2020 Season Preview: What To Expect

Georgia Tech Baseball will be back in action on February 14th.

After a long offseason with plenty of movement on and off the diamond, another exciting season of Georgia Institute of Technology Baseball is now just one month away. The #19 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets will kick off the season at Russ Chandler Stadium, taking on the Saint Peter's Peacocks on February 14th at 4:00pm. With the season fast approaching, what could we expect from this squad in 2020?

High Class Newcomers

Last season, the Yellow Jackets saw 6 of their 7 MLB Draft picks sign and depart the program, the most that Tech has lost to the draft since 2013. Among those choosing to pursue their Major League dreams, Georgia Tech lost their leader in home runs (Kyle McCann - 23), total bases (Tristan English - 152), and their two strikeout leaders (Connor Thomas & Xzavion Curry - 103 & 66).

While the Jackets lost their fair share of talent, they are supplanting that talent with plenty of high caliber recruits. Tech's incoming Class of 2019 is ranked as the #5 recruiting class in the nation by Perfect Game, their highest ranked class since 2015 and only their second top 5 class since 2011. The class features 6 top-200 players, and three players with a Perfect Game 10/10 rating including #84 overall prospect RHP Zachary Maxwell.

Youth At The Plate

Heading into the season, Georgia Tech will be without 3 of their starting position players from the season before. First baseman Tristan English & catcher Kyle McCann are now working their way to The Show, and outfielder Nick Wilhite deciding to depart from the program to pursue opportunities in music. Combine this with the talent coming into the program, and that makes way for many young players to make immediate impacts. As it stands now, there is the potential for 3 true freshmen landing on the opening day starting lineup.

Jake Holland (#112 overall player, #10 catcher) is projected to be behind the backstop on day 1, with Drew Compton (#181 overall plater, #7 third baseman) actually projected to be at first base. Tres Gonzalez (#195 overall player, #43 outfielder) is fighting for the center field job with Michael Guldberg, with Guldberg having the edge over Gonzalez for now. If Gonzalez loses the CF job, he could still end up in the DH spot of the lineup.

Tech might have plenty of new faces make their way to the plate this year, but that does not mean they will be without veteran leadership. After a stint with the USA Collegiate National Team over the summer, shortstop Luke Waddell is back on The Flats. Michael Guldberg (led GT in batting average in 2019) and outfielder Baron Radcliff (third in home runs and slugging percentage in 2019) are also back. This team will have a healthy mix of new and familiar faces heading into opening day.

A Completely New Rotation

The biggest hit to the Georgia Tech baseball team from 2019 to 2020 is unquestionably the starting pitching rotation. Between losing Connor Thomas, Xzavion Curry and Amos Willingham to the MLB Draft, Tech is losing 39 combined pitching starts. Add Keyton Gibson who graduated and Brant Hurter (projected to miss all of 2020 after Tommy John surgery), and Tech loses 51 of their 62 starts. The only pitchers who started a game in 2019 that are projected to make an appearance in 2020 are sophomore right hander Cort Roedig (10 starts) and junior right hander Jake Brace (1 start).

Whoever the Jackets decide to send out to the mound on any given game day, they will undoubtedly be prepared. Reason being is because of the addition of pitching coach Danny Borrell in the offseason. Prior to his addition to The Flats, Borrell was a part of the New York Yankees for 18 years, and served as their pitching coordinator for the Yankees' farm system since 2015. During those 5 seasons, he helped lead one of the statistically best top-to-bottom pitching organizations in all of Major League Baseball. Under the tutelage of Borrell, the Georgia Tech pitching staff should be in good hands despite losing 57.1% of their total innings pitched and 57.7% of their total strikeouts.

Projected Starting Lineup

1. Luke Waddell (SS)

2. Michael Guldberg (CF)

3. Baron Radcliff (RF)

4. Colin Hall (LF)

5. Drew Compton (1B)

6. Jackson Webb (3B)

7. Austin Wilhite (2B)

8. Tres González (DH)

9. Jake Holland (C)

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