Happy game week. Tennessee baseball opens its 2024 season on Friday night against Texas Tech and each day this week we’ll release a new season preview.
We begin our Tennessee baseball season previews by taking a look at the Vols’ infield. Four of the Vols’ five starters are locked in, but there’s still plenty of flexibility and versatility with this group.
Let’s dive in.
What We Know
Four Of The Five Starters Are Locked In
There’s tons of competition for Tennessee as they begin the season, but not much of it is going to happen in the infield.
Blake Burke (.280 BA, 16 HR, 38 RBIs) is the Vols’ starting first baseman, Billy Amick (.413 BA, 13 HR, 63 RBIs) is the starting third baseman, Cannon Peebles (.352 BA, 12 HR, 50 RBIs) is the top catcher and Christian Moore (.304 BA, 17 HR, 50 RBIs) will start at one middle infield spot.
Burke and Moore started for Tennessee last season as sophomores while Amick (Clemson) and Peebles (North Carolina State) are the most highly touted pieces of Tennessee’s high-level transfer class.
The Infield Is The Strength Of The Team
This may be a bit obvious from the first section but Tennessee’s infield is the strength of the team.
Moore and Amick are preseason All-Americans and there’s a good chance Peebles will be the best offensive catcher Tennessee has had under Vitello. When he’s at his best (more on that later), Burke is one of the SEC’s best hitters.
There’s a lot of talent in Tennessee’s outfield but it’s largely players looking to break on the scene as first time starters. Tennessee’s infield is full of multi-year starters who could make the Vols’ offense one of the SEC’s best.
Newcomers Will Provide Depth
There’s a lot of newcomers that will provide depth in the infield and will also look to push for the starting shortstop spot.
Missouri transfer Dalton Bargo is the ultimate utility guy. He can catch and play the corner infield and outfield positions. He has a strong bat and will have opportunities somewhere.
Junior college first baseman Robin Villeanuve was very impressive with his bat during the fall and preseason. He is an option at first base if Burke hits another prolonged slump in SEC play.
Junior college transfer Bradke Lohry is a strong option to start in the middle infield, especially now that freshman Ariel Antigua will miss the start of the season with an injury.
Junior college transfer Alex Perry as well as freshmen Camden Bates and Dean Curley will get at-bats in midweek games and early in the season but likely aren’t poised for any serious roles this season.
More From RTI: Three Vols Land On Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List
Questions Entering The Season
What Is Zane Denton’s Status?
We still don’t have a complete resolution to the Zane Denton status and Tony Vitello indicated that we shouldn’t expect one soon.
There’s a lot of moving pieces here but it would surprise me if Denton was on the team this season. Certainly don’t expect him to be with the team this weekend in Texas.
Read more about the Denton situation here.
Who Starts At Shortstop?
This has been the biggest question all offseason after Maui Ahuna moved on to professional baseball and his backups Jake Kendro (Pitt) and Austen Jaslove (Arkansas State) transferred this offseason.
That left a massive hole on the roster and presented the biggest question for the infield. The freshman Antigua seemed poised to start on opening day before suffering an injury earlier this preseason that’s expected to sideline him for the first few weeks of the season.
Moore, who started at second base last season, worked at shortstop a ton in the fall and Vitello seems confident that the talented junior can hold up at the spot defensively.
But if Moore slides over to shortstop, who replaces him at second base? Lohry impressed me this fall and could play at either middle infield spot. The junior college transfer is the most likely candidate to start alongside Moore in the middle infield to open the season.
Freshman Camden Bates’ bat was one of the best in his class this fall and while he played multiple infield spots, him getting opportunities at second base while Moore slides over to short seems his most likely path to the field. Freshmen Alex Perry and Dean Curley are Tennessee’s other top options.
That’s the nature of pre conference play though. A lot of those newcomers will get opportunities. Especially now that Antigua is sidelined.
Can Blake Burke Find Another Gear?
There was more hype surrounding Blake Burke than any other Tennessee hitter entering last season after the left-handed bat broke the Vols’ freshman program record for home runs despite getting only 95 at-bats in 2022.
And Burke lived up to the hype in non conference play. But once SEC play rolled around, he struggled badly. Burke started all 30 SEC games hitting .211 with five home runs, one double and just 11 RBIs.
Now, Burke had more success in the NCAA Tournament including a three-run home run that helped flip the Hattiesburg Super Regional. Surrounded by a deeper lineup this season, opponents won’t be able to pitch around Burke at the same rate they did last season.
Burke was again one of Tennessee’s best hitters again in the fall. So there are reasons to believe Burke can turn the corner as a junior. But that’s one of the biggest questions for Tennessee’s entire offense.
And if he struggles the Vols have more options (Amick, Bargo and Villeaueve) at first base. They didn’t have any realistic options last season.
How Does The Catcher Rotation Work Out?
Cannon Peebles is Tennessee’s best catcher but, goodness, do the Vols have depth there. Both Cal Stark and Charlie Taylor are back. Bargo can catch and the Vols are high on freshman Stone Lawless.
It’s safe to say that Peebles will not catch in midweek games but will he catch all three weekend games? They could also use his bat as a designated hitter if he doesn’t catch all three games.
How Tony Vitello and Josh Elander divide the innings for catchers is one of my biggest questions entering the season.
