Kentucky Baseball: Five questions the Wildcats face this season

The long offseason wait is nearly over for college baseball fans. In just a little over a month the Kentucky baseball team will open its season on the road against North Carolina.

New head coach Nick Mingione said this group of Wildcats grew more during fall practice than any other team he’s coached, which is a positive sign for a club that lost nearly all of its starting pitching from a season ago.

With that said, Cats Illustrated takes a look at five questions facing the 2017 Wildcats.

Starting pitching was perhaps Kentucky’s greatest strength in 2016, but it’s now the biggest question mark the Wildcats face in 2017. Zack Brown, Dustin Beggs and Kyle Cody -- Kentucky’s weekend rotation last season -- combined to pitch 266.1 innings. 56 more innings in the bullpen were lost to players that either graduated or left the program. In total, the Wildcats must replace over 300 innings of pitching.

Only one pitcher on the roster, junior lefthander Zach Logue, has made an SEC start. It’s not an ideal situation for pitching coach Jimmy Belanger to face, but Kentucky does have options.

Logue, Sean Hjelle and Justin Lewis will likely make up the weekend rotation. Logue started nine games last season while Hjelle and Lewis pitched exclusively from the bullpen. Hjelle finished 4-1, 3.74 and recorded eight saves in 21.2 innings of work. Lewis was also solid out of the bullpen as he allowed just seven earned runs in 30.1 innings.

Lefthaner Zack Thompson is projected to be Kentucky’s top freshman this season and could get a shot at cracking the weekend rotation. It’s likely Thompson will start several games early in the season. The Indiana native was drafted in the 11th round by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2016 MLB draft but chose to attend Kentucky.

A theme is emerging here; Kentucky doesn’t have proven pitching. Logan Salow and Zach Pop will be expected to produce out of the bullpen not only because they’re talented, but because most other guys haven’t seen much action. Salow is a senior and a strong candidate to close this season. Belanger said Salow’s fastball was sitting in the low 90s during the fall, which is a higher velocity than what we’ve seen from Salow during his career. Salow’s slider, which is around 85 mph, also improved during fall practice.

Pop is considered one of the top draft prospects available for the Wildcats. The Canadian can reach the upper 90s with his fastball but has to be consistent throwing strikes.

Kentucky brought in several freshman and junior college pitchers to compete for innings, but experience is going to be an issue. Josh Smith is a lefthander who the previous coaching staff was high on but he only appeared in four games last season. Brad Schaenzer is another lefthander that has been used sparingly in his career. Freshmen like Chris Machamer, Carson Coleman and Brett Marshall could be counted on to provide innings.

Shelby didn’t have the best junior season as he hit just .212, but he did supply some power in the lineup. He hit 12 home runs, 11 doubles and two triples last season. He moved from second base to third base last season because Kentucky didn’t have anyone else to fill the role.

Recruiting a solid third baseman proved to be a challenge for former head coach Gary Henderson, as Shelby played there last season and Thomas Bernal moved from first base to third base in 2015. Mingione will likely have to move a player from a different infield spot to third again this year. Riley Mahan, a shortstop, practiced at third in the fall along with Luke Becker and Tyler Marshall.

Mahan will certainly be in the lineup as he’s likely the best hitter in the order outside of Evan White, so it comes down to whether Kentucky’s coaches want to move him to second base, third base or keep him at shortstop. Expect Becker to start the season at third base if Mahan plays second base or shortstop. Becker hit .241 as a switch-hitter last season.

White has arguably been Kentucky’s best player the past two seasons. As a freshman, White was named to the SEC All Freshman Team and then carried that over into a stellar sophomore campaign, which ended with him being named second team All SEC. White batted .376/.419/.535 with five home runs. He led the team in average, hits (85) and runs batted in (40).

His offensive numbers are terrific, but it’s his defense that sets him apart. Mingione said White is the best defensive first baseman he’s ever coached. However White’s versatility and athleticism realistically could put him in the outfield. White played left field for Team USA over the summer and also spent time practicing in the outfield during fall workouts.

“Every pro scout has asked me, ‘hey, where are you going to play him?'” Mingione said in October. “I don’t know, if you draft him where are you going to play him?'”

The safe bet for now is White stays at first base, but it’s nice for Mingione that he has the flexibility to move White around if the lineup needs a boost.

No player on Kentucky’s roster is more intriguing as a draft prospect than sophomore center fielder Tristan Pompey. The younger brother of Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Dalton Pompey, Tristan is switch-hitting 6-foot-4, 205 pounds and has excellent speed. His defensive ability kept him in the lineup last year when he was slumping.

Pompey batted .233 as a freshman in 43 starts. He showed some pop at the plate, crushing seven home runs and eight doubles. He’s an ideal candidate to hit cleanup for the Wildcats this season, so more will be expected of Pompey in 2017. If he can deliver a solid season at the plate then the dynamic of Kentucky’s offense changes.