Tennessee baseball coach Tony Vitello met with the local media on Thursday morning for the first time in 2024 with the Vols just over three weeks away from their season opener.
Vitello discussed the status of Zane Denton, competition at shortstop, catcher, on the mound and much more. Here’s everything Vitello said on Thursday morning.
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On how close they are to closing in on an opening day shortstop, who is still in competition there
“I think a couple guys. You know, this is a tough time of year because we’re technically not in season yet, or however you want to phrase it. So you’d like to be able to work with your guys on their arms and also their legs. And we’ve got a couple guys, nothing major, but a couple guys that get a little sore, either hamstring or arm or other parts. And we’d like to play that more conservative than not. So not everyone’s been full go, including a couple guys that can play that position is what I’m alluding to. So it sounds crazy. I’m not necessarily worried about who the guy is overall. Especially come SEC play because we’ll find that out with our starting rotation. It’s the same as shortstop. How we’re gonna handle this great catching group we have. We’re going have to work through those things and that’s gonna be an ongoing process. So I don’t think there’ll be a pound the fist on the desk moment that this is the guy. It’s great to have options. I don’t think anyone has really separated themselves. Like I said, the one thing we got out in the fall was CMo (Christian Moore) established that he can play that position. Then also Ariel (Antigua) was kind of the guy that was, based off what teammates said and other coaches, kind of the guy that was a leading candidate at that spot as well.”
On what he’s looking for out of Drew Beam— the only returning starting pitcher from last season
“Yeah, stability. Stability, which has kind of been his MO since he’s been on campus even as a freshman. Just, we always talk about that quarterback mindset, presence he has. He’s an incredibly mature kid. A lot of it based off just the family he comes from and just how he is. He’s been a great teammate. So stability, especially early in the season. I don’t necessarily know what day he’ll throw on but it’ll certainly be a day where we want to know we’ve got a good chunk of innings and strikes and presence on the mound because when we do start the season, speaking of the word conservative, we play that pitch count thing based off Coach Anderson’s plan pretty safe, if you want call it that way. So we don’t have anyone that’s gonna go out and throw seven, eight, nine innings like Drew is capable of when he’s fully built out. So stability and kind of logging those innings and being the veteran that you kind of mentioned, the one guy that’s returning out of that group.”
On if they expect Zane Denton to be with the team this season
“I don’t really have any expectations because I don’t have complete answers. The one thing, I don’t know if it’s possible to tie a bow on any topic, like shortstop or Zane, but there’s nothing crazy going on. And I don’t think you all will be provided an aha moment. Like this is a straight conclusion. It’s not that easy. There’s a lot of factors to it. I just visited with him recently, we hang out. He’s in a good place. We’re in a good place just trying to figure out what he’s going do with his future. And really you can’t take away from that moment in time he had against Clemson, but really just his whole time here and his college career to this point. So he’s going to add on to that story that you can’t erase, it’s just a matter of how he’s going to add on to it.
And he came here last year with a plan of getting to Omaha, which he did and was a major factor. And the other part of that plan was getting his opportunity in pro baseball. And for whatever reason it just didn’t work out. And when your plans get derailed a little bit, you sit back and you assess how do you want to move forward, which again, he’s doing in the classroom and as a person, and certainly, like I said, we hang out and talk so we’ll figure out what’s best, but, that that’ll come when the time is right. Like I said, it’s not as easy as just going this way or going that way. There’s other factors like classes and things involved.”
On two-way player Marcus Phillips
“I’m glad I don’t have to face him as a hitter. So it is good stuff, big stuff if you will, that he brings to the table on the mound. And then at the plate, it’s been common speak in the coaches’ locker room— he looks better than he ever has in the batting cages right now at, at the plate. So that opportunity’s not going away. As it is for most hitters, sometimes you got to pile up reps. So I think that’s something a little more down the road for him. Immediately he will make an impact on the mound, just don’t know when, because as excited as you get when he throws one particular pitch. We all made a comment on the other day that (during a) hitter vs. pitcher type situation. We got to remind ourselves, he’s basically a freshman and he’s a freshman from a cold weather state, I mean a really cold weather state. Last year due to injury, he was at a junior college but really didn’t play. So he is not in the infant stage of his career, but very early stages of his career. And I think he deserves the patience of the coaching staff and from fans and himself. He needs to provide himself time to be the best version of (what) he is, but it is pretty exciting how good it could become.”
On balancing allowing two-way players to play multiple spots versus where they best help them currently
“It is a challenge. Drew Gilbert was the one that kind of was the last one that made a big impact for us. I don’t know that anyone’s done it like Todd Helton did here on our campus, but Todd was a guy that wanted to be at the plate and wanted the ball, and a lot of times it’s dictated by the players. How much do they want to forge ahead in both areas because with our game and golf alike, it’ll beat you up mentally. It takes a lot of time, it’s mentally exhausting and then there is failure involved. So sometimes guys just kind of say, I’m going to, for peace of mind, I’m going to steer off into one direction or the other. So I think the players, at least in our program, the way we like to do it— I mean, Frank and I have both coached pitchers, but we were both infielders (as players). We love when guys want to take on the challenge of doing both. But it is going be up to them to forge ahead through that. And then for us, the biggest thing is just to balance out the arm, not go crazy in the field as a position player if you know you’re going to throw on the mound and just kind of balancing those things out. Like I said, Frank could be labeled as old school. I like to win, but we’re pretty conservative with arms around here. And if I think, with (strength coach) Q(uentin Eberhardt) and (trainer Jeff Wood) Woody leading the charge have done a good job taking care of the guys’ arms.”
On what stands out about the freshmen pitchers
“I think the potential down the road. Just say the magic words with the transfer portal and how much money is invested in this sport. And now everyone’s got an agent or advisor and parents have spent so much money traveling the country, going to all these events. There’s just this almost volcano building up of expectations and now, now now and wanting results and wanting labels and rankings and things like that. But at the end of the day, Cam Bates just pops in my head as a position player version of that, but they’re right. There are some pictures there, like Marcus Phillips, if you’ll respect the process and sequence in this whole deal, I think it can really get good. You’ll be at your very best during your last year of eligibility or your last year that you play in a ball uniform and then you’ll hit the ground running in pro baseball and continue to progress forward. It’s a little different than basketball. You know, football, if you got good footwork and you’re a big dude, you can block and you do need to get better. But in basketball you can shoot, you probably can’t shoot in baseball, there’s so many different moving parts. You need to keep evolving as a player to be playing at your best and you’d rather be playing your best at like 28 or 29, not when you’re a dang freshman in college. And so, it’s a difficult environment to coach in, not just for me but for everybody with that balance of, yeah, there’s some talent, some excitement, uh, but there’s also a process and a sequence. And then every now and then you get a guy like Drew Beam that the stars align, he’s mature enough, he gets the opportunities and it happens a little quicker for him. But everybody’s on a little different timeline whether it be circumstances outside of their control or with inside their control and that it happens for them.”
On how encouraging it is to not have freshman playing scared
“It’s a blessing to have here now because I think as our program moves forward, and again, I’ve said it many a times relative to other teams in our league or traditional powers in college baseball – we’re just building into this thing. We haven’t done everything we want to do and not even close, but the one thing that’s happened is these guys committed here because they saw us win some games. It wasn’t us selling some vision or something like that. And there are guys that had great options besides Tennessee, so they already had that mindset that they want to win and they’re choosing a winning program or a program that they see as a winning program. And it’s a whole new set of, just that mentality is a little bit different than we’re used to. So, hopefully that ends up being a good thing and not a negative. You don’t really know until the ball gets rolling, but you’d like to think that’s, that’s shooting in a positive direction.”
On his thoughts of Todd Helton’s Hall of Fame appointment and on if Nico Iamaleava could be a two-way player
“I think anything Nico has provided the baseball program has been great so far. And he’s to stay on the football field, it’s been entertainment and a lot of yelling at the TV. But that bowl game was a lot of fun and a great way to start 2024 for the Vols. His future is bright, but I think really just the program in general, the future is bright and for us. You go back to the nineties, I don’t think we are on the national stage like some of the other programs in the SEC or again, just those traditional national powers. And there was a lot of people like Coach [Rod] Delmonico involved, but Todd was probably the major catalyst at putting the Vol baseball program on the map. He did it in the field defensively, which cannot be, I think that’s kind of understated with how good of a hitter he was. And then everyone knows he was talented enough athletically and a good enough competitor to pitch and play football. But the biggest thing for us, it gets the program attention and revisits those days and things. But it just makes everybody happy around the building because anyone that knows him, he’s probably kind of the ideal superstar. He is it. It’s a loud presence on the field. He’s as talented, but off the field, it’s not at all. He’s humble, he’s giving him his time. He’s more interested in spending time with family and taking care of them rather than saying who can take care of me. And so it just makes everybody happy that the time finally came because – I’ve said it to everyone I’ve spoken to so far. My phone message was not hooray or congrats, it was, it’s about time I didn’t even know he wasn’t in already and all those things. Justice doesn’t always get served, but it was served and who cares how we got here. You got a guy that looked like he was about to get emotional. That was pretty cool getting to see the phone call and all that. I can only imagine. I know what a big win feels like. I can’t imagine what that phone call felt like. Great for him and certainly great for Vol Nation. The whole story starts with him being a local guy that not only chose to stay around here, but then said no to the draft to come around here. So homegrown talent story that’s pretty special for, again, the whole state of Tennessee and Vol Nation.”
On where the team chemistry is at heading into the season
“Every team’s got their own story and this one is yet to even, you know, the pages get longer, the words become more important when the actual season starts. But the build up to this point so far has been, it’s been great and I shouldn’t say that, but I’m just being honest. I think the kind of Rubik’s cube for this team will not be, how do we kind of come together as a group and start kind of all pulling in the same direction or whatever it might be. It’d be more just, what’s the right recipe, who belongs where and are guys willing to put their personal wants and their ego aside a little bit to fulfill this role.
“We got catchers that I’d be happy to catch ’em all 56 games, but if we did that, they’ll wear down. They won’t be as good offensively. There will be another guy that deserves to be out there, getting shortchange that opportunity. So can we as coaches kind of find the right combination and yet be in harmony with the team where, everybody’s getting what they deserve and we’re doing what’s best for us to win games because at the end of each day when we meet in the outfield, home or away, everybody should be smiling if we win. So we’ll do what we think is best to give our ourselves a chance to win games.”
On how Missouri transfer Dalton Bargo will contribute
“Dalton Bargo has kind of gotten over that, I’m new, I need to find my way or I want to impress everybody. Whatever was going on, he had self-admittedly said, he just wasn’t himself at the start and then ended the fall on a really hot streak. And the one ace in the hole he has is, he knows what the league looks like. He knows what college baseball looks like, he knows what being in the starting lineup (looks like), so that’ll play to his advantage and he’s got a little sense of determination to him that he didn’t have in the fall too. So all things combined, he’s gonna be a guy who gets at-bats for us, probably plays behind the plate in the infield and in the outfield, which will be fun. I like that stuff. And he certainly is a blue collar, just tell me where to go coach, type of guy. So I think we’ll have a lot of different ways we benefit from him being around.
“And the cool thing about him, I could go back to that sequence, he’s just getting started and it’s his second year of school and he’s just getting started.”
On NC State transfer catch Cannon Peebles
“I think that’s a bat that’s tough to keep out of the lineup each day and his competitive spirit, too. But we don’t want to again, wear anyone down early in the year behind the dish. We’ll probably balance those guys out as best as we can. And then when you get to May, or hopefully June, that’s kind of when you write out what you think is the best lineup.”
On junior-college first baseman Robin Villeneuve, where he could fit in
“Yeah, It’s hard not to smirk or laugh when you mention his name, just because everything that comes out of his mouth is funny. Sometimes he doesn’t even intend to, but he is. He is that guy in the locker room that has added personality. To me, he’s a no-doubt fan favorite for Vols fans when they get to know him and just had somebody come by and watched our guys hit in the cage that’s a former player and was like, ‘man, who’s that first baseman? He swings the hell out (of the bat).’ I mean, you’re gonna get full effort out of him on defense, on the bases and swinging the bat. He’s gonna go down with a hundred percent conviction.
“So all in all just a fun guy to have around and a guy that I think has a lot of potential and we’re gonna need to mix in his bat. You know, one thing last year, our lineup was very left-handed and sometimes the split stats don’t always work out the way you think, but there’s a lot of different opportunities for him. And probably the biggest one is last year we could have used a little bit more of a secure feeling when we’re writing out that lineup on the right-handed side of the plate. And he brings that to the table for sure.”
On who are some of the guys he would like to see elevate their game leading into opening weekend as they look for someone to fill the final spot of the rotation
“You know, (Matthew) Dallas thew yesterday for the first time against hitters — I want to get it right, I think in about seven months. And so you kind of don’t know what you’re really gonna get even though you followed this kid all the way through high school and he looked sharpe. As a freshman you don’t want to pump a guy’s tires too much, but it wasn’t just the stuff (that was) good, it was kind of the attitude and the presence we’re looking for. The other guys prior to me (Blake Burke/AJ Russell) might have mentioned his name or included him in that theory that the freshman group is one that can really help us.”
On if any players impressed him with the work they did over the Christmas break
“Overall, I think just a good feeling that the guys did their work. Again, you’re not around ’em and then you’re almost only a month from the season and you’re not able to work with them. So there’s all these question marks over your head. What do we actually got? What we got is where we left off in the fall, if not a little bit better for position players too, for all the guys. I think we’re at a good starting point. We’re gonna need to make a lot of progress prior to being ready for Dallas. But the door is open for any of those guys to do their thing. I don’t think any one guy stands out other than, again, unique circumstances with a first outing from Mr. Dallas.”
