Feb. 11, 2015
For the first time in history a Vanderbilt men’s team opens the season as the reigning national champion and preseason No. 1. The Commodores bring the core of last year’s national title team back to Hawkins Field this season led by preseason All-Americans Walker Buehler, Carson Fulmer, Dansby Swanson and Bryan Reynolds.
Vanderbilt returns 16 lettermen from a year ago with five starting position players and two of the team’s three weekend starting pitchers back. The team leaders in runs, hits, RBI, home runs and stolen bases all return to the lineup while the pitching staff features three starters that combined for 270.1 innings and 271 strikeouts a year ago.
For the third time in four years, Vanderbilt enters the season after a 50-plus win season which means the junior class has over 100 wins in their first two seasons on West End.
“The junior class, in my opinion, is a very, very mature group and they’ve handled it well,” head coach Tim Corbin told d1baseball.com prior to the season. “Honestly, they haven’t really even broached the subject too much. The experiences that occurred last year were last year, and now we’re entering a new season.”
The Commodores open the season against Santa Clara at home as part of a 35-game home schedule that will see six teams from the 2014 NCAA Tournament visit Hawkins Field, including College World Series team Ole Miss. Eight teams from the preseason Top 25 dot the Vandy schedule.
PITCHING
Since Coach Corbin’s arrival in 2003, the Vanderbilt pitching staff has been a strength of the team with at least one first round pick in every starting rotation since 2003. Led by preseason All-Americans Walker Buehler and Carson Fulmer the 2015 Vandy staff could be the most talented and deepest in the school’s history.
Pitching coach Scott Brown’s staff set the school record for strikeouts in a single season in 2014 with 636 strikeouts to surpass the star-studded staff of 2007 that featured first round picks David Price and Casey Weathers. Along with Fulmer and Buehler, the 2015 staff returns Tyler Ferguson, who figures to slot into the weekend rotation for the second straight year, to assemble a starting rotation that made 41 starts last season with 27 wins and 271 strikeouts.
Vanderbilt’s 2014 season turned when Fulmer entered the starting rotation midway through conference play. The right-hander went undefeated in his 10 starts going 7-0 while the Dores won nine of the 10, including all three in the College World Series. Fulmer also led the Commodores with 10 saves in 2014, the third-most in school history.
Buehler dominated in the midweek starter role in 2014, leading the team in wins with 12. The right-hander turned in two complete games and three games of 10 strikeouts. His complete game victory against Oregon helped the Dores into the Super Regionals.
After stellar sophomore seasons, both Buehler and Fulmer backed up their seasons with stellar summers. Buehler starred in the Cape Cod League going 2-0 in two starts while earning co-MVP honors in the league finals for Yarmouth-Dennis. The Lexington, Ky. native also made one appearance for Team USA as one of four Commodores on the squad, pitching 6.1 innings against Cuba. Following his performance on the Cape, Buehler was tabbed as the top prospect in the Cape Cod League.
Fulmer’s summer followed the same plan as his collegiate summer with the right-hander allowing only two earned runs over 24.2 innings while going 3-1 in five outings. He was named the second-best prospect on USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team.
Ferguson held down the team’s Sunday role during the season going 8-4. The big right-hander finished off series victories against Kentucky, Georgia and Florida with wins.
Junior Philip Pfeifer returns to the team after missing the 2014 season and along with fellow lefty John Kilichowski gives the Commodores a pair of starting options from the left side. Pfiefer started 12 games in 2013 going 4-0 with a 3.68 ERA for a team that won 54 games and advanced to the Super Regionals after Pfeifer pitched the Commodores past Georgia Tech in the Regional championship game.
“We are very fortunate to bring back four guys who have started-60 plus games for us in the last two years,” Corbin says. “Their experiences in the SEC and postseason should prove to be very valuable moving into this season. Walker Buehler, Tyler Ferguson, Carson Fulmer and Philip Pfeifer are all very talented and bring a different skill set to the mound with them. Their confidence, maturity and background will be seen physically but will also help in the development of the others around them.”
Kilichowski turned in a solid freshman campaign last season, pitching in 13 games and covering 23 innings. The Tampa, Fla. native came up big in a tight spot against Virginia in the championship series in the College World Series last June, stranding the tying run at third in the eighth inning of Vanderbilt’s 9-8 Game 1 win.
“John Kilichowski also adds a great deal of talent to this group. He will play a very important role for us this year. At some point, freshman Kyle Wright will be introduced in this role as well.”
Talented two-way freshman Kyle Wright could earn the opportunity to start in his first season on West End and will likely contribute to the pitching staff and with the bat.
In the bullpen the Dores must replace fourth round pick Adam Ravenelle and Vandy all-time saves leader Brian Miller but the team returns three key parts to last season’s pen led by sophomore Hayden Stone.
Stone literally blew away the competition as a freshman, racking up 80 strikeouts in 58 innings to garner Freshman All-American honors. Lefty Ben Bowden figures to step into a larger role as a sophomore and could be the team’s top lefty out of the bullpen along with either Pfeifer or Kilichowski.
“Although we have five-plus guys who are capable of filling starting roles, one or two of them will have to fall back and give us some help in the bullpen… this will certainly help our depth in this area. Hayden Stone found himself in the middle of many games last year and will certainly be a key part of the bullpen along with Ben Bowden. After those two, we then will be introducing some new faces into the fold.”
Highly regarded right-hander Jordan Sheffield missed his freshman season recovering from elbow surgery but is back to full health and will likely be an important part of the bullpen.
“Jordan Sheffield is a talented young man that has been waiting to get on the mound… he will have a role this year. Joey Abraham, Ryan Johnson, Matt Ruppenthal, Collin Snider and Brendan Spagnuolo will all challenge for innings in this area.”
The freshman class features seven pitchers with all seven having an opportunity to contribute this season.
CATCHING
The Commodores are in a much better spot behind the plate to begin the 2015 season with sophomores Jason Delay and Karl Ellison returning. The duo combined to start 58 of the team’s 72 games last year.
“We were very fortunate to have two freshmen that were as advanced as Delay and Ellison were last year. They compliment each other in many ways… they are supportive of one another, they both share a passion for the position, they are upper level receivers, they block well, they both throw well, but most importantly, the pitching staff has a great deal of confidence in them. Now that Chris Harvey is gone, the catching repetitions will fall into their hands. We will see continued growth defensively, but where you might see the biggest jump from both of them is on the offensive side of the ball.”
Both Delay and Ellison struggled at times at the plate as freshmen but bring an improved bat to the 2015 season. Delay hit .246 as a true freshman while Ellison struggled down the stretch to end the season with a .192 average.
Joining Delay and Ellison behind the dish is true freshman and Nashville native Tristan Chari.
“Tristan Chari did a very nice job for us in the Dominican and has certainly grabbed the confidence of the older kids on the staff.”
INFIELD
The Vanderbilt infield should be a strength of the team in 2015 led by All-American Dansby Swanson and Zander Wiel. The duo combined to start 138 games and smash eight of the team’s 22 home runs.
Swanson posted an amazing sophomore season, leading the nation and matching the school record with 27 doubles in 2014. The Marietta, Ga. native played an elite second base last season but will shift back to his natural position at shortstop in 2015 as a junior. Swanson was penciled in as the shortstop as a freshman before injuries derailed his season.
“What makes Dansby so valuable defensively is his athleticism and consistency,” Corbin says. “If he can get his glove on the ball, he will most likely finish the play. He makes the routine play, but his ability to cover space and improvise with his body allows him to make routine and extra-effort plays.”
Swanson earned the Most Outstanding Player award at the College World Series after hitting .323 with three doubles and four stolen bases in Omaha. He followed that up with an outstanding summer with Team USA before an illness cut his summer short in Cuba. He was still named the top position prospect on the team by multiple outlets.
Wiel returns at first base in his fourth season in the program. The slugger from Murfreesboro, Tenn. led the Dores with five home runs a year ago while driving in 44 runs from the middle of the VU lineup.
The Commodores will break in two new starters in the infield with the departure of Vince Conde and Xavier Turner slated to miss the season. At second base, Tyler Campbell looks to take over for Swanson. Campbell stepped up in a major way for the Dores at the College World Series last summer, starting the final five games in Omaha at third base. Nolan Rogers started three games there as a freshman last season and Ro Coleman has moved to the position full time.
“We bring back four players who either started or had key defensive roles for us last year,” Corbin says. “Swanson will make the transition from second to shortstop where he was slated to play as a freshman. Tyler Campbell, Nolan Rogers and Ro Coleman have all played second base at one time or another. Tyler has very good defensive skills, it would be hard not to see him play either second or third while backing up Dansby at short. Someone who has yet to play will probably man third base, we really liked Will Toffey’s progress in the fall.”
Third base remains a question mark but the emergence of Toffey over the fall has the freshman from Barnstable, Mass. in the driver’s seat. He was named the top prospect in the Futures League before ever stepping foot on campus and flashed power on the team’s trip to the Dominican Republic with a home run in the team’s first game of the trip.
Fellow true freshmen infielders Liam Sabino and Joey Mundy could work their way into roles this season. Sabino brings a solid glove to the team and the versatility to play multiple positions on the infield. Mundy’s left-handed bat showed flashes of promise during the fall. Two-way freshman Kyle Wright could also see time in the infield at the corner spots as well.
After sitting during their freshmen seasons Tyler Green, Aubrey McCarty and Penn Murfree are all prepared to contribute this season. Green has improved vastly at the plate and in the field where he can play the corner positions in both the infield and outfield. McCarty came to Vanderbilt as a switch hitter and switch pitcher but has adjusted his focus as just a switch hitting first baseman. Murfee’s athleticism gives him a chance to play at third or somewhere in the outfield this season.
OUTFIELD
The Vandy outfield brings back three players that saw significant time in the lineup for the Dores with All-American Bryan Reynolds, Rhett Wiseman and Nolan Rogers combining to start 140 games in the outfield a year ago.
“I like our pieces in the outfield because they are all interchangeable,” Corbin says. Anyone of them could play any three positions. Reynolds, Rogers and Wiseman move well, get quality jumps, can throw accurately and have all had experience playing.”
Reynolds’ freshman season was one for the ages at Vanderbilt. The Brentwood, Tenn. native led the Commodores’ in hitting with a .338 average and RBI with 54 while setting a freshman record with 24 doubles. After not starting the season opener, Reynolds started the next 71 games playing all three outfield positions and starting nine games at first base. He played first base and in the outfield for Team USA over the summer as one of four Commodores on the squad.
Wiseman’s sophomore season did not start on time after the Mansfield, Mass. native injured his shoulder the week before the season. He was slowly worked back into the lineup as the designated hitter and did not start a game in the outfield until the middle of March. Wiseman still managed to hit .277 with 18 doubles and 37 runs scored despite the slow start. He helped the Commodores advance to the national title series with a diving catch in right-center field against Texas before scoring the winning run in the 10th inning.
Rogers was the Dores’ Opening Day starting center fielder as a true freshman last season and will be in the mix to do that again this spring. The scrappy Rogers played in 57 games and hit .203 with 20 runs scored as he bounced in and out of the lineup.
Junior Kyle Smith’s 2014 season did not go as planned after a solid freshman campaign the year before but the Old Hickory, Tenn. native bounced back with a solid summer in the Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League and will push for time in the outfield in either left or right field.
Freshmen Jeren Kendall and Drake Parker are both capable in center field and both have speed to burn. Kendall has shown top-end speed since his arrival on campus and Parker’s overall game has vastly improved over his last year on campus.
“Jeren Kendall and Drake Parker are both athletic enough to play defensively in the middle of the field. Kyle Smith has adapted very well to the corner positions and will challenge there as well.”
Tyler Green is another player that could muscle his way into the outfield conversation at the corners.
DESIGNATED HITTER
Coming into the season at-bats for the designated hitter are wide open. Any offensive player on the roster could be inserted into the DH spot in Corbin’s lineup on a daily basis.
Last season, eight different players received at-bats as the DH during the season with six of those players returning this year.
“I don’t think any one person will occupy the designated hitter role and that is a good thing,” Corbin says. “It will be dependent on the guy we face and how we want to play offense. There is a mix of four to five kids who hit on either side of the plate that could be utilized. I look at this spot as being a daily competition until there becomes some separation.”
Sophomore Ro Coleman tops the depth chart at designated hitter but five players fill out the list at that position. Junior Kyle Smith, sophomore Nolan Rogers, redshirt freshmen Tyler Green and Aubrey McCarty along with true freshman Joey Mundy will all be competing for at-bats as the Dores’ DH.