Auburn baseball: February practice observations of the infield
Auburn's been busy over the last three weeks with three or four squad games a week, trying to let the players sort out the multiple position battles on the roster. After watching some games in January, here's some of our observations from recent February scrimmages.
Infield
After losing 3/4ths of the starting infield to the MLB Draft, head coach Butch Thompson brought in numerous transfers (and a few prep recruits) to man the infield. After a few weeks, some positions seem to be pretty solidified - Cole Foster has moved back to his prep position of shortstop (he was at second base last year, in deference to Brody Moore) and has shown the arm and range required to man the position at an above-average, if not plus, level. Caden Green, the junior transfer from Seminole State, appears to be the first choice at second base, consistently working with the 1st team defense. He's been batting towards the bottom of the lineup, including batting ninth in the most recent squad game on Friday night, so there's still some offensive questions to be settled there.
Catcher is unquestionably Nate LaRue - the senior is part of Auburn's "Legacy Group" (along with outfielders Bobby Pierce and Kason Howell) - and will catch as many games as he's able. Still a defensive standout, his new batting stance - adjusted to allow the right-eye dominant LaRue a better view of incoming pitches - has paid dividends offensively and he's primed for a breakout season as one of the best all-around catchers in the SEC.
True freshman Ike Irish is the next man up behind the plate and stands to see a lot of time at DH - assistant coach Gabe Gross told me on Thursday that Ike "has the best eyes" - referring to plate discipline and pitch recognition - on the entire team and getting his bat in the lineup is a priority. Look for him to take the majority of the starts at DH, with time at catcher whenever LaRue gets a break either due to workload or scheduling (a doubleheader, for instance.)
3rd and 1st appear to have plans in place, if not definitive starters. Bryson Ware, a junior college shortstop who spent the last two seasons in Auburn's outfield, has consistently run with the 1s in squad games this spring at third base. He's seen as the better option defensively (the cannon of an arm definitely helps), while true freshman Gavin Miller appears to hold the offensive edge over Ware. Knowing that one of Thompson's mantras is "dominate the routine play" (and that he respects veterans and their commitment to the program), expect to see Ware at third on Opening Day with the possibility of a late pinch-hitter if it's a close contest.
First base is going to be...interesting. Kansas transfer Cooper McMurray is a big-bodied slugger with power who is fantastic defensively, but 1st base and DH have the potential to feature more rotation than we've seen in the past. McMurray has been a slow starter this spring, although he DESTROYED two balls on Friday night: a 106 mph EV opposite-field line drive to left field against a significant shift and a 102 mph EV, 406-ft grand slam to right field. Auburn's seemingly settled on grad student Brody Wortham as the backup at 1st base, but we've seen Ike Irish and Ryan Dyal spend time at 1st base, as well.
I asked infield coach Karl Nonemaker about using Irish at 1st base - if this was just something they were trying out for an emergency or if it was being seriously considered for roster flexibility and freeing up the DH spot - and he had an interesting answer:
"In squad games, you're trying to develop every single player on your roster and we all know that Ike's got a bright future at catcher - we all believe in Ike as a catcher. We feel as coaches, our responsibility is to help him develop another tool in his toolbox. What's another position he could play at the division one level down the road? We usually just catch two guys a day, and so we switch him back and forth and we're trying to grow him at that other position to create some versatility for him."
Nonemaker continued to explain that the ability to give him a day "off" when he was the starting catcher by letting him play 1st base and rest his legs would be valuable for ensuring peak performance (as well as fulfilling Ike's desire to grow and learn as a baseball player), but it comes back to one thing: They want Ike's bat in the lineup, and 1st base is potentially a way to do it while keeping Nate LaRue behind the plate and freeing your DH spot.
(I still expect McMurray to be the starter at 1st base on Friday night and most of the time, as the defensive skill is legitimate and the power, as we saw with the two hard hit balls on Friday night - is real and plays. Additionally, Irish's actions at 1st base are very raw - in my limited time watching him at 1st base, he still needs additional work with the glove to pick and scoop throws, as well as the subtle defensive nuances of playing 1st base like holding runners and charging bunts. If this happens in games, expect it later in the year.)
Ryan Dyal, the redshirt junior catcher, is one of the reasons the coaching staff's concerned with finding ways to free up the DH spot. After playing both catcher and left field in 2022, he spent additional time in left field as well as 1st base in spring. During fall and spring, Dyal has one of the highest "hard hit" percentages on the entire roster, at greater than 80%. With two options in front of him at catcher, adding the versatility of 1st base to his existing competence in left field gives this staff more options if trying to maximize offense in any given lineup.
We'll have more updates on the pitching staff later this weekend - Auburn's final squad game is Sunday, potentially a full nine inning affair. We're still waiting to hear official word on junior sinkerballer Joseph Gonzalez's status for the season opener - slowed by a recurrence of last winter's scapula injury, he hasn't yet thrown in a squad game this spring. Plan was for him to go on Saturday, but that game appears headed towards a rainout. Thompson, speaking at the beginning of spring practice, characterized Gonzalez as a diesel engine - "a little slow to get going", but he is still expected, as of now, to take the ball for game one against Indiana on Friday.
UPDATE: Rainout is official, as is the full nine innings on Sunday.
Auburn opens the 2023 season on Friday, February 17th with a three-game series against Big Ten foe Indiana. Season tickets sold out for the third straight season, but limited single-game tickets and mini plan options remain. Visit aubtix.com to check available inventory. The game will be available for streaming on ESPN+, and the radio call with Voice of the Auburn Tigers Andy Burcham and Brad Law can be heard on AuburnTigers.com or locally on 93.9 FM.
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