There are three phases to baseball: pitching, hitting and defense. Being good at two can win you some games, but not a championship.
From talking to the Arkansas coaching staff, it could be that the Razorbacks are good everywhere, especially the defense.
The crucial part of defense is the middle — catcher, second base, shortstop and center field. Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn expects strength at all four positions.
Most of it was expected, but no one thought Casey Opitz would be back for another year at catcher. He was expected to go high in the draft before MLB capped it at just five rounds last year.
So Opitz is back for a second junior season, thanks to the NCAA decision not to count last season because the covid-19 outbreak cut the season short. The Hogs played only 16 games.
“He’s a household name in Arkansas baseball now,” said Nate Thompson, Arkansas’ fourth-year hitting coach. “He’s our team leader, a veteran. He has savvy, experience and is ready to have a great year.
“I was heartbroken for him. He should have been drafted in a normal year. He has always been a great defender, but he had developed into a real offensive threat. I think scouts just didn’t see a big enough sample size last year on his offense, but we knew what he was about to do as far as power, average and everything with his offense.”
Opitz would be valuable if he didn’t hit. Pitching coach Matt Hobbs calls him “a once in a lifetime catcher. I’ve never seen one better. I count my lucky stars he’s back. I hugged him when we broke up last season when they stopped the season. I told him, ‘If this is it, then it’s been a wonderful run.’”
Hobbs lets Opitz call pitches even though the SEC allows catchers to wear an earpiece to get calls from the bench during conference games. It’s rarely used by Hobbs, and pitchers trust every call.
“They don’t shake him off once in a game,” Hobbs said. “Our guys don’t hesitate.
“Of course, we prepare for each hitter. He knows how we want to pitch everybody. We do have conversations during the game, but most are me telling him he was correct. He’s on a different level with other catchers I’ve had in his ability to read hitters and adjust.
“Casey is just incredibly impressive. If everyone in our world had his attitude, we’d be living in a great place. He is infinitely positive.
“I know I’m biased. There are some great catchers in college baseball this year, but our guy might be the best.”
Van Horn said Opitz is a “dream” to coach.
“He’s got it all: work ethic, verbal leadership skills and the ability to play the game,” Van Horn said. “His teammates love him.”
Van Horn coaches the middle infield, where he played. He is excited about the double play combination between shortstop Jalen Battles and second baseman Robert Moore.
Battles (6-2, 205 pounds) is a sophomore transfer from McClellan (Texas) Community College, where Van Horn played before transferring to Arkansas in the early 1980s. Battles has all the tools, including an explosive arm and great range.
Moore played a superb second base last year as a 17-year-old early enrollee. His ability to turn the double play was the deciding factor in not making the move to shortstop.
“Really, we’ve got three great shortstops,” Van Horn said. “Jacob Nesbit at third could play short. Battles could play second. But our best middle infield combination is Battles at short and Moore at second.
“Battles is an outstanding shortstop, but so is Moore. I just felt like Robert turned the double play so well that it was tough to move him. I also think second might be his position as a pro.
“I know Robert would love to play short, but he knows he makes our team better at second. We can flip him to short if it’s needed. Versatility is important with covid.
“We could end up with a middle infielder at first base, so we’d have a really good defense all the way around the horn. We’ve got depth with other guys able to play multiple spots in the infield, too.”
Battles played for Thompson’s older brother, Mitch, at McClennan. He’s as good or better than a glowing scouting report.
“He’s a really nice prospect,” Nate Thompson said. “I’m fired up. He’s got a pro body and does everything well.
“The glove is really good. He’s got a strong arm, but doesn’t always show it. He blazes it when it’s needed. He really knows how to defend.
“Offensively, his bat is loud. He can hit for solid average and has some sock. I wouldn’t call him a true power hitter, but he’s got that. Scouts are fired up about him. He looks like a pro.”
No question, center fielder Christian Franklin looks like a pro. He could be a first-round pick. He’s got all the tools.
“Defensively, oh man, can Christian go get it in the alley,” Thompson said. “He takes pride in his defense.”
Franklin played left field as a freshman, then slid over to center last year after Dominic Fletcher signed a pro contract following three years of exceptional play in center field.
“Fletcher was as good in center as I’ve seen in college baseball,” Thompson said. “But I can honestly say we don’t have any drop with Christian. We are still going to have an elite center fielder.
“Dom could turn his hips and track one in the deep alley like it was nothing. You wondered when he was gone if you would say, ‘Oh, Dom would have gotten that one.’ But that doesn’t happen with Christian and he makes it look easy. Dom was amazing, but so is Christian.”
Braydon Webb is expected to man left field for the second straight season, but he’s got experience in center, too.
“When he was at Grayson (College in Texas), they played him everywhere,” Thompson said. “Every time they had a hole, he filled it. He was there three years because of an injury and he was at shortstop, third and at center field.
“So, Braydon is versatile. He has focused on outfield since he’s been here and he’s really come on with ability to track and make plays. He’s a hard worker and turned himself into a nice outfielder.”
There are lots of options in right field and first base. True freshman Cayden Wallace from Greenbrier will get a chance somewhere. He was a top prospect who might have gone in the draft in other years.
“There were some highly touted guys who made it to school because of the short draft,” Thompson said. “That’s Cayden and he hasn’t disappointed.
“Most freshmen have a level of adjustment to the speed of pitching at this level and Cayden already went through that. The strength in his bat is real and he’s got a great head.
“We thought he would be able to step onto the field as a freshman because of his ability to hit. He’s a good athlete and can play in the outfield or on the infield.”
Matt Goodheart, a fourth-year junior, could play first base or fill the designated hitter spot. Shoulder surgery in the summer of 2019 limits his ability to throw, although he’s improved.
“His arm is better,” Thompson said. “He’s still working on it. But he’s just a natural hitter. That hasn’t changed.
“You watch him in the box, there are all these gyrations. It’s peculiar, but he’s baseball smart and he knows what he’s doing. He knows his approach.
“He’s always going to hit and be on base. He can hit one or as deep as four.”
Goodheart keeps his bat in the strike zone as long as anyone on the team.
“He does have a lot of zone in his swing,” Thompson said. “Because of that, there is a lot of room for error.”
East Tennessee State transfer Cullen Smith is another versatile infielder. He sat out last year.
“Cullen led our team in hitting in the fall,” Van Horn said. “He can play first, second or third. He gives us good options and hits lefty.”
Zack Gregory also provides versatility. He hits from the left side, too, and can play outfield or infield.
“He continues to refine his stroke,” Thompson said. “He’s got a good eye and is a good on-base threat. I think he’s ready to give more than that now.”
The Hogs have options with Brady Slavens, too. The Olathe, Kan., product played one year at Wichita State after graduating from Northwest High early. He transferred to Johnson County Community College in the Kansas City area after a coaching change. He was the national junior college player of the year in 2020 when he hit 14 home runs and had 47 RBI in an abbreviated season.
“He’s got real power,” Thompson said. “He could make a real exciting impact and can play a lot of different positions. He’s another lefty and that gives us nice balance to platoon.”
True freshman outfielder Zac White has flashed exciting talent. White is the younger brother of Arkansas football receiver John David White and the son of former Razorback All-America golfer David White.
“He’s shown an ability to compete right from the start,” Thompson said. “He’s got a great future and is a quick twitch athlete.”
There is solid depth at catcher with Cason Tollett, transfer Charlie Welch and early enrollee Dylan Leach.
“When we found out Casey was coming back, I called Dylan,” Thompson said. “I wanted to make sure he still wanted to come early.
“He told me that he likes challenges and that he’d learn from Casey. He wanted to learn from the best.”
Arkansas has plenty of options to start games on the mound. Bullpen depth will be assessed when the weekend rotation is set.
“But really, there are a lot of options,” Van Horn said. “As far as closers, Zebulon Vermillion wants a chance to start and if it looks like he has stamina for five innings, he will start.
“But he could go to the back end. He’s done that for us.
“Elijah Trest is throwing 95 to 97 now for strikes. He was tough to score on in the fall. His breaking ball has more depth.”
Others considered for back-end bullpen roles are Zack Morris, Jaxon Wiggins, Nate Wohlgemuth and JUCO transfer Ryan Costeiu.
“Costeiu is filthy (at 95 mph),” Van Horn said. “If he’s throwing strikes, it’s nasty.”
There are almost two dozen pitchers on the roster, something that might be valuable in a year of uncertainty because of covid.
“You always want pitching depth,” Van Horn said. “This year, more so. Who knows who you have at game time.
“I’m just so thankful we are getting to play. We all want to get back to normal, but this is a year where having guys who can play multiple positions and get the job done is important. We have versatility.”
The pitching staff is versatile and diverse in styles.
“We really are,” Hobbs said. “We have guys who throw hard and they do it different ways. We have exciting arms. You have someone like Trest who throws in the three-quarter slot at 94 to 97. Then, you have Peyton Pallette who touches 98 with a higher slot.
“Then, there is someone like Jaxon Wiggins who doesn’t look like he’s throwing hard, but it’s 94 to 96. He goes out there for his first outing and it just looks like he’s playing catch. I thought, ‘Man, I hope he’s OK.’ It’s 96.
“We have a lot of guys, but we may need all of them. With covid, you better be ready to flip the rotation on a dime.”
Thompson thinks there is versatility to do that everywhere.
“We do have more depth,” Thompson said. “It’s probably like that everywhere because of the short draft and the ability to bring back older players for another year.”
That pitching depth and velocity helped the hitters in the fall.
“I’m not sure many programs can run out the number of high velocity pitchers that we have on our roster right now,” Thompson said. “We saw big-time velocity in the fall. We were into our second scrimmage and I told our guys, ‘You better adjust to this speed and get on top of these pitches.’ It was a real challenge but it helped us.”
The Hogs lost their big bopper from last year, first-round draft pick Heston Kjerstad. But there is still power.
“I’m not saying we will hit more home runs than the last few years,” Thompson said. “But we’ve always hit home runs. I remember when we lost Chad Spanberger, people asked me at my introduction press conference if our power numbers would drop but we hit 16 more (home runs) the next year.
“This team still has juice. We will hit home runs. We did in the fall.”
It all sounds good, but Van Horn knows the SEC is loaded. Florida and Vanderbilt are preseason favorites to win a national championship, and LSU, Ole Miss and Mississippi State have talented teams along with Arkansas in the SEC West.
“I think you will see older, experienced and talented teams everywhere because of the shortened draft,” Van Horn said. “There are a lot of teams who returned everybody.
“You look around the league, it’s pretty amazing. High school guys didn’t sign. JC guys didn’t sign. Teams are old and they will be fearless and hungry.
“College baseball will have a lot of parity this year. It will come down to who stays healthy and is smart off the field.”
This story originally appeared in the 2021 Hawgs Illustrated baseball preview