Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Blue Raider Baseball’s Defensive Versatility Provides Much-Needed Depth Heading Into 2021
11/5/2020 1:30:00 PM | Baseball
Murfreesboro, Tenn.—Over the past three seasons under Head Coach Jim Toman, the Middle Tennessee baseball team has seen its fair share of both utility and two-way players. After the 2020 season was cut short due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Blue Raiders were unable to truly show their identity on the diamond of fielding a team of multi-talented athletes that can be plugged into many different positions that help benefit the team in a variety of situations.
Fall baseball at the collegiate level is the time when teams try to find those guys and where they fit exactly, and one could argue that this year's Blue Raider squad has more of those dynamic players than in year's past. It's not only a testament to the way that Coach Toman and his staff recruit, but to the way that they develop players to ensure that the team can not only compete in Conference USA, but compete on a national level.
"It's nice to have two-way players because you feel like you're getting two guys for the price of one," said MTSU Baseball Coach Jim Toman. "In baseball, we only have 11.7 scholarships and up until this year we only had a 35-man roster. If you can get guys who can hit, play defense and pitch, it's a bargain. When you get a guy that can legitimately do (all of it), that's a big time plus for the depth of your team."
Not only do the Blue Raiders have returners on the roster that have played multiple positions defensively, but they have a host of guys that have played defense and pitched coming back to go along with incoming transfers and freshman that are certainly dynamic in their own unique ways. As the Blue Raiders go through fall drills and intrasquad scrimmages in preparation for the annual Blue-White World Series, the team has seen its fair share of guys being plugged in at positions fans haven't seen them at before. The coaching staff has also moved a lot of the incoming players on the roster around the diamond to see where they might stick as they try to make the final roster at the beginning of the spring. While these may be changes that are etched onto a lineup card in pencil, it's most certainly interesting to see who will end up where as we get ready for another exciting spring at Reese Smith Field.
"We have seven or eight guys who are trying to play multiple positions, but we kind of leave it up to them to say what exactly it is that they want to do," Toman said. "For example, we brought in Brett Coker and he has done a great job at third and we were able to move D.J. (Wright) over to the other side of the diamond at first to keep his bat in the lineup. We have several guys who played in the outfield last year and infielders that we're trying in the outfield. We're just trying to mix it up and find our best lineup, because we have 15 guys who are ready to play right now."
Fall baseball at the collegiate level is the time when teams try to find those guys and where they fit exactly, and one could argue that this year's Blue Raider squad has more of those dynamic players than in year's past. It's not only a testament to the way that Coach Toman and his staff recruit, but to the way that they develop players to ensure that the team can not only compete in Conference USA, but compete on a national level.
"It's nice to have two-way players because you feel like you're getting two guys for the price of one," said MTSU Baseball Coach Jim Toman. "In baseball, we only have 11.7 scholarships and up until this year we only had a 35-man roster. If you can get guys who can hit, play defense and pitch, it's a bargain. When you get a guy that can legitimately do (all of it), that's a big time plus for the depth of your team."
Not only do the Blue Raiders have returners on the roster that have played multiple positions defensively, but they have a host of guys that have played defense and pitched coming back to go along with incoming transfers and freshman that are certainly dynamic in their own unique ways. As the Blue Raiders go through fall drills and intrasquad scrimmages in preparation for the annual Blue-White World Series, the team has seen its fair share of guys being plugged in at positions fans haven't seen them at before. The coaching staff has also moved a lot of the incoming players on the roster around the diamond to see where they might stick as they try to make the final roster at the beginning of the spring. While these may be changes that are etched onto a lineup card in pencil, it's most certainly interesting to see who will end up where as we get ready for another exciting spring at Reese Smith Field.
"We have seven or eight guys who are trying to play multiple positions, but we kind of leave it up to them to say what exactly it is that they want to do," Toman said. "For example, we brought in Brett Coker and he has done a great job at third and we were able to move D.J. (Wright) over to the other side of the diamond at first to keep his bat in the lineup. We have several guys who played in the outfield last year and infielders that we're trying in the outfield. We're just trying to mix it up and find our best lineup, because we have 15 guys who are ready to play right now."
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