Fightingillini.com posted the second in their series of 2012 previews yesterday. This time around, they’re looking at the position players. Don’t miss the accompanying interview video of Coach Snider.
Who among the position players are no longer on the team? Well in short, Adam Davis, Pete Cappetta, Casey McMurray, Matt Dittman, Josh Parr. Those are very big shoes to fill indeed any way you look at it. However, the Illini baseball program does a fine job of developing its young talent and as a result they have plenty of players ready to step in.
Looking to the outfield, Willie Argo (left) is back for his senior year (hard to believe it’s been three years since he hit three homers in his debut game against LSU). Joining Argo in the garden in right field will be Davis Hendrickson who had a good year with the bat and an even better year with the glove. From the looks of it, junior Justin Parr will make the move to left field. Parr finished strong, winning the Big Ten batting title in 2011 with a .411 average in conference play.
The Illini will have plenty of backup in the outfield with Bill Charvat, Chase Hainline, and Will Krug ready to come in when needed.
Junior Brandon Hohl is the only returning infielder for the Illini in 2012. What a year Hohl had in 2011! He led the team in rbis with 39 and hit .311 plus played fine defense at third base.
At short, the Illini are giving the job to All-Big Ten Freshman Thomas Lindauer. Lindauer is versatile, though so don’t be surprised to see him get some time at third or second. Speaking of second base, that job is up for grabs between three freshman: redshirt Reid Roper and newcomers Michael Hurwitz and David Kerian.
Josh and Justin’s brother, Jordan Parr will be the front-runner to take the first base job. Jordan is a Parkland College transfer and the word is that he his every bit as talented as his brothers. Thomas Shelton and freshman Josh Ferry might see some time at first base, too.
Finally, catcher is a strong position as always for the Illini. They have four legitimate players vying for that spot and right now it’s up for grabs. Between Alex Lincoln (right), Kelly Norris-Jones Ryan Arrick plus Brent Kuper it’s anyone’s guess who gets the lion’s share of the playing time behind the plate.
The designated hitter position seems to be a catch-all position, right now. According to the Illini, it “could be filled by a number of Illini, depending on a number of factors”. This flexibility is good, I think and I don’t think the coaches should get too tied down to tying themselves down to making a choice, yet.
It’s less than a week, baseball fans!