Tennessee baseball’s offseason is a week old and Tony Vitello and his staff have already been busy working in the transfer portal.
The Vols have five players committed, adding two in the last week, while hosting three others on visits. It’s still early in the cycle, but what stands out about Tennessee’s early portal work? Taking a look here.
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Pitching At A Premium
This is the most obvious one. Tennessee has five total commitments in the transfer portal and four of them are pitchers. The Vols also hosted Rutgers’ Landon Mack on a visit last week.
The move isn’t totally surprising. Tennessee had two strong starting pitchers this past season but also had its worst third starter and bullpen since 2019. Combine that with the number of departures Tennessee is going to have to the MLB Draft and an overhaul of that room is needed.
We’ve seen Tennessee cast a wide net there and they’ve added pitchers who can be effective in multiple roles. The most important thing to track here is the status of Clay Edmondson, Mason Estrada and Matt Barr (JUCO) in the MLB Draft next month.
With their statuses uncertain, Tennessee will likely continue to evaluate and pursue options on the mound as they look to get their pitching right.
Tennessee Seems Confident In Its Starting Options
There’s a ton of pitching turnover, however, Tennessee seems relatively confident in its starting options. Of the Vols’ portal additions, none are no doubt starters. Edmondson and Estrada were both starters at their last stops but Estrada was pitching in Division III and Edmondson was in the Big South.
If he makes it to campus, I certainly wouldn’t rule out Edmondson becoming a starter but it’s not a sure thing. Landon Mack is definitely a starting pitcher but that’s the only sure starter the Vols are targeting at the moment. Maybe another one emerges here in the next few weeks.
Tennessee doesn’t have many returning pitchers but the ones they do have starting ability. Tegan Kuhns was the Sunday starter for most of his freshman season. Brayden Krenzel has the stuff and presence to be a weekend starter after having a strong freshman season in long relief.
The Vols Are Targeting Good Bat To Ball Hitters
Power hitting has been the calling call of Tennessee’s offense under Tony Vitello. But to date, the Vols are targeting elite contact hitters.
The Vols have one commit in utility man Garrett Wright while also hosting Cal infielder Jarren Advincula and Seton Hall outfielder Aiden Robbins on visits. Wright can hit for power, blasting 14 home runs and slugging .663 last season, but look at his contact numbers.
Wright had a .513 on-base percentage and struck out in just 8.7% of his plate appearances. How about Advincula and Robbins? Advincula hit .342 with a 10.9% strikeout rate last season. Robbins hit .438 with a 12.5% strikeout rate last season.
For reference point, only two MLB players posted a strikeout rate under 10% last season. Those three players have elite bat-to-ball skills.
To me, Tennessee still needs to add at least one more power hitter. But there’s definitely an emphasis on contact hitting this offseason.
What Garrett Wright Addition Says About Catching Situation
Wright was the Defensive Player of the Year in the MAC last season. Versatility is the name of the game for Wright. He started 36 games behind the plate and 22 games in the outfield. Tennessee lilely loses Cannon Peebles to the MLB Draft but returns Stone Lawless and Levi Clark making the move quite noteworthy.
So what does this mean for that duo? Wright isn’t coming to sit in the dugout but his versatility allows him to play multiple spots. There’s going to be true competition between Lawless and Wright behind the plate. And frankly, the Vols have a bigger need in the outfield right now then behind the plate. That could change but as of right now it’s the case.
The player I think this really effects is Levi Clark. The rising sophomore has a strong bat and could be in the middle of Tennessee’s lineup next season. With the path to playing time at catcher less clear, I expect Clark to mostly work at first base while also being the Vols’ emergency catcher.
