This article originally appeared in the February 12, 2014 special baseball issue of The Arkansas Traveler.
Youth is a major storyline heading into Arkansas’ baseball season this year, as the Razorbacks lost 13 players to graduation or the draft.
The 2014 roster consists of 17 true freshmen and 26 total underclassmen, both of which lead the Southeastern Conference.
Arkansas’ youth is most evident on the mound, where head coach Dave Van Horn must replace all three of his weekend starters from last year. Ryne Stanek, Barrett Astin and Randall Fant started nearly three-fourths of the Razorbacks’ games in 2013.
“I don’t feel good about (the pitching situation) right now,” Van Horn said after the team’s first practice Jan. 24. “We’ve got a long way to go on the mound, big time. It’s a little spooky.”
Van Horn said that sophomores Trey Killian and Colin Poche would be the most obvious replacements, as they tied for fourth on the team with five starts each last season. Juniors Chris Oliver and Jalen Beeks will also get looked at as potential starters.
Beyond those four, Van Horn said they’ll look at some freshmen, but want to be careful with them.
“We’ve got a couple of freshmen with good arms, but they just don’t have the experience that you’d like,” Van Horn said. “We’ve got to try to, hopefully, bring those along a little slower.”
The Razorbacks are also returning only 56.1 percent of their position starts from 2013.
However, of the eight position players who started at least 45 games last season, five of them returned, including Arkansas’ lone senior, catcher Jake Wise.
Many experts expected Wise to be drafted last year, but an injury suffered late in the season that required Tommy John surgery scared teams away. Instead, he is back in Fayetteville and was voted one of the team captains by his teammates.
“His attitude’s been good, and probably the most verbal he’s ever been, because he’s normally a quiet kid,” Van Horn said. “He’s taken a leadership role on this team.”
If Wise is not fully healthy by the season opener Feb. 14, Van Horn said they are trying to get redshirt freshman Blake Baxendale ready to play.
Like Wise, Baxendale is coming off of Tommy John surgery. If neither Wise nor Baxendale can play full time, Van Horn said freshmen Alex Gosser and Carson Shaddy or junior college transfer Krisjon Wilkerson could see some action.
The infield will be mostly recognizable, as juniors Eric Fisher, Brian Anderson and Brett McAfee will be back at first base, second base and shortstop, respectively. Third base will have a new face, though. Van Horn said junior college transfers Bobby Wernes and Michael Bernal are competing for the starting spot in the hot corner.
The most notable freshman on the team is Andrew Benintendi. Sophomore Tyler Spoon said that he is a “phenomenal hitter,” and will definitely contribute this season. In fact, Van Horn has already named him the starting centerfielder and leadoff batter.
Benintendi was projected to be a high draft choice last season out of high school, but word spread that he would be asking for a large signing bonus, so teams backed off. The Cincinnati Reds ended up selecting him in the 31st round of the 2013 MLB draft, but Benintendi decided to come to Arkansas instead.
In an interview with Hawgs Illustrated, Benintendi’s high school coach, Jack Kuzniczci, said that he was only the third 16-year-old to start on the Midland Redskins’ 18-under team, a prestigious competitive league team. The other two were Hall of Famer Barry Larkin and future Hall of Famer Ken Griffey, Jr.
Along with Benintendi and himself, Spoon said redshirt freshman Garrett Rucker could compete for playing time in the outfield.
“He just made a huge explosion this year offensively,” Spoon said. “He’s an unbelievable defender. It’s going to be good to have him in the outfield.”
The first chance to see these freshmen in action is 3:05 p.m. Friday when the Razorbacks play Appalachian State in their season opener. Arkansas also plays at 12:05 p.m. Saturday and 1:05 p.m. Sunday.
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