Someone asked the other day about any baseball previews as we head toward the Opening Day of the 2022 season. I had been thinking about doing a preview for some time now and have some time to sit down and type this out.
The 2021 season was very disappointing for Auburn as the team came in with high hopes to make a run in the NCAAT. D1Baseball ranked Auburn at #23 in their preseason rankings but the team never played like it. One of the storylines you might have caught was Auburn losing 10 games by a single run. Something that can't happen again in 2022. The team was knocked out in the 1st round of the SECT by Ole Miss and didn't qualify for the NCAAT.
Coming into 2022 the Tigers have pretty low expectations for the season. D1 Baseball has Auburn finishing 6th in the west (ahead of Alabama) and missing the NCAAT. The reason for the doubts? Pitching.
STARTING PITCHING
The biggest question mark for the Tigers is how our arms will perform. JR Mason Barnet will be key if the tigers are to have success on the mound. The Right Hander in his sixteen appearances (6 of which were starts) went 2-4 with a 5.40 ERA. But in the Cape Cod League this summer Mason showed Improvement throwing in the upper 90s with his fastball. Though he went 1-1 with a 4.95 ERA. He has tons of potential though which is why D1 baseball lists him as the 23rd highest prospect for the 2022 Draft in the SEC.
The other pitcher that will be key will be JR Hayden Mullins. The LHP hasn't made a start yet at Auburn but should be making his first start his year. In his seven relief appearances last year 2-0 with a 2.30 ERA. He got hurt in mid-April and didn't play the rest of the year. But if he showed the potential he flashed in High School he could become a key starter for the Tigers.
A quick note on other guys to keep an eye out for in the rotation that are already on the roster.
SR Carson Skipper, JR Trace Bright and SO Joesph Gonzalez. If any of these guys don't make the rotation look for them to be key pieces in the bullpen.
Auburn did bring in 3 transfers to the staff. JUCO Transfers Jordan Armstrong and Konnor Copeland were brought in and could make some noise. But the Big transfer I want to focus on is Super Senior Tommy Sheehan. He transferred in from Notre Dame where he was a 4-year starter and in 2020 he was the Friday Night guy before COVID cut the season short. He started in 4 games. Had 22 Strikeouts while going 3-0 with a 2.70 ERA. He got hurt after two starts in 2021 and had to have Tommy John surgery.
BULLPEN
JR Blake Burkhalter had a solid 2021 where he had a 1.71 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 21 innings. If he can keep those numbers up he should be our best bullpen guy on the season. Really interested to see how Butch uses him this year. SO Carson Swilling had the most relief appearances on the team in 2021 with 21. In those 21 appearances, he had a 3.34 ERA. His continued development will be key over the 2022 season.
A few Freshmen should get some playing time with Chase Allsup, Ben Bosse, and Parker Carlson. Also worth noting we brought in Samford Transfer JR Chase Isbell. He was Samford's Closer last year and was impressive with a 2.32 ERA and 7 saves which were T-2 in SoCon last year. He had Tommy John surgery so I don't think he will be around at the start of the season but could become a key closer when he joins the team.
CATCHER:
Auburn returns SO Ryan Dyal and JR Nate LaRue behind the plate for 2022. The two will share duties this year and it will be interesting to see what Butch does here. Dyal has 22 starts in 2021 in which he hit .200 with 7 RBIs. He threw out 2 guys stealing last year. LaRue made 10 starts hitting for .219 with 5 RBIs. Worth noting LaRue will also pitch some.
INFIELD:
SS Ryan Bliss is sadly gone as he was drafted by the D-Backs in the 2nd round. Replacing him at short will be last year's 2B Brody Moore. Moore is a really good defender and should be a good replacement for Bliss. In his 49 starts last year he hit 2.92 with 25 runs, 11 doubles, two homers, and 32 RBIs.
If a returning player is to replace Moore at 2nd should be SO Cole Foster. Foster played in 15 games last year hitting .292 with five runs, three doubles, and an RBI. Samford transfer Super Senior Brooks Carlson should give Moore a competition. Carlson hit .301 with 13 doubles, six homers, and 37 RBIs in 2021.
At 1st is In my opinion the best hitter on the team. Another Samford transfer SR Sonny DiChiara. DiChiara was 2nd team all SoCon due to him leading the league with 18 homers. He hit .273 with nine doubles and 46 RBIs. If that can transfer over to SEC Pitching Auburn will be looking good for 2022. Last but not least at 3rd is JUCO Transfer Blake Rambusch. Rambusch Led the team and ranked 11th in NJCAA with a .444 average. He also led the team in runs (60), hits (71), doubles (16), RBIs (40), and stolen bases (33).
Some depth names to note are Garrett Farquhar and Mississippi State transfer Mason Land. Land played at State as a Freshman before going to JUCO last year. Farquhar is a super senior who hit .375 with eight runs, four doubles, and seven RBIs.
OUTFIELD.
Well, the only sure thing in the outfield this year is at CF where SR Kason Howell returns to start. Howell was the only player on the team to play in all 52 games last season. In those games, he went .260 with 8 homers and 30 RBIs. The rest of the outfield is up for grabs. Bryson Ware, Brayton Brown, Bobby Peirce should all compete for the last 2 spots.
DH
SO Cam Hill should return for the DH spot this year. He started 30 games at the spot last year and had a solid year hitting .270 (30-for-111) with 19 runs, six doubles, one triple, five home runs, and 22 RBI’s.
PREDICTION
I feel our hitting production will be really good with the transfers we brought in + Moore returning. Foster is a question mark but I have faith he can put up the numbers that his teammates will. But As I mentioned Pitching will determine how far this team goes. And I do think the pitching goes to the next level. Really excited to see Tommy Sheehan join our rotation and with him, Mullins, and Barnett we can have a really good weekend rotation.
I think this team shocks some people and makes regionals. I think the top half of the SEC is in reach.
Here's my guess at the rotation and starters.
ROTATION
1. Mason Barnett
2. Hayden Mullins
3. Tommy Sheehan
4. Carson Skipper
5. Joesph Gonzalez
Starting 9
C: Ryan Dyal
1B: Sonny DiChiara
2B: Cole Foster
SS: Brody Moore
3B: Blake Rambusch
LF: Bobby Peirce
CF: Kason Howell
RF: Bryson Ware
DH: Cam Hill
The 2021 season was very disappointing for Auburn as the team came in with high hopes to make a run in the NCAAT. D1Baseball ranked Auburn at #23 in their preseason rankings but the team never played like it. One of the storylines you might have caught was Auburn losing 10 games by a single run. Something that can't happen again in 2022. The team was knocked out in the 1st round of the SECT by Ole Miss and didn't qualify for the NCAAT.
Coming into 2022 the Tigers have pretty low expectations for the season. D1 Baseball has Auburn finishing 6th in the west (ahead of Alabama) and missing the NCAAT. The reason for the doubts? Pitching.
STARTING PITCHING
The biggest question mark for the Tigers is how our arms will perform. JR Mason Barnet will be key if the tigers are to have success on the mound. The Right Hander in his sixteen appearances (6 of which were starts) went 2-4 with a 5.40 ERA. But in the Cape Cod League this summer Mason showed Improvement throwing in the upper 90s with his fastball. Though he went 1-1 with a 4.95 ERA. He has tons of potential though which is why D1 baseball lists him as the 23rd highest prospect for the 2022 Draft in the SEC.
The other pitcher that will be key will be JR Hayden Mullins. The LHP hasn't made a start yet at Auburn but should be making his first start his year. In his seven relief appearances last year 2-0 with a 2.30 ERA. He got hurt in mid-April and didn't play the rest of the year. But if he showed the potential he flashed in High School he could become a key starter for the Tigers.
A quick note on other guys to keep an eye out for in the rotation that are already on the roster.
SR Carson Skipper, JR Trace Bright and SO Joesph Gonzalez. If any of these guys don't make the rotation look for them to be key pieces in the bullpen.
Auburn did bring in 3 transfers to the staff. JUCO Transfers Jordan Armstrong and Konnor Copeland were brought in and could make some noise. But the Big transfer I want to focus on is Super Senior Tommy Sheehan. He transferred in from Notre Dame where he was a 4-year starter and in 2020 he was the Friday Night guy before COVID cut the season short. He started in 4 games. Had 22 Strikeouts while going 3-0 with a 2.70 ERA. He got hurt after two starts in 2021 and had to have Tommy John surgery.
BULLPEN
JR Blake Burkhalter had a solid 2021 where he had a 1.71 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 21 innings. If he can keep those numbers up he should be our best bullpen guy on the season. Really interested to see how Butch uses him this year. SO Carson Swilling had the most relief appearances on the team in 2021 with 21. In those 21 appearances, he had a 3.34 ERA. His continued development will be key over the 2022 season.
A few Freshmen should get some playing time with Chase Allsup, Ben Bosse, and Parker Carlson. Also worth noting we brought in Samford Transfer JR Chase Isbell. He was Samford's Closer last year and was impressive with a 2.32 ERA and 7 saves which were T-2 in SoCon last year. He had Tommy John surgery so I don't think he will be around at the start of the season but could become a key closer when he joins the team.
CATCHER:
Auburn returns SO Ryan Dyal and JR Nate LaRue behind the plate for 2022. The two will share duties this year and it will be interesting to see what Butch does here. Dyal has 22 starts in 2021 in which he hit .200 with 7 RBIs. He threw out 2 guys stealing last year. LaRue made 10 starts hitting for .219 with 5 RBIs. Worth noting LaRue will also pitch some.
INFIELD:
SS Ryan Bliss is sadly gone as he was drafted by the D-Backs in the 2nd round. Replacing him at short will be last year's 2B Brody Moore. Moore is a really good defender and should be a good replacement for Bliss. In his 49 starts last year he hit 2.92 with 25 runs, 11 doubles, two homers, and 32 RBIs.
If a returning player is to replace Moore at 2nd should be SO Cole Foster. Foster played in 15 games last year hitting .292 with five runs, three doubles, and an RBI. Samford transfer Super Senior Brooks Carlson should give Moore a competition. Carlson hit .301 with 13 doubles, six homers, and 37 RBIs in 2021.
At 1st is In my opinion the best hitter on the team. Another Samford transfer SR Sonny DiChiara. DiChiara was 2nd team all SoCon due to him leading the league with 18 homers. He hit .273 with nine doubles and 46 RBIs. If that can transfer over to SEC Pitching Auburn will be looking good for 2022. Last but not least at 3rd is JUCO Transfer Blake Rambusch. Rambusch Led the team and ranked 11th in NJCAA with a .444 average. He also led the team in runs (60), hits (71), doubles (16), RBIs (40), and stolen bases (33).
Some depth names to note are Garrett Farquhar and Mississippi State transfer Mason Land. Land played at State as a Freshman before going to JUCO last year. Farquhar is a super senior who hit .375 with eight runs, four doubles, and seven RBIs.
OUTFIELD.
Well, the only sure thing in the outfield this year is at CF where SR Kason Howell returns to start. Howell was the only player on the team to play in all 52 games last season. In those games, he went .260 with 8 homers and 30 RBIs. The rest of the outfield is up for grabs. Bryson Ware, Brayton Brown, Bobby Peirce should all compete for the last 2 spots.
DH
SO Cam Hill should return for the DH spot this year. He started 30 games at the spot last year and had a solid year hitting .270 (30-for-111) with 19 runs, six doubles, one triple, five home runs, and 22 RBI’s.
PREDICTION
I feel our hitting production will be really good with the transfers we brought in + Moore returning. Foster is a question mark but I have faith he can put up the numbers that his teammates will. But As I mentioned Pitching will determine how far this team goes. And I do think the pitching goes to the next level. Really excited to see Tommy Sheehan join our rotation and with him, Mullins, and Barnett we can have a really good weekend rotation.
I think this team shocks some people and makes regionals. I think the top half of the SEC is in reach.
Here's my guess at the rotation and starters.
ROTATION
1. Mason Barnett
2. Hayden Mullins
3. Tommy Sheehan
4. Carson Skipper
5. Joesph Gonzalez
Starting 9
C: Ryan Dyal
1B: Sonny DiChiara
2B: Cole Foster
SS: Brody Moore
3B: Blake Rambusch
LF: Bobby Peirce
CF: Kason Howell
RF: Bryson Ware
DH: Cam Hill
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