The Auburn Tigers baseball team faced off against each other last night, and Auburn Daily was in attendance. Let's talk about what you need to know from the squad game.
Starting pitchers dominated
Your two starters were Chase Allsup (2nd team, Orange) vs Joseph Gonzalez (1st team, Blue) in what pitching coach Everett Teaford told us on Friday was their last tune up prior to Opening Day. The goal was five innings and/or seventy pitches, and both guys hit it.
Both pitchers started off with clean sheets, not allowing hits until the third. Gonzalez ended up getting charged for three runs thanks to a tough sequence against the heart of the Auburn lineup. Catcher Ike Irish hit a first pitch single, advanced to third on a hit and run on a first pitch Bobby Pierce base hit, and then Cooper McMurray went down and golfed a two-strike changeup for a homer to right.
But outside of that sequence - which, like head coach Butch Thompson constantly talks about, came back to timely hitting in bunches - Gonzalez mostly dominated with his sinker/slider combo. Gonzo sat right around 89-90 with the two-seam fastball, showing two different version of the pitch - a mostly lateral-moving version, getting almost a foot and a half of horizontal movement, and a version that traded some horizontal movement for more vertical drop. Think of these as more of a true two-seam fastball versus a sinker, but he mixed and matched these on his own, with the pitch calling just asking for "two-seam fastball" and him deciding which version he wanted to throw based on situation and batter.
(Note: Teaford, who was operating the PitchCom device from the dugout for both pitchers, occasionally called for a four-seam fastball from Gonzalez and in retrospect, this may have been a cue to throw a sinker versus Gonzo's traditional two-seam. Gotta check on that.)
Gonzo mixed in a low-to-mid 80s slider with late movement and a low-80s changeup that's a nice change of pace, but one in which he also shook off more than I expected, indicating he may not fully trust the pitch.
Allsup flashed his usual premium velocity, sitting around 95 mph for the first few innings, but with better command and control than last season. The four-seam fastball showed good carry up in the zone, with location-adjusted Trackman numbers that should put it right around MLB average amounts of induced vertical break (the ability to resist gravity on the way to the plate). His slider has adjusted to more of a gyro slider, meaning that the spin of the ball mimics that of a bullet and subsequently doesn't impact the movement of the ball, allowing gravity to do the work. He threw a firm changeup in the upper-80s that's useful as a change of pace, as well as a high-70s curveball. My biggest takeaways from the secondaries was Allsup's improved ability to land the curveball low in the zone for a strike - last season it was more of a chase pitch, but consistently being able to bring it into the zone will allow the entire arsenal to play up, since opposing batters can't sit fastball if the slider and curveball can both be thrown for a strike.
Allsup, who went five scoreless innings to be awarded the "Player of the Game" title belt, showed some signs of fatigue as we got to the fifth. His fastball velocity dropped to 92-93 and he started missing more outside with the pitch, but he maintained the competitiveness and got out of the fifth unscathed. It feels like his effective limit's going to be 60-70 pitches as we enter the season, with Friday night's effort finishing around 76 or so.
The defense has versatility, but some decisions to still be made
There's some defensive positions that are seemingly locked - Chris Stanfield in centerfield, Bobby Peirce in right, and Miami of Ohio transfer Cooper Weiss at shortstop.
But there's also some mixing and matching still being done defensively, with Florida transfer Deric Fabian playing at second base last night, returners Caden Green (Blue) and Brody Moss (Orange) both at third base, returner Gavin Miller moving from last season's third base to be the Blue team starter at first, and Jacksonville State transfer Javon Hernandez getting his first career action in left field.
You could tell Hernandez, a Short King at 5-7, was new to the outfield, as he misplayed an early ball from Fabian off the Monster by coming in too close to the base of the wall and letting the carom get past him, allowing Fabian to take third. But by the end of the scrimmage, he was showing improved routes to the left-center gap, beating Stanfield to the power alley and correctly playing the ball off the wall.
Irish (Blue) and Carter Wright (Orange) were the catchers and both bring different skills to the plate. Wright's an excellent pitch framer, consistently stealing borderline strikes last night, but also allowed Stanfield to steal third off of lefty reliever Abe Chancellor. The transfer was quick, but a little hitch in his throwing motion allowed Stanfield to slide in ahead of the throw (although I'd put 50% of that on Chancellor, as he's not quick to the plate). Irish provided good receiving and flashed his strong arm, with no orange baserunners attempting a stolen base against him, and a big roster construction decision will be if Irish can stick behind the plate, freeing up the DH spot for Auburn.
Irish has also played first and a bit of right field in fall and spring, so there's versatility if Auburn decides to install Wright behind the dish. Getting Irish in a defensive position is needed, as there's multiple quality DH options on this team that Auburn can mix and match if Irish isn't in the DH spot. Last night's designated hitters were first baseman Cooper McMurray, still recovering from a minor ankle procedure, and UAB transfer Christian Hall, who has played some first base but profiles best as a designated hitter.
Stay tuned for a breakdown of Auburn's position player options later this weekend, ahead of our game week coverage prior to Auburn's home opener next Friday against Eastern Kentucky.
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