Vanderbilt head baseball coach Tim Corbin has released his Opening Day starting lineup for the 2009 season, according to VandySports.com. Now, The Vanderbilt Hustler examines the lineup and depth chart behind the starters at every position as the Commodores prepare to open the season at Stanford today.
Infield
Catcher- Andrew Giobbi will be calling the signals behind the plate as the Commodores' starting catcher on Opening Day. At 6-feet-3-inches and 205 pounds, he batted .332 with 42 runs batted in as a sophomore while also leading the team in doubles with 22. He may also see playing time at first base at some point during the season.
First Base- Primarily a catcher, sophomore Curt Casali will begin the season as the starter at first base. At 6-feet-3-inches and 220 pounds, the right-hander batted .317 with 13 RBI in limited duty as a freshman. A native of New Canaan, Conn., Casali was an All-American in baseball and an All-State quarterback on the gridiron in high school. He will possibly spell Giobbi at catcher at times throughout the season.
Second Base- Riley Reynolds, a 6-foot-1-inch, 185-pound freshman, will be the Opening Day starter at second base. He will replace departed starter Alex Feinberg, who was drafted over the summer by the Colorado Rockies. Reynolds was a three-sports star at Blue Springs South High School in Missouri, where he lettered four times each in soccer, basketball and baseball.
Shortstop- Junior Brian Harris will step into the big shoes at shortstop of Ryan Flaherty, who was a supplemental first-round pick in June's amateur draft. Last season, he hit .268 in relief of several injured starters throughout the season. He also drove in 23 runs and scored 17 of his own. A local product out of Montgomery Bell Academy, he will be joined on the roster by his younger brother Andrew.
Third Base- Third base, commonly known as "the hot corner," will be manned by freshman Jason Esposito. He has the unenviable task of replacing All-American Pedro Alvarez, who was the second overall pick in the draft. But at 6-feet-3-inches and 190 pounds, Esposito comes in highly touted in his own right. Named the Connecticut State Player of the Year and an All-American by multiple scouting services, he was a seventh-round pick by the Kansas City Royals over the summer before deciding to enroll at Vanderbilt instead.
Infield Reserves
The infield will also be the home to several utility players who could play multiple positions in back-up roles, including freshman Joe Loftus and Drew Fann, and sophomore Alex McClure. At 5-feet-11-inches and 185 pounds, Harris led MBA to state championships in both baseball and football during his career. Loftus, a 6-foot-4-inch, 195-pounder from Savage, Minn., broke current Minnesota Twin Joe Mauer's state record for career home runs. He was drafted by the Twins in the 29th round in June. Fann will back up the catcher position after redshirting in his first season. McClure is a transfer from Walters State Community College who prepped at Rossview High School in Clarksville. The younger Harris will take a medical redshirt year in order to heal an existing injury and keep the team's scholarship numbers within NCAA regulations.
Outfield
Left Field- Manning left field will be the Commodores' most experienced position player in senior Jonathan White. The 6-foot-2-inch, 195-pound lefthander from Shelbyville, Tenn., is one of the quicker players on the team, and batted .286 with 12 RBI and 21 runs scored last season. As a sophomore, he was drafted in the 24th round by the Milwaukee Brewers, but elected to instead return to Nashville to continue his career as a Commodore.
Center Field- Redshirt sophomore Alex Hilliard will start the season in center field for the Commodores. While he has seen limited playing time in his career at Vanderbilt, he excelled in the New England Collegiate Baseball League over the summer, flashing the potential to be a solid player in the Black and Gold. A high school All-American coming out of Lafayette High School in Louisiana, he is a very good fielder and a legitimate threat to steal any time he gets on base.
Right Field- Sophomore Steven Liddle will be the Opening Day starter at right field after hitting .310 with 28 RBI and 28 runs scored during a freshman campaign in which he registered 39 starts. A 6-foot-1-inch, 200-pound lefthander, the Franklin native recorded a base hit in every game of the 2008 SEC tournament. A very solid fielder, he did not commit a single error in 166 chances while playing summer ball after his first season with the Commodores and could also potentially play some first base.
Outfield Reserves
The key reserves in the outfield will be freshman Matt Marquis and sophomores Joey Manning and Jordan Wormsley. Marquis was an All-American coming out of Immaculata High School in New Jersey and was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 28th round last summer. A massive player at 6-feet-5-inches and 235 pounds, Manning batted .286 last season and was drafted in the 47th round coming out of Bartow High School in Florida by the Philadelphia Phillies. Wormsley batted .538 in limited plate appearances last season and was perfect in the field during the New York Collegiate Baseball League over the summer.
Designated Hitter
To open the season, redshirt freshman Aaron Westlake will get the first crack at being the team's designated hitter. He hit .241 in 29 at-bats last season before missing the last two months of the season with an injury, which allowed him to redshirt. He can also possibly play first base and catcher if called upon in the field.
Pitchers
Starters- Junior Mike Minor, a lefty, will be the Commodores' front-line pitcher to open the season after posting a 7-3 record with a 4.26 earned run average as a starter last season. He was also the star pitcher for a USA National Team squad over the summer that went 24-0 against international competition. In his first season, he was named a Freshman All-American and the SEC Freshman of the Year after going 9-1 with a 3.01 ERA in 19 appearances. In his career, he has thrown 189 strikeouts compared to only 47 walks.
The second starter will be 6-foot-3-inch sophomore Caleb Cotham. He went 7-6 with a 4.50 ERA as a freshman, throwing 90 strikeouts. Over the summer, he went 5-1 with a 2.54 ERA in the ultra-competitive Cape Cod League. A local player out of Mt. Juliet High School, he was an all-state performer who also lettered in basketball.
Rounding out the rotation will be 6-foot, 185-pound senior Nick Christiani. After going 6-3 as a junior, he was drafted in the 32nd round by the Cleveland Indians and turned them down to return for his final season as a Commodore. A versatile pitcher, he has extensive experience as both a starter and a reliever, which will make him all the more useful to this team.
Pitching Reserves
The Bullpen- The reserve pitchers include freshmen Jack Armstrong, Ben Blanton, Will Clinard, Grayson Garvin, Sonny Gray, Navery Moore, and Corey Williams; sophomores Sean Bierman, Russell Brewer, Richie Goodenow, Taylor Hill, Mark Lamm, Chase Reid, and Kellen St. Luce; and junior Drew Hayes. Notable among these players are Armstrong, who stands 6-feet-7-inches, and Gray, who would have been drafted in the first few rounds had he not made his intentions clear that he was planning to attend Vanderbilt regardless of his draft position. He has been compared to a young David Price, who was drafted as the No. 1 overall pick by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2007 draft.
