Experience, development and influx of talent key for Vols

Tennessee opens its 2020 baseball season Friday afternoon when the Vols host Western Illinois at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

Tennessee lost four positional starters from 2019 including its leader, Andre Lipcius. However the Vols are hoping another signing class and a full offseason of work for last year’s impressive freshman class will lead to improved offense while pitching and defense continues to be the Big Orange’s strength.

Injuries have plagued Tennessee first baseman Luc Lipcius’ during both his sophomore and promising junior season. Lipcius was hitting .347 and had driven in 14 runs during the first 16 games of the Vols season before fracturing his foot and ending his season.

Lipcius is expected to be the Vols’ starter at first base. He’ll be backed up by Max Ferguson, who proved to be an elite defender in Lipcius absence before sustaining a season ending injury of his own. Pete Derkay is another first base option.

Jake Rucker started 54 games at second base during his freshman season, hitting .273 and .303 in SEC play. Head coach Tony Vitello noted that he’s a guy that will likely be in the lineup every day. However, where he plays is still up in the air.

Max Ferguson was starting to turn a corner in his freshman season earning Tennessee’s third highest on base percentage in SEC play, .385, before suffering a season ending injury at Kentucky.

“I’d say if anything Max (Ferguson) is our best second baseman,” Vitello said. “But Jake Rucker played so much second base last year there may end up being a better combination that requires Fergy (Ferguson) to play somewhere else, but he’s played as hard as anyone and as smart as anyone on our team.”

In Tennessee’s fall scrimmages, Rucker started at shortstop while Ferguson played second base. The duo could be one to watch this season as they enter their second go-around at the highest level of college baseball.

Trey Lipscomb played just sparingly during his freshman campaign, but he appears to be the favorite to replace Andre Lipcius at third base.

Lipscomb earned just one hit in 12 plate appearances last season. The Maryland native went 4-for-4 and drove in a pair of runs in Tennessee’s fall scrimmage verse Clemson.

“Big is the word,” Vitello said of Lipscomb. “He’s a man now. He wasn’t like that when he first came to a camp here in Knoxville. He fills out his uniform well. He has a lot of strength at the plate, so he’s got room for error when he’s swinging that bat.

“He can play anywhere on the field, literally. We even joked around with him one day and had him catching, but third base is such a crucial position when you do have good pitching. He kinda seems to solidify that a little bit. … He’s certainly a front runner to be an everyday guy.”

Look for sophomore Austin Knight to find some early season playing time on the left side of the Vols’ infield as well after having a solid offseason.

Connor Pavolony and Landon Gray split time behind the plate last season and both catchers are back this season. Pavolony seems to have separated himself a bit from Gray due to a second-year jump, but Vitello expects both to play this year with Pavolony to start on opening day.

“Pav (Connor Pavolony) has made that jump,” Vitello said. “From freshman to sophomore year is usually when you see these guys mature the most physically and mentally and he’s been outstanding behind the plate but even more impressive offensively.”

Pavolony making a jump at the plate would be a huge bonus for the Vols. While both catchers were solid behind the plate last season, they were essentially dead weight at the plate with Pavolony hitting .208 and Gray hitting .083 in SEC play.

How Vitello handles his outfield early this season should be fascinating to watch. Tennessee lost Justin Ammons and Jay Charleston from last year’s team, but the losses may not be as significant as they seem on the surface.

Ammons and Charleston played well in the non-conference slate, but the pair struggled mightily at the plate in SEC play hitting .217 and .214 respectively while driving in just a combined 14 runs from the top two spots of the Vols’ order.

Vitello noted that he felt like he had five or six reliable options to start in the outfield in 2020.

Preseason All-American and All-SEC First Team selection Al Soularie is back after bursting onto the college baseball scene in his first division one season. The Texas native hit .357 and 11 homers as a sophomore while driving in 46 runs. Soularie started at left field in 2019 but he has the athleticism to play all three spots in the outfield.

Evan Russell played left field but spent more time as a designated hitter in 2019. Where Russell fits in will be interesting to watch. I’m not sure he has the athleticism to play center field, but he’s a consistent glove and was a staple at the five-spot last season hitting .274 and six homers while driving in 39 runs.

Jordan Beck was a late recruiting steal for Vitello and his staff. Beck had signed with TCU, but the Horned Frogs were counting on him going straight to the MLB. When Beck fell in the draft and elected to go to college the Horned Frogs didn’t have a spot for him.

Beck impressed in his fall debut going 2-for-4 and walking twice in the 18-inning scrimmage against Clemson.

“Jordan Beck is a pretty polished hitter for a freshman,” Vitello said. “If I were to point to a young guy or new face for fans to recognize he’d be one.”

Drew Gilbert was another late addition to the Vols’ signing class and while he’s mostly known as a high level pitcher, he can also swing the bat and is athletic enough to play all three positions in the outfield

Zach Daniels looks like a million bucks getting off the bus but can the Stockbridge, Georgia native finally put it all together in his junior season? Daniels homered in four of his 60 at-bats last season, but the center fielder hit just .200 and struck out 29 times while walking just five times.

The potential is clearly there for Daniels and that’s shown even more as D1Baseball projects Daniels as a second-round pick in the 2020 MLB Draft.

Christian Scott flashed in some midweek action as a freshman, but injuries kept the Clarksville native from breaking through. The right fielder finished his freshman season hitting .321 and with an on-base percentage of .486.

Scott also flashes some speed that the Big Orange could be missing with the departures of Ammons, Ricky Martinez and Charleston.

Don’t rule out freshman center fielder Matt Turino from making an impact in his first season in Knoxville. At the very least he should be a staple in the midweek lineup once SEC play begins.