Alabama Baseball Season Preview
2/19/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 19, 2010
2010 ALABAMA BASEBALL PREVIEW: Infielders
The strength of the 2010 Alabama baseball team has to be the infield, where the Crimson Tide returns all four starters from last year's squad.
The Tide welcomes back senior first baseman Clay Jones (.331, 7 HR, 39 RBI), junior second baseman Ross Wilson (.353, 9 HR, 47 RBI), junior shortstop Josh Rutledge (.305, 5 HR, 44 RBI) and senior third baseman Jake Smith (.359, 18 HR, 54 RBI).
Smith is the only four-year starter on the UA roster, while Wilson and Rutledge are in their third season as the Tide's double play tandem.
Wilson was named first-team preseason All-American by Baseball America, Rivals.com and PING. He was a second team preseason pick by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
He posted a .321 (152-for-473) average with 24 home runs and 94 RBI during his two-year career with the Crimson Tide. In SEC play, he is a .305 (71-for-223) career hitter with 12 home runs and 47 RBI in 57 games.
As a sophomore, Wilson hit .353 (76-for-215) with nine home runs and 47 RBI en route to being named first-team All-SEC by the league's head coaches. As a freshman, he hit .295 (76-for-258) with 15 home runs and 47 RBI en route to being named Freshman All-SEC by the league's coaches. He tied the UA freshman home run mark with 15 in 2008.
Smith was also named preseason All-American earlier this year by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, Collegiate Baseball and PING. A two-time All-SEC Defensive selection, Smith is a .284 (155-for-546) career hitter with 32 home runs and 117 RBI during his three-year career. He hit .359 with 18 home runs and 54 RBI last year as a junior.
Rutledge is a two-time All-SEC selection and has compiled a .339 (172-for-507) average with five home runs and 75 RBI in his two-year career. He was a freshman All-American in 2008 and was first-team All-SEC selection last year.
Jones is on the 2010 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award Watch List after posting a 3.48 grade point average at Alabama. On the field, he hit .336 with seven home runs and 37 RBI in 41 games as a junior. He was also one of UA's top pinch hitters with a .571 (4-for-7) average with one home run and three RBI. He was named the Most Valuable Player of the Whataburger Classic in 2009.
The Crimson Tide will also have the services of senior Cal Tinsley, junior John David Smelser and freshmen Danny Collins and Brett Booth.
Gaspard on the Alabama Infield:
"I feel like we have a chance to have one of the best infields in the country. We have a lot of talent and experience in the infield and they are all leaders on this team. Smith and Jones are solid corner-infielders, who will hit for average and power. Wilson and Rutledge will be together for the third straight year and have formed one of the best middle infields in the country."
2010 ALABAMA BASEBALL PREVIEW: Outfielders
Sophomore Taylor Dugas, who earned All-SEC and All-American honors as a freshman last season, anchors the Crimson Tide outfield in 2010.
The Lafayette, La., native will move from left field to centerfield this season, after a stellar rookie season in which he hit .352 (83-for-236) with two home runs and 27 RBI in 56 games. He led the team in hits (83) and doubles (20) and ranked third in runs scored (61) and fourth in hitting.
Alabama will be looking to replace Kent Matthes, the 2009 NCAA home run leader, and Alex Kubal in the outfield this season. Matthes hit .358 with 28 home runs and 81 RBI last season en route to being named a consensus All-American in 2009. Kubal hit .313 with four home runs and 16 RBI and turned in a number of highlight-reel catches in centerfield the last two seasons.
A trio of freshmen are among the candidates to replace Matthes and Kubal this season. The Tide will look to redshirt freshman Brandt Hendricks, true freshman Andrew Miller and redshirt freshman Kent Myer to fill those shoes in 2010.
All three are talented players, but all three missed some or all of the fall with significant injuries. Miller missed the first two weeks while recovering from a broken ankle sustained during the summer. He returned to the lineup in the middle of the fall and showed why he was one of the top high school players in the state of Alabama. Hendricks suffered a broken ankle the first week of fall and did not return, while Myer suffered a broken leg during the second week and missed the remaining practice time. Both should be back in the fold this spring and competing for the two outfield slots or DH.
Senior Cal Tinsley, juniors David Kindred and John David Smelser and sophomore Jon Kelton will also see playing time in the outfield this season. Smelser was Mr. Baseball in the state of Alabama following the 2007 season, where he led Hillcrest High School in Tuscaloosa to the Class 6A state championship. Kelton and Kindred are both capable left-handed hitters, while Tinsley is a talented utility man with his infield and outfield versatility.
Gaspard on the Outfield:
"First of all, (Taylor) Dugas will move to center field. Right now, two question marks for me are left field and right field, not because of the players there, but due to the injuries there. Right now, we have two redshirt freshmen Brandt Hendricks and Kent Myer, who were redshirted last year and this fall one had a broken foot (Hendricks) and one had a broken leg (Myer) so they didn't really get any time. They are certainly candidates. Andrew Miller, a kid from St. Paul's High School in Mobile, is a kid we are excited about. I think there are some other kids - Cal Tinsley is a guy I can see bouncing around and playing a lot of positions and can certainly be a possibility out there. David Kindred is another kid that was at Shelton State and Ole Miss and is a good left-handed bat."
2010 ALABAMA BASEBALL PREVIEW: Pitchers
First-year pitching coach Kyle Bunn must replace two-thirds of the Crimson Tide's starting rotation from last year's team. Fifth-year senior Austin Hyatt (8-3, 3.76 ERA) logged more than 100 innings last season en route to All-American and All-SEC honors, while two-way standout Del Howell (5-3, 6.33 ERA) opted for the MLB draft after his junior season.
Bunn, who built a solid reputation at Mississippi and Clemson for developing arms into solid weekend warriors, will now try his hand with an Alabama staff that has a nice blend of veterans and newcomers.
Sophomore left-hander Adam Morgan (13 G, 9 GS, 4-2, 4.17 ERA) is the lone returning weekend starter for the Tide. He posted some key wins last season for the Crimson Tide, including his SEC debut against No. 1 ranked Georgia.
Juniors Jason Townsend, Jonathan Smart and Jimmy Nelson and freshman Taylor Wolfe will also contend for starting jobs on the mound. Townsend spent the last two seasons at Chipola Junior College and has a solid fall for the Crimson Tide. Smart, who missed the 2009 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery, was a pleasant surprise this fall on the mound and emerged as one of the Tide's top arms. Nelson is in his third season with the Tide and has pitched as both a starter and reliever in his career. Wolfe had a solid prep career at Columbus (Ga.) High School and has shined this spring.
The bullpen should be anchored by senior David Head, junior Nathan Kilcrease, senior Adam Scott and sophomore Tyler White. The Crimson Tide will also have the services of five other freshmen, including Tucker Hawley, Trey Pilkington, Matt Taylor and Adam Windsor, all of whom showed great promise this fall on the mound. Taylor is also a two-way player and could see time in the outfield because of his speed and arm strength.
Junior college transfer Brett Whitaker is another two-way player that will likely see action on the mound. He is an excellent hitter and is suited for the role of DH or pinch-hitter.
Senior Jake Smith will likely fill the closer's role this season.
Gaspard on the Tide Pitching Staff:
"A lot of the credit goes to Coach (Kyle) Bunn who has worked them extremely hard and I think they have a great plan to follow and again they have prepared extremely hard. We like our starters that we have designated. I think the bullpen is going to be solid and deep. We will have Jake (Smith) and a couple of others that can close out games for us late. But I think we have really grown confidence-wise on the mound and I am excited to watch those guys throw. I think they are going to really impress and I think that's going to be a part of our game that really improves this year."
2010 ALABAMA BASEBALL PREVIEW: Catchers
What the Crimson Tide lacks in experience, it makes up for with talent and depth behind the plate this season. Alabama enters the 2010 season with five catchers on its active roster, but only two of those five catchers have seen game action for the Crimson Tide.
Junior Chris Smelley has emerged as the front-runner to start on opening day after an impressive preseason camp. He spent the first two years of his career as the starting quarterback at South Carolina. He transferred to Alabama last spring, but had to sit out one year per SEC transfer rules. He hopes to parlay his experience on the gridiron to the Tide lineup this season as threat on offense and behind the plate. He will have two years of eligibility remaining.
Senior Cody Trotter (.342, 3 HR, 11 RBI) has the most experience with 12 games under his belt before an elbow injury ended his season in early April last season. Trotter underwent extensive rehab this summer and fall and was able to return to the lineup by the middle of fall camp.
Junior Brock Bennett is the only other catcher with any game experience and is one of the Tide's top defensive backstops. He has played in five games during his two-year career. Freshman Brett Booth is another talented player and offensive and defensive depth to the Tide's lineup this season. Booth was also a high school quarterback, leading Tuscaloosa County High School to back-to-back perfect regular seasons in 2007 and 2008.
Smelley could also see action at first base, left field or DH, while Trotter has worked at first base and DH as well. Booth has also played third base and could fill that role when senior Jake Smith is on the mound.
Coach Gaspard on Chris Smelley:
"Obviously being a quarterback under center in the SEC and playing in front 90 to 100,000 thousand people, there is a certain experience and knowledge that you have to have to do that. Even though it's taken Chris a little bit of time to get back into baseball shape and the baseball mindset, he has done extremely well. We think he is going to have a big year. He has really taken off in the last month. He certainly brings something to the table that not many teams have, especially being behind the plate as a catcher. He is kind of the quarterback back there and he has great knowledge and the wealth of experience he is going to give to us in the setting that you have to have to play at Alabama.
"He is capable of being a five-tool player and that's what you're looking for. More important for us, we return the top five hitters from last year and Chris is going to sit in that six-hole and protect Jake Smith and is another physical, big athlete that's going to be an offensive weapon for us."
