Van Horn PC

[ricepig]

http://www.arkansasrazorbacks.com/van-horn-we-scrimmaged-more-than-we-have-in-the-past/

[ucahogfan]

Thank you for posting the link rice.

From listing to the PC, it sounds like our opening day lineup will be:

C - Pennell/Gosser
1B - Eagan
2B - Nomura
3B - Shaddy
SS - Bernal
LF - Bonfield
CF - Benninghoff
RF - Spanberger
DH - Gassaway

Pitcher - Whoever is healthy between Teague, Taco, or McKinney, but it will probably be Jackson

As far as pitching, it sounds like DVH wants to keep Jackson in the pen because it gives him the weapon at the back end that basically takes the life out of an opponent.  If Taco, Teague, and McKinney are healthy and at full strength, I think we have three guys who can be excellent weekend starters.  If we have those three guys going 6-7 innings each every weekend, our pitching will be much better than last year.  It sounds like DVH really likes the Doug Wiley add from D-2 Franklin Pierce as a graduate transfer (which is the first one DVH has had at Arkansas) for his leadership with the young guys and his experience on the Cape.  Sophomore JUCO RHP Hunter Hart sounds like another solid option out of the pen.  Overall, it sounds like we are much deeper this year on the mound which is great to hear.

Offensively, I like the potential of this team.  The weak spot right now IMO is C, but DVH made it seem like Gosser has gotten a lot better while Pennell has improved as well.  Hopefully Spanberger and Bonfield have the sophomore leap like Benintendi did last year while Eagan goes off in his draft year.  Nomura and Bernal are primed for big senior years as well.  Gassaway could have a solid senior season as well.  Shaddy is coming of TJ, but he showed a lot of promise at the plate last year.  I really enjoyed hearing DVH talk about Benninghoff's makeup because it is exactly the way his scouting report presented him to be in a hard worker and just a great character guy to have around.

I'm really excited for this season and can see us going back to Omaha.  Although we lost some great players, we have a lot of guys back who played in big roles including IMO our top 4 pitchers from 2015 which is huge.

[bulldog04]

I thought it was interesting that Nomura said the Dodgers wanted him in the 20th round.  He told them not to take him and that he was going back to school.  I wondered why he wasn't drafted and now I know.

[SPAL]

C-span made a couple of nice plays in right, but he also misplayed some. That will be interesting to follow.

[A_R_K_A_N_S_A_S]

Overall, I'm liking what I'm hearing from coach.

Was hoping for a better report on Shaddy at 3b. Wouldn't be surprised to see Eagan at 3b and C-span or Gassaway at 1b, at least early in the season.

I thought Benninghof would be more of a lock in CF.

Good to hear that Bonfield has improved defensively.

Surprised that Simms' name was not mentioned. 

Sounds like there will be just as much or even more competition across the board for playing time as there was last year.

I'm excited about this pitching staff. If we can get and stay healthy we could have one of the best pitching staffs in the SEC.

It's going to be a long winter wait.

[Kevin]

Surprised did not here about cantron. He seem to have a good series

[dotnet]

I was just able to listen to this...

I am SHOCKED that DVH wants to keep the power arm in the bullpen instead of trying to start him.

After the PC, I am really excited about this year.  DVH seemed much more confident than he did last year at this time.  Last year was a lot more "we'll see..." type of talk. 

Its weird to know what to expect in baseball because players improve so much every year, and it isn't always linear improvement. 

Pitching: Assuming the health is what DVH thinks it will be, the starters: Taco, Teague, and McKinney have a chance to be near the top of the conference.  Teague is the one who needs to make the biggest improvement to be more consistent to me.  Those three feel like the Astin, Beeks, Oliver rotation to me.  Astin and Taco both pound people with their two seemer (Astin more of a cutter while Taco has more sinking action).  Oliver and Teague both need to be consistent (each appearance and location) but both have a wipeout pitch and can be nasty when on.  Oliver improved a lot between his sophmore year and junior year, which is what Teague needs to do.  McKinney and Beeks both probably give me the most confidence with them on the mound.  Beeks curve = McKinney's change.   

Assuming the starters are as good as they seem - DVH seems to feel confident that there are enough bullpen guys to pitch the few innings needed between the starters and Jackson. 

Hitting - There is a nice combination of proven performance with good expectations for growth.  From what we saw last year when healthy, I think Spanberger, bonfield, Nomura, and Shaddy will be nicely improved as second year players.  Bernal will strike out way too much for me, but assuming he is at least as good as he was last year - that will be fine.  Hopefully Eagan steps up to hit like he did the first half of last year for the entire year.  There is a lot of potential with the freshmen... but who knows until you see it. 

It seems like a lineup, which is similar to last year towards the end of the year, where there is only one guy with real power but everyone else can get a double at any point.  And no one may hit off the charts but it'll be a different group of hitters every game who come through.  Hopefully not having AB will be offset with having a deeper pitching staff. 

[LAHOG1962]

I am very excited about this team. All the pieces are there for the hogs if we can stay healthy. There will be power scattered throughout the lineup.