Preseason SEC Baseball

With the 2011 season starting in just a few days I would use this last preseason preview to explore the SEC. Like all other sports the SEC is very strong in baseball as well. The SEC includes four top 25 preseason teams according to Baseball America and the 2011 MLB draft looks like it will be full of first round picks from the SEC. As of right now in preseason mock drafts it looks to be six players from the SEC to go in the first round. The SEC also includes the 2010 and 2009 national champions, so SEC baseball has a deep history. So let’s get into breaking down the SEC one team at a time.

Alabama:

Alabama finished the 2010 season with a 42-25 record with appearances in the SEC tournament and NCAA tournament. They were beaten out by LSU in the SEC Championship game in extra innings. The Tide lost seven players in the draft last season and had to be replaced. The 2011 schedule looks to be a tough one for Alabama and have LSU on the schedule if the play continues from last year they should be one of the teams in the SEC tournament. Key players to watch out for are Taylor Dugas he is an outfielder with a .395 batting average and has the ability to bring in runs with 37 RBI. A Pitcher that should be watched is Nathan Kilcrease had an amazing 2010 season with an 8-3 record and a 2.85 ERA. Alabama is coached by Mitch Gaspard.

Arkansas:

Arkansas finished second in the western division in 2010 with a record of 43-21, as well as an appearance in the NCAA tournament. In 2011 they had to replace 12 spots on the team as they lost them last season. This team will be very inexperienced in all ways spots on the field and they lost their ace of the pitching staff, Drew Smyly who had a 9-1 record. Some returning players to look out for are Collin Kuhn who is an outfielder, with a .335 batting average with 16 home runs. Also returning is the closer of the pitching staff D.J. Baxendale who recorded 7 saves and put up a 3.58 ERA. The Razorbacks are coached by Dave Van Horn.

Auburn:

Auburn is the 2010 western division champs and they are looking to defend their title. Last season the Tigers also finished with a record of 43-21 and hosted a regional pod in the NCAA tournament where they were runner up. Auburn lost 11 players to the MLB draft last season, one of which was SEC Player of the Year, Hunter Morris. This team will be extremely young and will have to find talent to replace what they lost a year ago. One player who may be able to step up and feel the void could be Kevin Patterson with more at bats he could put offensive numbers equal to Morris. One pitcher to look out for in 2011 is Corey Luckie a left hander pitcher who had a decent season last year with a 6-4 record and a 5.91 ERA. Another possible pitcher to look out for is Jon Luke Jacobs now he did not have a good season last year but is hoping to bounce back and get back into his freshman form. The Tigers are coached by John Pawlowski.

Florida:

Florida is coming into the 2011 season ranked number one in the country according to the baseball America poll. Florida will be a strong match up because they are returning the bulk of their 2010 team that made it to Omaha to the College World Series. The Gators are also looking to defend their SEC regular season title. Last season they held a record of 47-17 and an amazing SEC record of 22-8. This Gator’s team only lost five year players that one of which might hurt them with the loss of the bat coming from the outfield. One key player to look out for is their first-baseman Preston Tucker who is a good defensive player who held a .311 batting average last season. Tucker is pegged according to mymlbdraft.com is said to be a first round draft pick and was estimated to be taken 33rd overall to the Texas Rangers but the most recent mock draft he has fail off the board but I see him returning. The Gators will be returning an amazing left hand pitcher in Alex Panteliodis and boasted an 11-3 record with an amazing 3.51 ERA. The Gators should be an amazing team this year and they are coached by Kevin O’Sullivan.

Georgia:

Georgia is coming off an extremely poor season in 2010 with a 16-37 record and finished last in the SEC east. Most people would think that as baseball rich as the state of Georgia is that they would be able to bring in some extreme talent but they are competing with other colleges as well as several high school players going to the MLB draft from the state of Georgia. Georiga did not lose any position players from last season team I would not be surprised for another poor season. The Bulldogs are coached by David Perno.

Kentucky:

Last season Kentucky as we know had a mediocre season at best with a 31-25 season barely finishing over .500. I feel that with the development of several of our pitchers that this season team will be a lot stronger. The Cats have brought in for a third season in a row has brought in a top 20 class and which added to the improvement with last year’s squad you should have an amazing pitching staff. They are returning two key hitters from last year team in Braden Kapteyn and Chad Wright who held the teams highest batting averages. But an important member of this year’s pitching staff is Alex Meyer. Meyer had appeared in 11 games and put up a 5-3 record. With the improvements that Meyer has made he is set to be a first rounder going to the Washington Nationals with the 23rd pick in the most recent mock draft. The Wildcats are coached by Gary Henderson.

LSU:

LSU was the 2009 national champions but did not carry that into the 2010 season, the record of 41-22 and a losing record of 14-16 in the SEC. The Tigers are set to have a better season this year and are ranked 22nd in the Baseball America top 25. LSU got an invite to the NCAA tournament losing in the UCLA regional pod. With this year’s class being added into the team they will be a team that has the talent to compete for the national champion again. The Tigers are returning two pitchers that put up a great 5-1 record, Daniel Bradshaw and Ben Alsup. LSU also have a first rounder in Mikie Mahtook who said to go to the Braves with the 28th pick. LSU is coached by Paul Maineri.

Ole Miss:

In 2010 Ole Miss put up a 39-24 and made an appearance in the 2010 NCAA National Championship in the Virginia regional. The Rebels did lose on key part of the pitching staff last year in Drew Pomeranz who boasted a 9-2 record with a 2.24 ERA, this was good enough for him to earn SEC Pitcher of the Year honors. Other than the loss of Pomeranz they did not lose much other than that. The heart of the offense will be Matt Smith and Matt Synder. If the returning starting pitchers can step up their game for 2011 they could have one of the better pitching staffs in the SEC west. The Rebels are coached by Mike Bianco.

Mississippi State:

Miss. St. did not have a great 2010 season had a below .500 year of 23-33. The Bulldogs have brought in the 18th ranked recruiting class hoping to improve their chances in the SEC west this year. With all the young guys on the roster there is hope for improvement. They do not play that tough of a schedule this season and have plenty of home games that will help them. The Bulldogs are coached by John Cohen.

South Carolina:

USC is the reigning national champs and put up a 54-16 recording bring the sc
hool its only NCAA championship. According to Baseball America poll the Gamecocks are ranked seventh in the nation and are one of three SEC team in the top 10. South Carolina is the most improved baseball program in the SEC over the past few year and it’s the only team to record a 40 win season every year since 2000, which has made it an elite programs. The Gamecocks success last season was in the arms of a returning sophomore class and should be good for years to come. A player to watch out for this season is Jackie Bradley Jr. last season he put up an amazing season in the outfield and had a great year with the bat as well to lead the team with a .368 batting average knocking in 13 home runs with 60 RBI. Bradley will have all eyes on him as he is pegged to a first rounder in the 2011 draft and going extremely early as the eighth overall pick to the Cleveland Indians. The Gamecocks are led by head coach Ray Tanner.

Tennessee:

The Tennessee Vols are not a strong baseball team in the SEC and finished with a 30-26 record. The vols lost several piece of their roster last year and have to add those back. They have had an amazing local recruiting class coming in this season and looks to improve on last year’s team. They have a lot to improve on with the bats as their best player Josh Liles only put up a .298 batting average. Tennessee is coached by Todd Raleigh.

Vanderbilt:

Vanderbilt to me looks to be one of the stronger teams in the SEC who put up a 46-20 season last year and made it to the Super-Regionals in at Florida State where they finished runner up and just missing the World Series. Vandy is ranked fourth in the Baseball America Poll. Vandy currently has two players to be drafted in the first round Sonny Gray who is pegged to go sixth overall to the Nationals and Jason Esposito to the Rockies with the 20th pick. Vanderbilt will have one of the best pitching rotations in the SEC possibly the nation. There pitching depth will lead them to the SEC tournament again this year and possibly making it to Omaha for the World Series.

It looks like this will be an exciting 2011 baseball season in which several teams should represent the SEC in the national championship this summer and several players represented in the draft , with more added as the season continues.

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