It is officially opening week for Tennessee baseball.
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It is officially opening week for Tennessee baseball.
The Vols battled rain and wrapped up their last weekend of practice, going through a “dress rehearsal” ahead of opening weekend in Arlington, Texas for the
Shriner's Children College Showdown against Texas Tech, Oklahoma, and Baylor.
Here are some notes and storylines coming out of the last weekend of scrimmages.
Starting rotation starting to take shape
Drew Beam started Game 1 of the dress rehearsal while AJ Russell started on the other side — seemingly hinting at Russell becoming the Saturday starter for the season.
In the matchup, Russell threw well against the “starters” while Beam struggled against the “reserves.” Beam threw three innings while surrendering five runs on four hits with six strikeouts. Russell threw four innings, conceding just one hit with six strikeouts.
Southpaw Zander Sechrist and Austin Hunley got the starts in Game 2, possibly hinting at one of the two becoming the Sunday starter during the year. Sechrist seems like the likely choice, he went 3.2 innings with four hits and four strikeouts while giving up just one run.
Hunley got hit around in his outing, but he is a possible option to eat innings out of the bullpen.
Game 3 saw two freshmen go head to head. Matthew Dallas faced off with Dylan Loy. Dallas faced the lineup filled with many assumed starters and flashed at times. His final line was 2.2 innings pitched with five hits and two runs to go with six strikeouts.
Loy struggled, but he could prove to be a bullpen arm. As Dallas continues to become healthy, he could be a talented lefty for the Vols as well.
Cannon Peebles could be a star
Cannon Peebles had an impressive fall and was even more impressive over the dress rehearsal weekend. The switch hitter went 3-for-7 with three loud, no-doubt home runs through the first two scrimmages on the weekend before adding another RBI single to his total on Sunday.
Peebles has the offense to play, but that was evident when he transferred from NC State. He finished his freshman year with the Wolfpack hitting .352 with 12 home runs while slugging .697.
His defense was suspect at times behind the plate, but the bat is one that has to be in the lineup for the Vols.
Middle infield shaping up
Christian Moore did not move from shortstop all weekend. With freshman Ariel Antigua out for the foreseeable future due to a hand injury, it seems to be Moore’s position to lose at this point. He has also been a constant in the lineup for the Vols and it seems his production won’t drop off anytime soon.
As for second base, Bradke Lohry seems to be the option at the position moving forward. He played the position for the “starters” team and manned it well. He flashed the leather a couple of times through the first couple of games, showing instincts at the spot.
At the plate, he hit a triple in Game 3 that highlighted his weekend. It doesn’t seem that he is expected to be a dominant hitter, but he can seemingly hold his own while staying near the bottom of the order.
Extra, extra
Blake Grimmer is playing his way into a roster spot. He had a home run on Friday and added another homer and a double to his total on Sunday. He is a solid option in the field and seems to have pop in the bat, fighting his way onto the roster.
Bullpen options are still needed, at least consistent ones. Andrew Behnke flashed on Saturday before getting hit around on Sunday. Derek Schaefer threw two innings and gave up a hit and a run in his outing.
Nate Snead and AJ Causey were the first out of the pen on Game 1, and neither looked great. Again, it is still February, so the options can change.