PROJECTED STARTERS
RF – Brayden Frazier
CF – Sam Petersen or Kyle Huckstorf
LF – Anthony Mangano
Breaking Down the Outfielders
Every college baseball coach wants that guy that can come in, produce and be a leader for four or five years, but when those guys leave it’s impossible to fill the hole with just one player. That’s what it is like with the departure of Ben Norman.
“You really don’t (replace him). There’s not a guy like Ben out there…Ben was as good a centerfielder as there was in the Big Ten defensively and that’s what we need in that position.” - Rick Heller
Norman, who is now in the White Sox organization, tied the Iowa record for games played (206) and was a five-year starter in the outfield. As a senior, he hit he a career-high ten home runs and hit safely in 34/44 games. Also departing from the Hawkeye outfield group is Zeb Adreon, who was a three-year starter and Trenton Wallace, who played a part-time role for a couple of seasons.
As a freshman last season, Anthony Mangano was able to learn behind those older guys and he talked during Media Day about their impact on him.
“That’s extremely important, having those older guys showing us tips, especially in the outfield. A guy like Ben Norman, who was my catch partner, he talked to me every single day about accuracy, different ways to throw the ball in depending on who is the cut off and routes to the ball…always in our ear, talking and just giving us wisdom about the game.”
Redshirt sophomore RF Brayden Frazier is the only returning starter in the outfield and will take over the role of leader for the group. Frazier missed a three week stretch last year due to Covid, but when he was back in the lineup, he was a strong hitter. He racked up a .325 batting average and ten doubles in just 80 at bats over 31 games.
“Brayden is doing a good job with the off and on field leadership. He’s a good leader...even though maybe he wasn’t a captain, he was a leader last year. That’s his makeup. Guys turned to him, and guys trust him.” – Rick Heller
Sophomore left fielder Anthony Mangano burst onto the scene over the fall, and it has landed him as the likely starter in left field. After appearing in just four games last season, Mangano showed off his talent in the Prospect League for the Clinton Lumberkings. He posted a .306 batting average, racking up 38 hits and 25 RBIs over 41 games. On top of that, Mangano put together an impressive fall season that included flashing his ability to hit for gap power and stretch doubles into triples.
“His offseason training has been really good. The thing that Anthony brings to the table is that he’s got power to both left and right field. He’s got really good power to the opposite field gap, but he can also turn on the ball, which you don’t always see guys that can drive it like he can.” – Rick Heller
“The thing Anthony needs to really focus on, as we head into the season, is just doing a great job in left field and playing great defense.” – Rick Heller
Anthony’s four hits, including three extra base hits in two Black & Gold World Series games prompted us to give him the unofficial ‘Series MVP’ award. D1Baseball also named Mangano their pick to click on the team for the season.
“It’s been a night and day difference (from last season). I have to give a lot of credit to my summer team, playing in Clinton, they gave me a lot of reps and opportunities to play and showcase my talents...I was really happy with the way I performed. I swung it well, was seeing the ball well.” – Anthony Mangano
Centerfield is the position of intrigue for the Hawkeyes, as it is a battle between two young players that have never played a game in an Iowa uniform. Freshman Sam Petersen made the move to the outfield during fall practice and has put himself in position to see some time as a starter in center. The coaching staff likes what Petersen brings to the table on the offensive side and moving him to the outfield gives him an opportunity to see the field. Sam has played in the outfield before, in fact he played there a lot during travel baseball, but there is a difference going from travel ball outfields to a college size field.
“The outfield is a lot bigger, so that is something to get used to, to feel out. How deep you can run, how far you can run, but getting outside (for some practices) was really important…The coaches are trying to get us together (Brayden Frazier). He’s a really good leader and talked to me about it all.” – Sam Petersen
“Marty Sutherland, our outfield coach, has been really pushing hard with Sam since the fall to get him comfortable out there. Sam has dynamic speed and it’s just getting him comfortable with tracking balls, routes and reading the ball of the bat.” – Rick Heller
“He’s kind of getting thrown into the fire a little bit when we start playing, but of all the freshman position players, I really feel that Sam is the one who has a chance to be a pretty big impact guy for us this year.” – Rick Heller
Iowa Western CC transfer redshirt sophomore Kyle Huckstorf is battling with Petersen and there is a very good chance that both of them will see considerable time this year. Huckstorf had an impressive season for the Reivers in 2021 batting .420 with 11 doubles, five triples and six home runs, but struggled in the fall during scrimmages. Coach Heller says there could be a lot of shuffling between the two early in the year and Huckstorf could be a guy that could come in late in the game to provide a defensive boost.
Right now, Sam Petersen has the better bat, but is inexperienced in the outfield and while Kyle Huckstorf is a plus level outfielder, he needs to improve at the plate vs higher level pitching. Expect the two to rotate early in the season.
Heller also says that sophomore Keaton Anthony and redshirt freshman Alec Nigut are fighting to see some time in the outfield. Nigut missed last season after having Tommy John surgery his senior year of high school and has made really big strides at the plate. redshirt sophomore DJ Heck had a really solid fall going 11/22 in the scrimmages I attended and also sits in that second group of outfielders. Redshirt sophomore Sam Link and freshman Connor Woods provide even more depth in the outfield.
Injuries and Covid have wreaked havoc on the baseball career of redshirt junior Connor McCaffery and there is a chance he does not suit up this season, despite fully participating in fall practice. A final decision has not been made yet on his status for the season. Coach Heller says that everyone on the team has a lot of respect for Connor and he would likely be around the team even if he doesn’t play this season.
Going into his senior season at Linn-Mar, Freshman Coy Sarsfield was talked about as a top of the order type hitter, that can cover a lot of ground in the outfield. All of that talk came to a halt when Coy suffered a nasty broken leg in a collision in the outfield with teammate Zach Wray last summer. He had been rehabbing and the goal was for him to return to his pre-injury form before the season, but he unfortunately had to have another surgery because it was not healing quite the way they wanted it to. Coy is once again working his way back from surgery and the hope is that he can see the field at some point.
“He is actually hitting off the tee. He’s playing catch, but that is about it. He’s not doing much from a running standpoint…The goal would be to have Coy to play at some point this summer…We all felt really bad for Coy when he got the news.” – Rick Heller
The outfield is the biggest question mark on the team right now and early in the season, Brayden Frazier will be called on to be a leader of the group. The emergence of Anthony Mangano last fall gives the Hawkeyes a solid boost, while the battle between Huckstorf and Petersen in CF will be intriguing to watch.
UP NEXT – Starting Pitching – How the weekend rotation could be composed of three pitchers that have never thrown an inning at Iowa, but deeper and stronger than last season.
