Kentucky Baseball dusts Clemson to land the perfect Ryan Schwartz replacement

Kentucky Baseball continues to try to plug the holes left by graduating players and the inevitable professional selection of Tyler Bell. The only way to compete in the SEC is to keep up on the scoreboard. That's why Kentucky dusting Clemson for All A-10 outfielder Alex Kelsey (per KSR) was a must.

The Cats had already lost outfielders Ryan Schwartz to the transfer portal and Carson Hansen, Will Marcy, and Scott Campbell Jr. to expired eligibility. Jayce Tharnish and Braxton Van Cleave are also draft-eligible this year, meaning their return to Kentucky, while possible, is not guaranteed.

As a result, the outfield depth situation was left in a dire state entering this offseason. But make no mistake, Kelsey isn't a desperation grab of any kind. The dude is a real stud.

Alex Kelsey Can Absolutely Rake

Because the SEC is such a step up from essentially any conference, if a guy struggled at a lower level, it's a tough argument to make for their potential jump. Kelsey, though, can rake.

He slashed .373/.489/.507 on his way to 22 steals this past season. If you're unfamiliar with baseball's slash metric, it's the player's batting average/on base percentage/slugging percentage. It's basically a way to showcase how good and how often a player gets on base.

According to Baseball America, the average slash of a first-rounder in the MLB Draft is 358/.467/.645. That means Kelsey is on the verge of next-level numbers. But, just as important, he also fits the Bat Cats' culture to a tee

The Wildcats were hit 137 times last season, led by Tyler Bell's 20. Kelsey was hit 19 times, and struck out just 27 times. While that's not a stat that a lot of folks track, Kentucky forces opponents into mistakes. This metric shows the mentality of a hitter who refuses to back away from his spot in the box.

In total, Kentucky has signed 12 high school/junior college players to go alongside their eight transer portal commitments:

• OF Brody Chrisman (Akron)
• OF Alex Kelsey (Saint Joseph's)
• INF Owen Lee (Tennessee Tech)
• RHP Mason Snyder (Western Carolina)
• UTIL JP Peltier (Wright State)
• LHP Kale Hammer (Seattle University)
• RHP Logan Hastings (Maryland)
• RHP PJ Craig (Rider)

Nick Mingione will have his work cut out for him with this group, especially if multi-sport commit Matt Ponatoski opts to go the MLB route. But the Cats coach is making inroads in a lot of important positions, and as the portal heats up, Kentucky continues to look stronger and stronger with names flying off the board on a daily basis.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow