Tennessee baseball coach Josh Elander met with the local media Monday morning with the season opener against Nicholls four days away. Ahead of the season opener, Elander discussed starting pitching, potential breakout players and much more. Here’s everything Elander said.
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On how he would assess where Tennessee baseball is at exiting the preseason
“Yeah, we’re just excited to get going. I know the guys — it’s been nice how the NCAA has opened it up. We’ve had a little bit more time. Had to battle the weather a little bit, but had a good weekend. We’re able to get outside three consecutive days, see those guys compete a little bit. But again, start of the season is here. We’re excited. But again, this will be a process where I told the guys, hey, Opening Day is right around the corner, but this needs to be a deal (where) this is just the beginning of getting better and better as we go through the course of the year and then eventually get into SEC play.”
On what Tennessee’s starting rotation will be to open the season
“We’ll roll with Tegan Kuhns on Friday. We’ll go Landon Mack on Saturday, and then Evan Blanco on Sunday. Think that puts us in the best position to have success out of the gate. I think you can make the argument where you can mix and match those guys in any capacity, but it was pretty cool. Got to call those guys one by one last night and let them know. But total confidence in all three of those guys and their ability to throw the baseball.”
On how they plan to manage Rice transfer LHP/OF Blaine Brown as a two-way player
“He’s just such a dynamic talent. I mean, you could argue he had the best weekend swinging the bat. I mean, the guy hits the ball regularly over 110 miles per hour. And then, you know, one thing we talked to him about is — that was a big part of his recruitment process — what does the schedule look like? And how am I in a position to have success on both sides of the ball? We spent a ton of time kind of outlining different options, right? Because, again, do you start? Do you come out of the pen? Does he go from left field and then come in? So what we went with yesterday was a pretty good little trial, we went with the pitcher-DH. So he opened up the game and he was 93-95 (mph) with over seven foot of extension, really kind of cutting it loose. That (velocity) ticked up a little bit. Then that gives him the freedom to then kind of just go to DH, so take focus, go get us some outs. So there’s some opener capabilities there. Full confidence in him being able to start. But then also, I like the idea of, hey, maybe he comes in out of left field at one point. Again, there’s a lot of options we can do there, but a lot of that with Blaine will just be communicating with him on how he’s feeling. It’s just dynamic talent on both sides of the ball.”
On if freshman OF/LHP Taylor Tracey also has the ability to contribute as a two-way player this season
“He does. He does. I mean, Tracey, you know, takes (Brayden) Krenzel deep off the batter’s eye the other day. I mean, it’s really sneaky power. He’s backwards, as we say in the scouting world. He’s a right-handed hitter, left-handed pitcher, but just sneaky power. From Texas, there’s some good toughness there. Comes from a great family, but (Josh Reynolds) and (Zach) Stovall have done an amazing job with him to get a little bit more vert on the fastball. And again, it’s amazing the difference between 14 to 15, and 19 to 20, what that can do to hitters. He actually got hit in the hand with a pitch, so he’s working through some of that. We’ll hold our breath a little bit, but it’s a true two-way talent. There’s no doubt.”
On where he envisions LHP Brandon Arvidson’s role on Tennessee’s pitching staff, if he expects him ready to go to begin the season despite dealing with soreness in recent weeks
“He’s a little bit behind, but he threw last week in a pen, and honestly, I thought he looked like a major leaguer. It’s the best I’ve ever seen him throw indoors. Again, he’s a little bit behind in his progression. We’ll see. He’s going to get through this week and see what he’s capable of doing.
“I think he’s more than capable of taking the ball as a starter. I know that was a conversation we had in the summer last year when we were talking about coming back or not. I think he’s a guy that just from this new coaching spot I’m in, just gives me a lot of confidence, because he’s — Chuck (Jeroloman) and I have talked about — he’s kind of matchup proof, right? It’s just such a tough look. He can get righties and lefties out. The breaking ball is a true swing and miss. And then I just think the maturity has taken a big jump, where everything just seems slower for him this year in comparison to last year, but we’ll be very, very — take it slow with him. Make sure he’s got his feet underneath him, he’s built up the right way, because he’s a true weapon for us.”
On how Tennessee’s freshmen who received significant playing time last year — like Levi Clark and Manny Marin — are different heading into this season
“Well, that’s what you hope as a coaching staff, is those guys make a jump. Usually it’s between freshman and sophomore year. Manny, the one thing I talk with him about is like, if you’re going to play in the middle of the field, you need to run the show. You need to over communicate it. Also, we need to tell him, like, ‘Hey, be quiet. You’re talking too much.’ So really, that’s never going to happen, but he’s done a great job just kind of commanding the field.
“And then Levi has been awesome, balancing catching and playing first. I think guys respect those guys because they’ve played in the league. They know what it’s like, but they also were very lucky where some of our better players are some of our best people, too. It’s easy for our young guys to have the example to look up to. And in our program, we always talk about competition is king. Internal should be every single day. There’s somebody right next to you, behind you, in front of you, that’s capable of doing it at the same level, but at the same time, those guys have been great teammates and making sure this freshman class that is really talented, bringing those guys along too, and making sure they’re getting better along the way.”
On if he discusses expectations with his team in February
“Great question. I think, again too, easy reminder is all the resources we’ve been blessed with here at Tennessee. When the guys walk in the stadium each day, one of my themes has been don’t take this for granted. I mean, we’re playing in one of the best setups in college baseball now. So that’s a pretty easy reminder. You don’t build a stadium like that unless you plan on playing postseason baseball in there. So again, that’s one thing I’ve kind of talked with them about, but also two like, we’re in February. We still got internal competition, attacking each day. Next task has been a big deal we’ve talked about a bunch, but I think our guys have that more in the back of their mind, but they’ve been good with focus, just again, getting a little bit better each day, as we go into this weekend, and then the season gets rolling here pretty quick.”
On what ETSU transfer Brady Frederick has brought to the pitching staff
“Yeah, he’s been amazing. I just think it’s such a unique and tough look. Again, Vol fans have seen for the first time, his fingers literally scrape the ground when he’s pitching, right? And again, it’s a unique deal. Usually when guys throw from that slot, it’s got heavy tumble or sink at the bottom of the zone. It’s a ton of ground balls. But he has the ability to basically go just two different fastballs, where it’s ride-cut or heavy sink at the bottom. Where he can get swing and miss at the top, or ground balls at the bottom. But he’s kind of, the way he throws his arm really never gets sore. So it’s a guy we joke about, be ready to go every day. We might be getting you hot or whatnot. But again, he can get outs in a lot of different ways, and he’s had a lot of success and maturity there. And then an athlete that is just really good in general. But he’s one we’re really excited about.”
On Ariel Antigua entering the season, middle infield competition
“Great question. I mean, again, they’ve made it as hard as possible on me, to be honest with you. And that’s what I talked with him about, is at this point of the year, plant your flag. Force me to put you in there. And again, Ariel has played honestly out of his mind. If you go, if you look at what he did in the fall and how his teammates ranked him, and then out of the gate, we kind of bounced those guys back-and-forth over the last few games. But he’s doing everything we ask for, over communicating on the infield. He’s running the bases at a high level, keeping the ball in front on defense. So excited about those guys because there’s a lot of guys that are capable of doing at a high level, and we’ll see how it plays out.”
On what Tegan Kuhns did to earn the Friday night opportunity to begin the season
“Good question. Again, I think he’s just made a jump. We talk about with the position players from that freshman to sophomore year. Like the theme when I was talking with Tegan and even his dad over the course of the summer, nobody was happy with how the season ended, right? Because he throws in Hoover, and that was kind of it, right? So I think that’s kind of springboarded him into the summer. He goes to the Cape and dominates, for lack of a better term. And again, I think that has really driven him throughout the offseason. And again, we just want him to, there’s so many things that go with being the Friday night guy, but I think the unique part with our staff is we have a lot of guys that we feel like we could earmark as a Friday night starter. So again, kind of knowing the league, but (pitching coach Josh) Reyn(olds) has done a great job with him again, just on the metric side. We got some stuff, I don’t want to give out all the all the secrets, but he’s made some changes on the pitching side. I think it gives him a little more windows where he can attack both righties and lefties, and then, again, just when you come to just competitiveness, right? I think it’s as good as it gets right there with Tegan.”
On if he thinks Blake Grimmer will be available this weekend
“I don’t. So Grimm, again, we’re kind of getting him going as quick as we can. It’s a lower back deal that he’s dealing with right now. So again, the cold weather is not helping that out as we go. But complete confidence in Grimm. But I don’t think this weekend is going to be a possibility, but Woody and Dr Klenck are doing an amazing job making sure we’re hitting those benchmarks as he gets back. But the one thing Grimm and I talked about is I just want him to be able to cut it loose three days in a row without any fear of being really sore when he wakes up the next day.”
On what he feels like Landon Mack and Evan Blanco bring to the rotation
“Well, for Vol fans, Landon, I think again, when I think of him there’s some Chase Dollander in there, right? Just even some similarities in the delivery, but the compete factor is about as good as it gets. And the stuff is, it’s just gross to be honest. It’s really good stuff. It’s a real heater. Two breaking balls, a change that he’s made some adjustments with. Kick change or this, or whatever it may be. But again, a guy that’s thrown on Friday nights. I think he gives you stability in the middle of the rotation. And I know our guys are going to have complete confidence to play defense behind him, just by the way he attacks the strike zone and the pace of the game. I’m excited to see how Landon does.
“And then Blanco, just maturity. It’s just again, you know what you’re going to get. It’s a very comforting feeling as a coach. He had, arguably, numbers wise, the best fall of any pitcher we had on the staff. But again, can really ride the heater, good separation on the change up. Has thrown in Omaha, has been in a lot of different roles, and had some really good times, and some not so good. But we’re excited about what he brings to the table there too.”
On if there’s been any surprise developments over the offseason
“There’s been a lot of guys. If you just go back to this weekend, Nathan Eisfelder takes Tegan Kuhns deep and then hits a homer the next day. So, he’s made a jump. I think he’s a guy that’s just blessed. He can hit. That’s a gift that he’s got. Trent Grindlinger had an amazing fall, swinging the bat and defensively. He’s really closed the gap. But I think there’s a lot of guys you can point to. It’s really just a credit to our coaching staff with everything that’s gone on, attacking each day, making sure we’re getting reps.
We’ve put a ton of emphasis on holding runners and dominating the average play and defense to kind of change a couple of the ways we practice. I’ve told you guys, we can practice it all we want, but you got to do it when it’s time. So, I’m excited to see how that pays off, just individually and then collectively for our group.”
On his approach to the leadoff spot with Henry Ford and Jay Abernathy getting reps over the weekend
“I think we can go a few different ways. I know we looked at a deal a few years back when we decided to put Christian Moore in the leadoff spot. It was like, how many x amount more at-bats a guy is going to get over the course of a full season. Some conversation I’ve had with Henry, he’s open to it and likes it. I just think also, too, we wanted to try some different things this weekend with Jay – just because he’s such a dynamic player where, with what he could do on the bases as he gets better and better. I think it’ll change the way they pitch to those guys when he’s on base. So, maybe a little bit more worried about the stolen bases. Some of that will go match up. We’ll go look at some analytics and all that as we build a lineup each day. Excited to see which way we go. But they’re more than capable of both having success in that leadoff spot.”
On if he enjoys the first month of the season to see who claims what spot
“100 percent. We’re excited to compete against other teams, but also it’s internal every day too. Those position battles, I always tell them. It’s pole position going into opening day. And then once the lights come on, we’ll figure out what we got. And the unique part of this year versus previous years is we haven’t played outside competition. We always say you’re playing against the game. It’s the same thing, but that’s a little coachy at times, to be honest. I think there’s some guys who will adjust a little bit or hopefully elevate their game once they get going. So, I’m excited to see how guys handle a full Lindsey Nelson Stadium and another team in that opposing dugout. But that competition, it’s ongoing throughout every single part of the year. I even told our guys in a meeting, we showed them, if you look at the years in the past, here’s an Opening Day lineup, here’s a random middle of the year lineup and then here’s a postseason lineup. There’s always changes across the board. We want them to create their own future. Go get what they want and they’ll have the opportunity to do that each and every single day this year.”
On how life has changed since becoming a head coach
“As you guys know – you will see – my girls will be running around the stadium. It’s like a daycare up at the baseball offices now. I’ve always gone with the fact of – like the family life balance – I’ve always tried to integrate my family into work, as crazy as that sounds. December was really kind of my hunker down period where I was up in the office, kind of preparing for the season. This is what we want to do practice wise. Make sure we hit X, Y and Z this amount of time. We’d have some Bluey playing on the TV and I was working on the computer there, running around the office. So my wife is the best and making sure that I get plenty of time around my girls. And holding down the fort while I’m up here because it’s been some late nights. But I know my middle daughter, Maxie, is like, ‘I get to see smokey Friday.’ So, that’s what she’s excited for. We’re just looking forward to having them around but we’re all looking forward to some ball games here soon.”
On the mindset behind balancing right and left bats in the order
“I think it’s really kind of game-to-game. Early in the year, you’re kind of trying to – if you don’t have as much information whether it be how you’re attacking a pitcher, what a team is going to do. There’s so much change now in rosters in college baseball, early, it’s you kind of react on the fly. I think there is some value there, for sure, especially if they have a guy in the bullpen that’s shut down lefty, you need to kind of keep that in the back of your mind. I love the chess game of the game within the game. Maybe you stack those guys and you have balance right and left. Playing that chess and seeing what they’re going to do, maybe one pitch ahead or one at-bat ahead. We just want to load up our best nine. That’s it. We’ve always gone kind of defense first. That’s been a huge deal for us around here. We’re very blessed this year where we can mix and match left and right in a lot of different ways and we’ll have balance in the lineup top-to-bottom.”
