By Jake Mastroianni (@ShortStopBall)
The record for an SEC team doesn’t always tell the full story early in a season. A win is a win, but they aren’t all created equally. Vanderbilt is off to a 7-1 start, but even the biggest Commodore supporter would have to admit the wins haven’t been pretty.
In their opening weekend, both of their wins came by just one run and their only loss is to the only ranked team they’ve played so far in Nebraska.
They scored a combined 8 runs in their two mid-week games against Air Force – a team that Florida had just dismantled.
And while they did sweep Saint Mary’s this past weekend and scored double-digits in each game, there were signs of concern – especially in the first two games.
We knew this could be the case early on with so many new faces and young players Vanderbilt is counting on.
On the bright side, they are racking up the wins with the hope things will eventually mesh together both on the mound and at the plate.
Reliance on freshman might take time
As is typically the case with Vanderbilt, they have a lot of really good incoming freshman. The most notable of that group is infielder Brodie Johnston who made his season debut this past weekend after beginning the season injured.
While it wasn’t a huge weekend for Johnston, you can see the talent is there. Head coach Tim Corbin will be counting on him to be a big piece of the offense this year. In the finale on Sunday, he picked up his first collegiate hit and finished the game 2-4 with 2 runs, and 2 RBI.
Rustan Rigdon is another freshman at the top of the lineup and he’s gotten off to a great start going 9-23 with 8 runs scored and 3 stolen bases.
Freshman pitchers Tristan Bristow, Aiden O’Connell, Hudson Barton, England Bryan, and Matthew Shorey all pitched over the weekend.
Shorey was a highly touted freshman arm coming in, but he got off to a rough start in the Opening Weekend allowing 5 earned runs in just 0.2 innings pitched. But he’s now had back-to-back scoreless appearances including Saturday when he got the win by striking out two in a scoreless seventh inning.
Many of these freshman will play a key role this year for Vanderbilt. And while they’re all very talented, there will be some growing pains early.
JD Thompson and Ethan McElvain need to step up
With the dependence on the freshman, the veterans must step up while helping bring them along. That was not the case this past weekend for JD Thompson and Ethan McElvain.
Neither looked sharp at Saint Mary’s over the weekend – granted, the weather could have been a factor. They combined to give up 7 earned runs in 7 innings.
McElvain has yet to make it past 3 innings in his first two starts this year, has walked three batters in each start, and given up 4 earned runs in each start.
A lot of focus coming into this season for Vanderbilt was on the offense being able to score more runs as they felt pretty comfortable with these two arms leading the rotation.
The offense made some strides against Saint Mary’s, but if this Commodore team is going to reach their ultimate goal, they’ll need Thompson and McElvain to be anchors in the weekend rotation.
RJ Austin is straight fun
MLB Pipeline currently has RJ Austin ranked as the 79th prospect for the upcoming MLB Draft. But if you’re just looking at who is the most exciting player in college baseball to watch, Austin has to be near the top.
His athleticism allows him to play almost anywhere on the diamond. In the opening weekend he showed off his arm by gunning down a runner at the plate from left field.
At the plate he’s off to a fantastic start at the top of the Vanderbilt lineup batting .438 with 1 home run, 2 doubles, 3 triples, and 5 stolen bases. He also leads the team with 10 runs scored and is second with 7 RBI.
He had two triples in the game on Friday against Saint Mary’s. One came after a ball that kicked off the first base bag and rolled down the wall into right field – he managed to motor his way to third with ease.
After Vanderbilt fell behind 4-0 on Saturday, Austin hit a bases clearing double off the wall in left field, that very nearly missed being a grand slam, that tied the game.
He’s also not afraid to drop down a but and use his speed to get on.
When RJ Austin comes to the plate it’s must-see.
Other standouts
Cody Bowker and Sawyer Hawks were the two most impressive arms for Vanderbilt over the weekend.
In two starts now, Bowker has yet to allow a run and has only given up 2 hits in 9 innings with 12 strikeouts.
Jacob Humphrey is off to a great start at the plate batting .435 with 6 runs, 7 RBI, and 3 stolen bases.
Weekend results vs. Saint Mary’s
Fri. 11-4, W. Hawks - 3 IP, 0 H, 1 BB, 0 ER, 5 Ks, 1 W; Jonathan Vastine - 2-4, 2 R, 3 RBI, 1 HR
Sat. 13-7, W. Miller Green - 2 IP, 0 H, 1 BB, 0 ER, 3 Ks, 1 SV; Austin - 3-4, 2 R, 3 RBI, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 SB
Sun. 10-0 (7), W. Bowker - 5 IP, 0 H, 3 BB, 0 ER, 6 Ks, 1 W; Johnston - 2-4, 2 R, 2 RBI
What’s next
Tue, Feb. 25: vs. Tennessee Tech
Fri, Feb 28: at UCLA
Sat, March 1: at USC
Sun, March 2: vs. UConn
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