lindgren will also be in the mix. Gene is saying that Ben Bracewell is a competitor for a starting spot- that's not true. He will be our closer, and we are not going to make our closer a starter, and if Bracewell is even a midweek starter, I will be shocked.
Regardless, fall baseball is as much about instruction as it is anything else. No one is going to win or lose a spot based on how they play in the fall. Heck, Brayden Jones was second on the team in home runs last year, and he redshirted. What's going to happen in Nov. is Cohen and the assistants will meet with the players, and they are going to review what each player needs to work on. And then things will heat up in Jan. They will see if how the players respond to their critique and see how much they get better in between Nov. and Jan.
Really, we won't have a set lineup until SEC play in all likelihood. Our non-conference games are as much about getting guys playing time and seeing how they do against live fire in game situations than anything- as well as winning. But there is no substitute for live game action. That walk-on that Gene loves may be tearing up some walk-on pitchers. Anyway, that's how we lose a game to someone like Sacred Heart or Belmont from time to time- and why everyone else loses to teams like that as well.
