Vanderbilt split a seven-inning doubleheader with Tennessee Tech on Friday, with the Commodores winning the first game, 10-1, and dropping the second, 4-2. Here are some observations from those games.
Freshman Brodie Johnston was hands-down the best player on the field Friday.
Someone asked me earlier in the week what I was most looking forward to seeing in these scrimmages. My first answer, without hesitation, was seeing if a newcomer (particularly a freshman) really stood out.
Most years, you don’t get that. And baseball fans know it’s often stupid to make big takeaways out of short sample sizes. But the short list of freshmen who really stood out early—I’m thinking of Tony Kemp, Bryan Reynolds, Kumar Rocker, guys like that—went on to do really big things at Vanderbilt and beyond.
So with that short-sample-size context, I’ll just throw this out there: Nobody outside of Rocker has ever made a better first impression on me than Johnston. Those guys on that list above all made the Majors. And Vanderbilt is probably lucky that Johnston didn’t play on a bigger stage before college or else he’d be in in an MLB organization’s system already.
Johnson started Friday with two really loud outs: a fly ball to deep center and then a line-out to left, before grounding to second and then a line-drive home run to dead-center.
In Game 2, Johnson did Tech a favor by jumping on the first pitch and popping foul to first. In his second at-bat he possibly hit the ball even harder with a line-drive double off the top of the short wall in left that ended in an out when he tried to take third off a ball that was hit too hard to justify that choice. He ended his night with a fly-out to right.
Johnston also played solid defense in limited chances at third in Game 1.
I have no idea what Vanderbilt’s lineup will be or where Johnston’s place in it might be, but I left the night feeling as if he’d be a fixture in it somewhere, and probably higher than where he hit (sixth in both games).
I don’t know if the lineup will be better or worse than last year (I think it's the first, but it's early) but it seems to have more options.
Here is how Vanderbilt lined up in the field in Game 1 and Game 2:
Catcher: Colin Barczi/Mac Rose
First base: Braden Holcomb/Riley Nelson
Second base: Mike Mancini/Jayden Davis (Rustan Rigdon came in as a late-Game-2 substitution)
Third base: Johnston/Holcomb
Shortstop: Jonathan Vastine/Vastine (Ryker Waite came in as a late Game-2 substitution)
Left field: Kody Kropf/Tommy Goodin (RJ Hamilton saw time in left late in Game 1)
Center field: Jacob Humphrey/Hamilton
Right field: JD Rogers/David Mendez
DH (VU used two in each game): Davis/Nelson and Barczi/Kropf (with Aukai Kea and AJ DePaolo either subbing in at those spots or making pinch-hitting appearances)
And that doesn’t include RJ Austin, Chris Maldonado or Matthew Polk.
All three were held out with various (and according to multiple sources, non-serious) issues or health concerns. Austin is going to start somewhere for sure. Maldonado opened last year as the team’s first baseman before a season-ending injury and Polk was a regular in the outfield in the season’s final weeks.
Nelson looks as if he can help, too.
Nelson was a late-summer addition as a JUCO transfer from Arizona’s Yavapai College, where ht hit .412/.495/.788. JUCO transfers are hard to figure—I’ve seen many who put up eye-popping numbers at that level but couldn’t get on the field for a Southeastern Conference team—but Nelson looked the part, smashing a double and two singles while reaching base after being hit by a pitch, too.
Fans demanded that Vanderbilt get a bigger, more powerful and physical lineup. Nelson (who’s listed at 6-foot-3 and 222 pounds) looks like someone who fits the part.
It’s ridiculously premature but if I had to guess a depth chart, here it is:
Catcher: Barzi (R)/Rose (L)/DePaolo (R)/Kea (R)
It feels as if Vanderbilt is committed to Barzi behind the plate and at it, too. Barczi had an uninspiring day at the plate but it was clear last season that Corbin saw something he liked and wants to stick with it and ht hit third in Game 1. Rose was the last guy selected in the MLB draft and gives Vanderbilt a lefty option.
First base: Holcomb (R)/Nelson (L)/Maldonado (R)
Holcomb has to be in the lineup somewhere, and maybe Nelson, too. Holcomb can play third and corner outfield and is an underrated athlete, and because of his 6-foot-4 frame and that athleticism that seems like a good fit. But there’s a lot of competition here and Maldonado could easily emerge as the starter, too.
Second base: Mancini (L)/Davis (R)/Rigdon (S)
I have no idea what they’re going to do here and they may not know, either, and the handed-ness options could add to the confusion. Mancini hit .329/419/.586 with 15 homers at James Madison and seems like the kind of bat they need. Davis hit well at Samford two years ago and it feels as if he’ll start somewhere. Rigdon will probably be a factor.
Third base: Johnston (R)/Holcomb (R)
I’m not sure what other players are seeing time here but those two bats both have to be in the lineup and both seem to have some ability to play the position.
Shortstop: Vastine (L)/Waite (S)
Vastine had a really tough day against lefties (and got charged with a tough error) but he’s almost never coming off the field. Waite can fly and played some short late and will almost certainly be a pinch-hitting option.
Left field: Hamilton (R)/ Kropf (R)/ Goodin (L)
I don’t have the first clue what they’ll do here. Kropf got the Game 1 start but Hamilton was on the field more and is the more athletic player. Goodin looks as if he can hit a bit but also made an error.
Center field: Austin (R)/Humphrey (R)/Hamilton (R)
Austin’s going to be in the lineup everyday, somewhere. That could be at second but there seems to a bigger log-jam of hitters there. I’d still like to see what Humphrey can do with time and health.
Right field: Polk (R)/Rogers (L)/Mendez (R)
Polk seems to be the most logical option but Rogers has always had athleticism and comes off an outstanding spring and in a right-handed-heavy outfield, perhaps he earns some starts as a platoon option. I have no idea where Mendez fits but he hit .342/.442/.505 with 24 steals and won Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year honors while playing for a head coach who’s now his hitting coach here. I could easily.
DH: Whatever’s left
- That might mean one of the corner infielders (Maldonado?) but it could also mean whoever’s not playing second (Mancini or Davis) on a particular day. It could mean getting in an extra lefty since Vastine is the only lefty I’m certain will start, which could favor Mancini or Rogers or maybe even Rose, depending on how he hits.
