Miami's Future is Bright, But The Freshmen Could Make Their Omaha Dreams a Reality

When you are blue blood in any sport, the expecations are higher than anyone around the country.

J.D. Arteaga knows that, and his seat has been as hot as others around the country in the fans' eyes, no matter how good or bad a season is for the Miami Hurricanes.

Miami's goal is to return to a place it calls home, but since its last birth in 2016, the team has underperformed consistently until last season.

This season, the Canes have struggled to keep players in the lineup due to injuries. Miami hasn't had a consistent lineup since the Florida series earlier in the season. Though they have stumbled upon something that Arteaga knew before the year started: this is an outstanding freshman class, and they could be the reason the Canes return to the College Baseball World Series.

Miami freshman catcher Alonzo Alverez with his first home run of the season against Indiana State | Miami Hurricanes Athletics

"I think we're in a great place," Arteaga said after the second round victory over Stanford in the ACC Baseball Championship. "I spoke about our freshman class a lot this fall and early spring and of course having such a veteran team coming back offensively, the question was where are they going to play and how do we get him in the lineup and give him opportunities and at-bats.

"Because of injuries a guy like [Gabriel] Milano has to step in at third base done a great job for us. An injury to [Alex] Sosa's throwing arm, and he's playing first base, so [Alonzo] Alvarez comes in and [Dylan] Dubovik swung the bat really well early when Max Galvin was out with an injury. Once he came back, we're trying to find a place for him so you kind of sit in there at the DH spot so it looks really good for us offensively and then just the freshman class in general."

Moreover, thanks to the play of Alveraz, Milano, and Dobovik, the team's offense has taken another jump, and defensively, has given more players the chance to be moved around. Sosa has been moved to first base, keeping his bat hot, allowing Alveraz to stay in the lineup as a catcher, and sliding Dubovik to the designated hitter spot.

That move was showcased against the Cardinal in the opening game of the ACC Tournament, showcasing Alveraz, where he spent the game smashing two home runs, two doubles, and driving in three RBI.

"He's a great athlete," Arteaga said about his star freshman cather. "Number one, he was taking ground balls a short yesterday at the practice. He looked pretty good, but don't get any idea. Just a great athlete and works hard, always learning and it's fun just watching him. He started every midweek game behind the plate, but I guess it's maybe three weeks now he's been starting every weekend and just watching him grow before our eyes is really something special.

MIami Hurricanes players after Alonzo Alveraz hits a home run against FSU — MIami Hurricanes players after Alonzo Alveraz hits a home run | Miami Athletics

"Again, one of the guys that we knew he's going to be a big part of our program. We didn't expect it to have to be this year, but fortunately, we had him here. He's ready to go. We lose one guy, but he has stepped right in and been great."

Furthermore, Dubovik and Milano have been consistent bats. This is just the tip of the iceberg with this freshman class, which also has Jack Dorso, a consistent freshman arm out of Miami's bullpen.

They will be the glue that pushes Miami over the edge, along with some help from the veterans who also have a chip on their shoulder.

Miami's Future is Bright, But The Freshmen Could Make Their Omaha Dreams a Reality

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