With the MLB Draft wrapped up, aside from a late transfer addition, the Iowa Baseball roster is pretty set for the 2023 season. The Hawkeyes got great news after the draft, as Keaton Anthony announced he will return for his redshirt sophomore season, while true freshman Cade Obermueller decided to forgo his draft offers.
The Hawkeyes lose a number of big contributors from last season, including Adam Mazur, Dylan Nedved, Connor Schultz, Duncan Davitt, Ben Beutel, Peyton Williams, Izaya Fullard and Brendan Sher. However, Coach Rick Heller returns a number of important pieces and added a couple of transfers that could contribute immediately.
With that said, lets take a look at what the Hawkeyes could look like on day 1 of the 2023 season.
Projected Roster (subject to change)
Seniors
LHP Jared Simpson
LHP Nick Gottilla (transfer)
OF/DH Brennen Dorighi (transfer)
Juniors
RHP Ty Langenberg
RHP Jacob Henderson
RHP Casey Day
RHP Luke Llewellyn
RHP Jack Young (transfer)
LHP Ben DeTaeye (injured)
OF Sam Link
OF DJ Heck
OF Kyle Huckstorf
OF Chase Moseley (transfer)
SS Michael Seegers
C Ben Tallman
INF Sam Hojnar
DH Ty Snep
3B Andy Nelson
OF Sam Petersen
C Cade Moss
UTL Will Mulflur
RHP Will Christophersen
Sophomores
RHP Brody Brecht
RHP Marcus Morgan
RHP Chas Wheatley
RHP Jack Whitlock (transfer)
RHP Zach Voelker (transfer)
OF/RHP Keaton Anthony
3B Mitch Wood
INF Ben Wilmes
INF Raider Tello (transfer)
Freshman
OF Coy Sarsfield (redshirt)
C Gehrig Christensen (redshirt)
RHP Aaron Savary
LHP Cade Obermueller
LHP Drew Proskovec
1B Blake Guerin
INF Gable Mitchell
C Reese Moore
OF Kellen Strohmeyer
INF Ben Swails
Infield
There are two spots on the infield that seem to be fairly locked in, but the rest is up for grabs. Keaton Anthony is expected to make the move to 1B to fill the opening left by Peyton Williams, while Michael Seegers started 54 of 55 games at shortstop for the Hawkeyes.
After making 65 starts at second base and 140 total starts over the course of his career, Izaya Fullard leaves the Hawkeyes. That leaves a sizeable hole in the lineup, as well as at second base. Sam Hojnar and Ben Wilmes combined for 19 starts at the spot and figure to be the first two in the mix next season. True freshman Gable Mitchell had an impressive senior season at Iowa City High and he will be a young guy looking to push the guys ahead of him in the middle infield.
Third base had a couple of different starters throughout the season, but the leader in starts the position, Brendan Sher, has wrapped up his college career. Andy Nelson and Sam Hojnar saw time at the corner infield spot, but both dealt with injury/illness that kept them out of consistent playing time. If Hojnar moves over into the second base discussion, then Pasadena City College transfer Raider Tello may be another option at third base.
The catcher position has some intrigue, as Ben Tallman made 26 starts there last season, but Cade Moss stepped up late in the year and finished the season as the guy behind the plate. Gehrig Christensen will be back from injury as a redshirt freshman, while true freshman Reese Moore will be interesting to watch this fall after tearing up at Van Meter the last couple of seasons.
Wofford transfer Brennan Dorighi acts as a wild card in the lineup, as he has experience playing at DH, 1B and LF for the Terriers. Most of his time came at DH last season, so that is where I will slot him in at for now. True freshman Blake Guerin comes in as a 1B/DH that has massive power. He could be another option at DH if Dorighi is in the field.
Outfield
At this point, the outfield feels like the strength of this team. The Hawkeyes added Kirkwood transfer Chase Moseley and after getting selected as an NJCAA First Team All-American, it feels like he has a great shot at coming in and contributing on day one in the outfield.
Kyle Huckstorf turned things around at the plate down the backstretch of the season and is about as good as they get when it comes to tracking down balls in the outfield. He has enough power in the bat and speed on the bases to put up doubles, triples and home runs next year.
Sam Petersen started 38 games in the outfield last year, including 34 of them in left field and he impressed with a number of diving catches. Petersen has put together a good summer season with the Kingsport Axmen in the Appalachian League and despite starting just 38 of 55 games last year, he finished third on the team with six home runs.
Starting Rotation
The starting rotation is a question mark for this roster, as the Hawkeyes try to figure out who will replace 2nd Round pick Adam Mazur, 9th Round pick Dylan Nedved and Connor Schultz. However, this is not uncharted territory for Heller. In fact, it is the second straight season where they will have to replace at least their Friday and Saturday starters.
Ty Langenberg was a very consistent Sunday starter last season, as the Hawkeyes went 9-3 over his 12 starts. This summer in the Cape Cod League, Ty has racked up 27 strikeouts to two walks over 16.1 innings, including a 2.76 ERA. Langenberg, in my eyes, is the odds-on favorite to be the Friday starter next season.
Zach Voelker, the recent transfer addition from Long Beach State, will certainly be on the short list for a weekend role. He started last season 4-0 with a 1.25 ERA, including 17.0 scoreless innings against Pepperdine, UConn and San Diego. Things fell apart after that, but this summer in the Cape Cod League, Voelker has recaptured the magic. He has a 1.31 ERA over 20.2 innings, including 15 strikeouts and a 0.82 WHIP.
After that the picture starts to get a bet murkier. True freshman Cade Obermueller was very nearly an MLB draftee and a scouting coordinator for Perfect Game tells me he thinks Cade will be a bigger contributor than Brody Brecht and Marcus Morgan were as freshman. Could he crack the rotation? Can Brody or Marcus gain enough consistency to be trusted as a starter? Jared Simpson has had a really good summer with Clinton, so he cannot be counted out, as well.
Bullpen
The Iowa bullpen loses some of their top arms from last season, including Ben Beutel who was a lockdown pitcher all season. Dylan Nedved, Duncan Davitt and Cam Baumann, so the Hawkeyes will be looking for some new names to step into bigger roles.
Will Christophersen had to work around injury this past season, but when healthy he is a back end of the bullpen arm. He will be utilized there this coming season. If Brody Brecht can throw consistent strikes, he will be an outstanding late innings arm with his 44 strikeouts in 22.2 innings.
After that, there are a lot of arms that will be forced into bigger roles. Jacob Henderson, Luke Llewellyn, Casey Day and Chas Wheatley will be asked to do more. Transfers Jack Young, Nick Gottilla and Jack Whitlock, as well as freshman Aaron Savary and Drew Proskovec will all be names to watch in the fall to see if they can jump into the group of trusted arms.
With the uncertainty in the bullpen, it sits as the biggest question mark on the roster going into the fall.
What we know about the schedule…
The Hawkeyes will travel to Texas for the Karbach Round Rock Classic from February 24-26, which is the second week of the season. The LSU Tigers, Kansas State Wildcats and Sam Houston State Bearkats are the other three teams in the field.
We also know that the Hawkeyes will be headed to Lubbock for the return trip of a home and home series with Texas Tech. Finally, Iowa will face Illinois-Chicago twice during the midweek slate, including one at home and one on the road.
