Breaking down the biggest position battles facing South Carolina baseball
In spite of, or perhaps due to, the COVID-19 pandemic, South Carolina baseball played more scrimmages than usual this fall under coach Mark Kingston. The Gamecocks managed to dodge any major coronavirus issues and get in a lot of innings with a roster full of newcomers.
So naturally, Kingston has a lot of evaluations and stats to sort through for the next few months until the Gamecocks reconvene in January or so for the 2021 preseason. And on top of that, he’s leery of making any sweeping judgments off fall practices — “I’ve just seen too many guys have tough falls and then turn into All-Americans in the spring, and we’ve all seen guys that we label ‘Fall-Americans’ that just can’t do it during the season when the real lights turn on and there’s an opponent in the other dugout.”
That being said, Kingston acknowledged that there are some spots in USC’s lineup that are easier to project than others. Sophomore third baseman Brennan Milone has consistently looked like a top-end pro prospect that could hit in the heart of the order. Outfielders Brady Allen and Andrew Eyster, who have both started since 2019 and bring a lot of power to the table, aren’t likely to go anywhere. Junior college transfer Jeff Heinrich locked down the second base spot to start the 2020 season and has looked solid.
But there are some positions that remain up for grabs. Kingston broke down a few while wrapping up the fall with reporters.
Shortstop
Senior George Callil is the most veteran player on South Carolina’s roster and a skilled defender at one of the toughest spots on the field. The former junior college transfer has been a steady presence in the lineup throughout the 2019 and shortened 2020 seasons, but he’s not the exactly one to blow you away with his bat — in his first year, he hit just .214 with an on-base percentage of .329, striking out more times than he got hits. Things got better with a smaller sample size this spring — a batting average of .271, on-base percentage of .446 — and he carried over that improvement this autumn.
“George Callil has taken a nice step this fall and really shown us that he can play a high-level shortstop. His offense has gotten better as well,” Kingston said.
He’ll still face competition, though. Kingston called JUCO transfer Michael Robinson “probably our most improved player” from the start of fall practice, to the point that he was going toe-to-toe with Callil by the end of the Garnet and Black World Series. And behind them, freshman Jalen Vasquez has talent, Kingston said, but has to get stronger and be more consistent.
Center field
Noah Myers didn’t get a lot of time to showcase his talents this spring after transferring from junior college, but he did well at the plate, with an on-base percentage above .500, and he stole a lot of bases, just like he did at the JUCO level. The speedy Canadian, however, faces a strong challenge for his starting spot from freshman Brandon Fields.
A top-50 prospect out of high school, Fields withdrew from the shortened MLB Draft entirely, and he showed throughout the fall that he has enormous potential. He hit for power and flashed speed on the base paths — but he also struck out a lot, Kingston said. And his defensive work in center field wasn’t quite up to snuff, even if his athleticism covered up some mistakes.
“Brandon Fields was probably the hitter among the freshmen that made the biggest impact this fall. ... Is a work in progress in center field, and at the plate he struck out too much. So he’s a very talented guy but he also was a guy that needs work and needs more polish,” Kingston said.
Should Fields continue to impress at the plate in spring, it’s hard to imagine Kingston can afford to keep him out of the lineup. But Myers could make that a tough call.
First base
Kingston has a number of options at first — last year’s starter Wes Clarke continues to impress with his ability at the plate, as he can hit for power with the very best of South Carolina’s hitters. Defensively, though, he’s been fairly average, and so Kingston might decide to slide him into the designated hitter spot to shore up his infield. If that happens, a grad transfer or a JUCO kid could step up.
“At first base, you know, it could be Wes Clarke, it could be (grad transfer Joe Satterfield), it could be (junior college transfer) David Mendham. We’ve got a lot of options there as well.
It seems fairly certain that Clarke will be in the lineup one way or another, though.
“He’s always had a good swing. He’s got a good, flat, compact swing, and when he’s taking his best swing, he’s one of the better hitters, I think, in the country,” Kingston said. “But he’s just gotten a lot bigger and stronger here, so balls that used to be doubles now are homers. And I just think he’s the guy that really wants to be great.”
Catcher
Clarke actually came to South Carolina as a catcher before moving due to some defensive struggles. He’s improved enough, though, that Kingston said he can serve as the team’s third catcher in a pinch.
In front of him, Colin Burgess was one of the nicest surprises for the Gamecocks last year, emerging as a solid defensive backstop as a freshman and contributing enough offense to figure into the rotation alongside grad transfer Dallas Beaver. Now, Beaver has moved on from the program, and Burgess has stepped up his game.
“Burgess, he’s taken that next step as a player, and he really looks like a very, very high level SEC catcher,” Kingston said.
But unlike the 2018 and 2019 seasons when the Gamecocks had to lean heavily on one catcher to handle the vast majority of the innings, Kingston expressed optimism that they’ll have more balance in 2021. The reason for that hope is true freshman Alek Boychuk, who was ranked in the top 100 for his recruiting class. He looked “very good” in the fall and is a contender for some starts, if for no other reason than to rest Burgess a little.
