In just two days Liberty will open up its 2016 baseball schedule with a three game series against South Florida. With a substantial amount of turnover from last year’s squad, 2016 will usher in a new generation of players to the program. Here’s a quick guide to what you might see out there.
Position Players
Catcher: With the departure of Becker Sankey, the Flames will most likely be looking to Josh Latta or Payton Scarbrough, both of whom are transfers.
Andrew Yacyk
First Base: All signs point to Andrew Yacyk getting the nod at first base to start the year, but if the Flames struggle finding outfielders who can bat, look for Yacyk to move to the outfield and Taormina to cover the bag.
Second Base: Without shifting some pieces around, it looks like Josh Barrick is next in line for duties at second base after the departures of both Nick Salisbury and Jake Kimble. Transfers Eric Grabowski and Andrew Kawalo may see opportunities as well.
Dylan Allen
Third Base: Dylan Allen should be the guy at third after taking a medical redshirt that halted his 2015 campaign. Allen had a promising freshman year, batting .258 in 2014 and will be instrumental in providing the team with an additional veteran presence.
Shortstop: While college baseball is generally a high turnover affair from year to year, Dalton Britt has provided incredible consistency for the Flames as he looks to become a rare four-year starter. The steady shortstop will be the foundation of Liberty’s lineup after producing back to back seasons batting in the .290s.
Will Shepherd
liberty.edu
Outfield: Starting with the known, Will Shepherd is the only guy left form the ’15 crew that included Ashton Perritt and Nick Paxton. Shep was a huge key to the success of the team in 2014 as a freshman, but was on a bit slower pace last year. He is definitely a guy who possesses the ability to take his play to the next level with good power and speed. Coach Toman will need Shepherd to step up as a leader in the outfield for his junior campaign.
The rest of the outfield is anyone’s guess, with guys like Tray Roberts, Aaron Stroosma, and Josh Close sure to be in the mix after getting limited opportunities last year.
A promising class of freshman join the outfield as well, headlined by D.J. Artis who is already receiving praise from coach Toman. Look for Sam Urban and Jack Morris to possibly emerge from the class and end up with a starting role by mid-season as well.
Designated Hitter
Coach Toman is most likely to start out with Taormina handling most of the DH duties after he emerged at the plate near the end of last season. In a scenario where Liberty struggles to find two more outfielders to compliment Will Shepherd, look for Yacyk to move into the outfield, moving Taormina to first. In this scenario Nick Walker is the likely candidate to take over at DH in his senior season.
Pitchers
There is a good chance the weekend rotation won’t hash itself out until a few weeks into the season, but starting out, it seems likely that the three guys that have been in the weekend rotation in years past will get the first looks. Expect Victor Cole, Carson Herndon, and Parker Bean to get plenty of chances to start the year, but after Bean’s sophomore slump and Herndon’s Tommy John surgery, these guys may be relegated to supporting roles.
Juniors, Michael Stafford (LHP) and Caleb Evans (RHP) will be expected to step up after much of the bullpen has been depleted, they will likely be used as reserves, but might see some midweek starts. Coach Toman also mentioned the impressive play of freshman Jack DeGroat in his Coach’s Corner interview.
This pitching staff has the chance to be a huge strength for the Flames this year, but there is also plenty of risk that it could end up being the Flames’ biggest weakness. It’s tough to peg how guys like Carson Herndon and Parker Bean will perform this year, but much of Liberty’s success will likely hinge on whether they respond well to last season’s setbacks. We’ve seen Cole, Herndon, and Bean prove to be almost unhittable at points in the LU career, making for a potentially lethal rotation.
Overview
Coach Toman has been especially complimentary of this group and there is certainly potential for a solid run in the Big South and even into the NCAA tournament. With a new set of talent, its impossible to have a good idea of what the season will look like this early on, but there is plenty of promise on this squad. Make sure to tune in to ESPN3 on Friday to catch them in their first action of the year against USF.
