FAYETTEVILLE -- University of Arkansas shortstop Casey Martin will open the season in recovery mode from surgery to remove a broken hamate bone in his left hand and with a strong desire to slow the game down in many ways.
Martin, a speedster from Lonoke, hit .287 with 15 home runs and 53 RBI as a sophomore. Solid numbers for a key cog in Arkansas' back-to-back College World Series clubs, but not like his first year. Martin made a big splash in college baseball circles with a .345 average, 13 home runs and 49 RBI as a freshman.
He committed an SEC-high 23 errors at shortstop in 2019 after making 15 as a third baseman as a freshman. He also struck out 71 times in 261 at-bats, fishing too often for breaking balls out of the zone or high fastballs.
"I worked on hitting curveballs," Martin said during the Razorbacks' media day Friday. "Obviously just pitch recognition and then, of course, like the throwing errors. A lot of that was just being sped up too much and not slowing things down.
"Same thing in the box. I mean, just slowing that clock down in my head. Because I like to play fast and I get a little jumpy here and there. But we've worked a lot on pitch recognition, slowing things down, arm slot, footwork and honestly it's been good."
Martin and junior right fielder Heston Kjerstad are preseason All-America selections for the Razorbacks, and catcher Casey Opitz was named third-team preseason All-America by Baseball America.
Hitting star
Designated hitter Matt Goodheart, who led Arkansas with a .345 batting average last season, is not ready to play the field yet after recovering from right shoulder surgery July 12.
"I'm swinging the bat full speed. No issues there," Goodheart said.
Trevor Ezell, a transfer who hit .329 and was a key cog at first base last year, had the same surgery the previous year, but a month earlier.
"I'm progressing just like he did," Goodheart said. "I like to refer back to him because he led by a really good example. Health wise, I feel good."
Goodheart injured his shoulder diving back into first base during the Razorbacks' sweep of Tennessee late last April, but he finished out the year wearing a shoulder brace.
"I'm a little behind on the throwing," he said. "I'm not ready to throw in games yet."
Center stage
Sophomore Christian Franklin, who started in left field last year, has moved to center with the departure of Dominic Fletcher, a three-year starter and All-SEC defensive player who was a second-round draft pick by the Arizona Diamondbacks.
"It's my natural position," Franklin said. "It's where I played all through high school, so being able to move back there, I'm excited."
Franklin said there is a little bit of pressure replacing a player as productive as Fletcher.
"But I'm not going to try to do too much," he said. "Just stay within my game and I think I'll be able to fill his shoes just fine."
Franklin, who batted .274 with 6 home runs and 34 RBI last season, said he's learned to be a more disciplined hitter after having 66 strikeouts in 201 at-bats.
"I'm not swinging at too many pitches out of the zone," he said. "I think that's going to be huge for me in helping my strikeouts go down. I think just making sure I've got a good pitch to hit and making sure I'm not missing it is going to be big for me this year."
Adams ready
Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said Blake Adams, a freshman right-hander from Springdale Har-Ber, could compete for a starting job or help in relief, possibly as the closer.
"I'm ready to fill any role they need me to fill," Adams said. "I feel really comfortable with both starting or being a reliever. I've been a starter my whole life, so I'm used to that. But in the fall, I got a lot of experience coming out of the bullpen."
Adams said he's been throwing his fastball consistently at 92 to 94 miles per hour and has hit 95 mph a few times.
"I've gained a few pounds since last season," said Adams, who is up to 208 pounds. "But it's more about adding muscle."
Second baseman Robert Moore said he's been impressed facing Adams in practice.
"He's really good," Moore said. "He attacks the zone. He's not afraid to come after you."
Closing time
There are several options for the Razorbacks at closer to replace ace Matt Cronin. It might take a few weeks into the season to sort out the best end-of-game combinations from among junior Zebulon Vermillion, sophomores Jacob Burton and Elijah Trest, freshmen Mark Adamiak and Peyton Pallette, and possibly others.
"Right now, I see myself as finishing out games, but roles are earned and not given," said Vermillion, a 6-5 right-hander who was slowed by hamstring issues during early scrimmages. "So, missing these first couple of intrasquad scrimmages isn't doing me a whole lot because we have a lot of talent and a lot of competition. I've just got to earn my spot when I get the chance."
Burton's fastball is in the high 90s, but he was wild in most of his appearances last year.
"My command's gotten a lot better, especially after going through summer ball and then working with coach [Matt] Hobbs this fall," Burton said. "Right now it's really good."
All hardball
After playing baseball and football his whole life, Connor Noland decided to focus on pitching after his freshman season, when he also played quarterback.
"It's been good having more time to dedicate to baseball," said Noland, who for the first time spent the fall pitching instead of playing football. "Having a full-time baseball schedule has made it a lot easier to get my work in. It's a great process and I've enjoyed it."
Noland rooms with Razorback football players Bumper Pool, John Stephen Jones and Peyton Ausley.
"I got to hang out with them, watch their games and be a true fan for once," Noland said. "I enjoyed it, and got to make fun of them when they were getting up for morning workouts and I'm still laying in bed, so it was enjoyable."
Noland said his heart still feels for football.
"But I'm happy with my decision," he said. "I miss being over there, but I love being over here and having a good time."
Moore comfortable
Robert Moore, 17, is projected as Arkansas' starting second baseman after enrolling early in January.
"He definitely has the talent to play here," shortstop Casey Martin said. "I think we all kind of knew that. He plays fast, plays hard, plays the right way.
"There's no reason he shouldn't be a freshman All-American at the end of the year."
Moore, the son of Kansas City Royals General Manager Dayton Moore, said his new teammates made him feel at home immediately.
"I feel like I haven't missed a beat," said Moore, who played at Shawnee Mission (Kan.) East High School. "These guys all welcomed me the first day I was here. In practice, everyone includes me, and in the locker room, everyone includes me. I feel like I'm one of the guys."
Back in right
Junior Heston Kjerstad played first base primarily in fall practice, but now he's back in right field with transfer Cole Austin the likely starting first baseman.
The addition of early enrollee Robert Moore this semester led to a domino effect. Moore is at second base, moving Jacob Nesbit back to third base, where he played last season, which shuffled the versatile Austin to first.
Kjerstad, who started in left field as a freshman and in right field last season, said he's fine playing any position.
"Whatever Coach [Dave] Van Horn tells me, that's where I go," Kjerstad said. "My main priority is still my hitting."
Kjerstad batted .332 with 14 home runs and 58 RBI as a freshman, and .327 with 17 home runs and 51 RBI as a sophomore.
Order up
The season opener against Eastern Illinois is less than two weeks away, meaning the batting order and starting lineup could change, but based on scrimmage observations and Coach Dave Van Horn's comments, there's a pretty good idea.
Braydon Webb, a 6-0 transfer and likely left fielder, is in line to lead off, followed by right fielder Heston Kjerstad, designated hitter Matt Goodheart, shortstop Casey Martin, center fielder Christian Franklin, catcher Casey Opitz, first baseman Cole Austin, third baseman Jacob Nesbit and second baseman Robert Moore.
"We may just put Casey in the four-hole because Casey likes to swing," Van Horn said. "Just let him swing. The crazy thing about Casey, he's really worked on his bunting. He's putting the all over the place. I think you're going to see him do a good job with it, whether he's pushing or dragging it. He could do that. Cleanup is cleanup, it's just another spot in the order to mix and match a little bit."
Van Horn said Franklin and Opitz in the five and six spots in the order could be interchangeable.
Austin, a senior transfer from Arizona State, who also put up good numbers at West Virginia, could be a plus hitter in the seven spot.
"He's a good hitter," Van Horn said. "I mean, he could hit three, four or five for us, as well."
Close call
Patrick Wicklander hasn't yet faced Robert Moore in a scrimmage, but the freshman second baseman has made an impression.
"I just know that last week he almost took Connor's head off," Wicklander said with a laugh about a hit Moore had against Connor Noland. "It was a hard ground ball up the middle. It was kind of like, 'OK, Robert.' "
Noland said Moore lined a low curveball back at him.
"I put my glove up and it went between my head and the glove," Noland said.
Sports on 02/02/2020