Tennessee baseball concluded its fall practice last week with the its three-game Orange-and-White Fall World Series. The three-game intrasquad scrimmage concluded six weeks of fall baseball.
I was at nine fall intrasquad scrimmages as well as the Vols’ 14-game exhibition against Western Kentucky and the first two games of the Fall World Series.
Here’s five takeaways from my time watching Tennessee baseball this fall.
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Liam Doyle Looks Like A High-Level Friday Night Starter
Ole Miss transfer Liam Doyle was one of Tennessee baseball’s biggest gets in the transfer portal over the summer. Doyle was Ole Miss’ Saturday starter a season ago where he posted a 5.73 ERA and 1.25 WHIP last season.
The left-handed pitcher looks like he’s going to take another step forward this season. Doyle was simply fantastic this fall, pounding the strike zone and making batters look silly with his off speed stuff and particularly his changeup.
I watched Doyle pitch five total times this fall. In those outings he didn’t allowed just two hits and no runs while striking out 16 batters in eight innings pitched. I know Doyle gave up runs on days he pitched and I wasn’t there. But Doyle was great all fall and simply dominant when I did watch.
He looks like a top-end SEC starting pitcher.
Dalton Bargo Is The Wild Card In Tennessee’s Lineup
Junior Dalton Bargo wasn’t an everyday starter for Tennessee last season but he is one of the most productive returners at the plate for the Vols after hitting .280 with eight home runs, five doubles and 27 RBIs last season.
That made me confident that Bargo would be a breakout star for Tennessee in 2025. But Bargo suffered a finger injury while catching and missed the back half of fall with the injury. Alex Perry and Stone Lawless each performed well at first base this fall which was the spot I thought he was most likely to settle at this season.
Bargo’s versatility is probably his best trait with Tony Vitello calling the former Missouri transfer Tennessee’s Ben Zobrist last season. I’m still banking on Bargo being any everyday starter for Tennessee somewhere but I’m just not sure where that is. That makes him a major wild card for the Vols.
Vols’ Freshmen Bats Will Push For Playing Time
It shouldn’t be shocking given the amount of talent that Tennessee brought in but the Vols’ freshmen class was one of my biggest takeaways this fall. That was especially the case at the plate where I was particularly impressed with Jay Abernathy, Levi Clark and Manny Marin.
Abernathy is a freaky athlete with a good feel for the strike zone and some pop in the bat as well. Clark has serious pop in the bat and hit a pair of home runs in the three Fall World Series games. Marin is just an incredibly consistent bat who can hit for power and contact.
Abernathy and Marin are both infielders with Abernathy looking comfortable in an abundance of outfield time. Marin got some run there at the end of fall practice and was solid but not as smooth as Abernathy. Clark is a catcher/first baseman who played some left field during the fall.
There’s not a ton of starting spots truly open for true freshman but my guess is one of them will earn a spot and others will get pinch hit at-bats. Abernathy is my best bet for earning the starting spot.
Tennessee’s Pitching Will Be A Work In Progress But Vols Have Depth
I’m extremely high on Liam Doyle and I think Tennessee has a number of other talented arms, but there’s no one else that I’m supremely confident in outside of Nate Snead and Dylan Loy.
Most Tennessee pitchers had up-and-down falls with some good days and some bad days. Tegan Kuhns, Tanner Franklin, Andrew Behnke, Brandon Ardvidson, Marcus Phillips, Tanner Crabtree and Ryan Combs are all talented. Any of these guys becoming reliable and solid options for Tennessee and some, like the freshman Kuhns, are very talented.
But they lack meaningful SEC experience which makes them far from a sure thing. It’s going to take Tennessee some time to figure out its pitching staff, but like we said last season at this time, it’s easy to trust Frank Anderson.
Stone Lawless Will Have A Consistent Role
Redshirt freshman Stone Lawless is going to be Tennessee’s second catcher behind Cannon Peebles. Peebles had another great fall and all but locked up the top catcher spot entering his second season in Knoxville.
But Lawless had a good fall too. He constantly hit the ball hard and looked like a capable option at first base too if he’s needed.
It wouldn’t be surprising for Lawless to start behind the plate one weekend game and again in the midweek while also potentially earning designated hitter starts when he’s not behind the plate.
