I’ve heard Dave Van Horn talk about his team for about 90 minutes over the past two days. Something that he feels strongly about is that there is a lot of competition for playing time in the outfield.
If healthy, Braydon Webb will be the Razorbacks’ center fielder. His defense is outstanding and he was hitting as well as anyone in the fall. He injured his quadricep toward the end of the fall and that has been nagging.
I think the corner outfield spots are going to be a battle between Jace Bohrofen, Brady Slavens, Zack Gregory, Chris Lanzilli and Drake Varnado. I think one of that group of five will also be the team’s DH on a given day.
Based on what I saw in the fall, I would lean toward Slavens (right field) and Bohrofen (left) being starters along with Webb, but all indications are Gregory has made a lot of improvement.
There is a mix of right- and left-handed bats among that group, so there are options there in terms of platooning, pinch hitting, etc.
Van Horn said he feels there are 12 positions players who he would be comfortable starting, but of course that leaves a few on the bench. He said it will lead to some sad faces when the lineup card is written some days, but it’s a problem you want to have.