Why Anthony Pack Jr. Is Making A Real Case For SEC Freshman of The Year

Anthony Pack Jr. should not be playing college baseball right now.

As one of the highly touted high school recruits in this past cycle, drawing major MLB interest, Pack Jr. decided to stay committed to the Longhorns. Players of his caliber typically forgo the college baseball experience altogether, instead jumping into the minor leagues to develop.

Throughout this season and especially in Southeastern Conference play, the Longhorns' left fielder has become one of the best underclassmen in program history.

Pack Jr.’s .384 batting average ranks second in conference play, outpacing fellow teammate and outfielder, Aiden Robbins, and catcher Carson Tinney. His 33 hits and nine doubles also fall inside the conference top-10 in those metrics as well.

Here’s the scary part for the rest of the conference: Pack Jr. leads all freshman hitters in batting average, on-base percentage, doubles, hits, and OPS. Per MLB draft rules, he’s not eligible to be drafted for another two seasons.

A lot of freshmen get caught up in being a freshman, not wanting to be the freshman to mess up,” Pack Jr. said. “I just think in the box, I just turn on that compete mode, ‘that pitcher in front of me, will not beat me.’”

Blazing On The Scene

Texas Baseball — The Longhorns celebrate following a victory at the Bruce Bolt College Classic | Texas Athletics

From game one of the regular season against UC Davis, Pack Jr. made a statement, going a perfect 3-3 at the plate, driving in 2 RBI, becoming the first Texas freshman to register three in his collegiate debut.

In SEC play, he’s only gotten better, stealing the show against South Carolina, with an 8-11 hitting performance in the Longhorns series victory. Pack Jr. has recorded 11 multi-hit games since the start of conference play.

As all of the Longhorns batters credit their success to hitting coach Troy Tulowoski, specifically to Pack Jr., working on offset hitting drills in the cage with Tulowoski for better torso control and hitting direction has completely changed his game since coming to college.

“My approach was pretty messed up. I just tried to pull home runs, which is not really my game,” Pack Jr. said. “Hitting with [Tulowoski], having that approach [and] implementing that into my game, it's turned out to work in games.”

Although hitting home runs is not Pack Jr.’s game, he’s still gotten off five this season, two of them coming in SEC play against Ole Miss and Texas A&M.

The Longhorns do not control their base runners, allowing them to have free range to steal bases when they see fit. As one of the faster base runners on the team, using his nimble frame to punish pitchers and catchers, this season he’s already picked up 17 stolen bases.

Pack Jr. has adjusted well in the outfield as well, being a stable member and has just recorded one error in conference play.

“He just continues to be fearless,” head coach Jim Schlossnagle said. “Pack [Jr.], he’s such a competitor. Got good barrel awareness, so we can use the whole field. … just a really, really good player.”

The Texas offense this season is made up mostly of “one-year” rentals. Robbins and Tinney are both inside the MLB Draft’s Top 150 prospects, meaning Pack Jr. will have sole control over the lead-off spot or the cleanup spot for the foreseeable future.

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