Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Photo by: Brent Beerends
Depth is Key for Blue Raider Outfield
2/11/2018 12:00:00 PM | Baseball
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Middle Tennessee heads into the 2018 season with a cast of outfielders who have both high expectations and a lot of prove.
While Head Coach Jim McGuire likes the experience and leadership his team will get from the infield, the Blue Raider outfielders are a talented unit with strong depth. If a few guys can play up to expectations, they'll add both power and speed to the lineup and carry a big load offensively.
"We've got very good depth there," McGuire said. "I think our best depth is there, even though maybe our most experience is in the infield.
"We have some older guys there, too, and it's time for them to step up and help lead this team."
Center
The outfield will look a little different from the 2017 version, most notably in center field.
The hole left by Brad Jarreau, who ended his career last season with 128 consecutive games played, will be filled by junior Austin Dennis, who'll move over from right field.
Jarreau was an iron man for the Blue Raiders the past few seasons, and Dennis will fill that role with him gone. He'll also take the mound in relief appearances.
Dennis has started 108 out of a possible 110 games in his career, hitting to a .293 average while driving in 77 runs. His 48 RBIs last season led the team.
"Dennis is going to move over and be the starting centerfielder for us," McGuire said. "He'll be playing a different position, but I have a lot of confidence in him and the team has a lot of confidence in him."
Corners
Middle Tennessee will make another shift to fill the right field spot vacated by Dennis.
Junior Blake Benefield, a Murfreesboro native, will move across the diamond from left field. He's one of the Blue Raiders with both lofty goals and something to prove this season.
After a stellar freshman season in 2016 that led to Benefield being named the program's fifth Freshman All-American, last year his numbers took a dip.
His batting average dropped from .286 to .261, and he hit just three home runs after leading the team with eight the year before. His strikeout rate also jumped from one every 3.26 at-bats to one every 2.65 at-bats.
Benefield had a strong summer, winning the Alaskan Baseball League Championship with the Mat-su Miners. He and Dennis were named all-stars, and Benefield led the league with six home runs and 30 RBIs.
McGuire is hoping the strong summer carries over so Benefield can have a bounce-back year.
"He's coming off a great summer, and it's his time," McGuire said. "He's a junior, and it's time for him to produce. To do that, he has to be an extra-base-hit guy and drive runs in."
Opposite of Benefield, the Blue Raiders will see a bit of a platoon in the starting left field spot between two young guys with high expectations.
Redshirt sophomore Manuel Lopez will see a bump up in usage, and if he can expand his success from limited at-bats into a full season, he could be an important piece of the lineup.
In just 35 at-bats last year, Lopez hit .314 with a .571 slugging percentage, two home runs and six RBIs. He then carried that into a strong summer, leading the Show-Me League in home runs (four) and finishing second in batting average (.388) and RBIs (26).
He'll split time with Myles Christian, one of the most highly touted freshman to come into Middle Tennessee in quite some time. Christian was the 48th overall outfield recruit in the nation and was selected in the 18th round of the MLB Draft in June by the Seattle Mariners, but chose to attend MT.
"In left field, with Manny and Myles, we have two really good options," McGuire said. "It's going to be hard to keep one of those two out of the lineup, and it may be a platoon situation, at least to start. They're both very talented guys."
Depth is key
The Blue Raiders' starting outfield is a very talented group, but it's the depth there that has McGuire excited.
Senior Phillip Kunsa and redshirt sophomore Darrell Freeman Jr. have proven to be good bench options, and junior Wallace State Community College transfer Darien Prewett can also contribute in a pinch.
All of the options should give McGuire and second-year hitting coach Tim Donnelly plenty of opportunities to adjust the lineup to find what works.
"It's just going to go down to finding the best fit for us," Donnelly said. "We have some very good options with our depth, which we didn't have much of last year."
This is the third article in a series as we prepare for opening day. Look for a pitchers outlook still to come, and go to NEWCOMERS or INFIELDERS to learn more.
While Head Coach Jim McGuire likes the experience and leadership his team will get from the infield, the Blue Raider outfielders are a talented unit with strong depth. If a few guys can play up to expectations, they'll add both power and speed to the lineup and carry a big load offensively.
"We've got very good depth there," McGuire said. "I think our best depth is there, even though maybe our most experience is in the infield.
"We have some older guys there, too, and it's time for them to step up and help lead this team."
Center
The outfield will look a little different from the 2017 version, most notably in center field.
The hole left by Brad Jarreau, who ended his career last season with 128 consecutive games played, will be filled by junior Austin Dennis, who'll move over from right field.
Jarreau was an iron man for the Blue Raiders the past few seasons, and Dennis will fill that role with him gone. He'll also take the mound in relief appearances.
Dennis has started 108 out of a possible 110 games in his career, hitting to a .293 average while driving in 77 runs. His 48 RBIs last season led the team.
"Dennis is going to move over and be the starting centerfielder for us," McGuire said. "He'll be playing a different position, but I have a lot of confidence in him and the team has a lot of confidence in him."
Corners
Middle Tennessee will make another shift to fill the right field spot vacated by Dennis.
Junior Blake Benefield, a Murfreesboro native, will move across the diamond from left field. He's one of the Blue Raiders with both lofty goals and something to prove this season.
After a stellar freshman season in 2016 that led to Benefield being named the program's fifth Freshman All-American, last year his numbers took a dip.
His batting average dropped from .286 to .261, and he hit just three home runs after leading the team with eight the year before. His strikeout rate also jumped from one every 3.26 at-bats to one every 2.65 at-bats.
Benefield had a strong summer, winning the Alaskan Baseball League Championship with the Mat-su Miners. He and Dennis were named all-stars, and Benefield led the league with six home runs and 30 RBIs.
McGuire is hoping the strong summer carries over so Benefield can have a bounce-back year.
"He's coming off a great summer, and it's his time," McGuire said. "He's a junior, and it's time for him to produce. To do that, he has to be an extra-base-hit guy and drive runs in."
Opposite of Benefield, the Blue Raiders will see a bit of a platoon in the starting left field spot between two young guys with high expectations.
Redshirt sophomore Manuel Lopez will see a bump up in usage, and if he can expand his success from limited at-bats into a full season, he could be an important piece of the lineup.
In just 35 at-bats last year, Lopez hit .314 with a .571 slugging percentage, two home runs and six RBIs. He then carried that into a strong summer, leading the Show-Me League in home runs (four) and finishing second in batting average (.388) and RBIs (26).
He'll split time with Myles Christian, one of the most highly touted freshman to come into Middle Tennessee in quite some time. Christian was the 48th overall outfield recruit in the nation and was selected in the 18th round of the MLB Draft in June by the Seattle Mariners, but chose to attend MT.
"In left field, with Manny and Myles, we have two really good options," McGuire said. "It's going to be hard to keep one of those two out of the lineup, and it may be a platoon situation, at least to start. They're both very talented guys."
Depth is key
The Blue Raiders' starting outfield is a very talented group, but it's the depth there that has McGuire excited.
Senior Phillip Kunsa and redshirt sophomore Darrell Freeman Jr. have proven to be good bench options, and junior Wallace State Community College transfer Darien Prewett can also contribute in a pinch.
All of the options should give McGuire and second-year hitting coach Tim Donnelly plenty of opportunities to adjust the lineup to find what works.
"It's just going to go down to finding the best fit for us," Donnelly said. "We have some very good options with our depth, which we didn't have much of last year."
This is the third article in a series as we prepare for opening day. Look for a pitchers outlook still to come, and go to NEWCOMERS or INFIELDERS to learn more.
Players Mentioned
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