Biggest questions for Iowa Baseball heading into the season

Although 20 inches of snow blankets all of Iowa City right now, we are under 30 days until the season opener for the Iowa Baseball team. Rick Heller is set to lead the Hawkeyes into one of the most highly-anticipated seasons in program history. They have already received preseason Top 25 rankings from D1Baseball (#20), Perfect Game (#16) and College Baseball Central (#12). Even though Iowa returns six of their nine starters from the 2023 NCAA regional opener and has plenty of pitching talent, there are a few questions that need to be answered before we starting talking super regionals and College World Series. HawkeyeReport takes a look at the top questions surrounding the Hawkeyes heading into the season.

1. Who wins the Sunday spot in the starting rotation?

With Marcus Morgan and Brody Brecht filling the first two spots in the weekend rotation, Sunday is the only job still up for grabs. Ty Langenberg went 6-3, with a 4.15 ERA and 86 strikeouts to 34 strikeouts over 78.0 innings last season as the #3 pitcher in the Iowa rotation. He was drafted in the 11th round by the Minnesota Twins, so the Hawkeyes will have a new name in the rotation.

If the coaching staff had their pick, Cade Obermueller would probably win the job. His stuff is as electric as Morgan and Brecht, but he went through the same struggles with command as they did during his freshman season last year. The other options are Creighton transfer Anthony Watts, who got some starts as a freshman last year for the Blue Jays, and Dallas Baptist transfer Reece Beuter. The coaches are excited about both of them and they looked the part during the fall. One of those three will start and two of them will come out of the bullpen. Finding out where they each will be the most effective is the task right now.

2. Does the pitching depth on paper translate to on the mound?

It was tough to watch the Hawkeyes season come to a close in the Terre Haute Regional last season. The pitching depth was tested in the fourth game of the weekend and they didn’t get the job done. They gave up ten hits, six walks and hit ten batters en route to an 11-8 season ending loss against Indiana State. The coaching staff went into the offseason with a plan to rebuild the bullpen and they did just that, bringing in six pitchers from the transfer portal. Sam Hart (Indian Hills), Justin Hackett (TCU), Ganon Archer (Kirkwood) and Brant Hogue (Oklahoma St) join Watts and Beuter on the Iowa pitching staff. Add in returners Jack Whitlock, Zach Voelker, Aaron Savary, Ben DeTaeye, Chas Wheatley, Jack Young and Caleb Strack, plus true freshman Elliot Cadieux-Lanoue and it looks like a pitching staff built to win a regional.

The group looked very impressive in the fall, with a couple of surpises, but the actual season is a completely different animal. The Iowa coaching staff will be tasked with finding roles for each arm and then it comes down to executing on the mound. It looks and feels like a deep staff, but until they do it on the mound in games that count, it’s just conjecture.

3. Who are the three new starters on the right side of the field?

The left side of the field, including C, SS, 3B, CF and LF, will all be filled by returning starters. Meanwhile, the right side is the part of the field that will have some new names in the starting lineup. Brennen Dorighi (1B), Sam Hojnar (2B) and Brayden Frazier (RF) are no longer with the Hawkeyes after combining for 138 starts last season.

While Blake Guerin is expected to take over at first base, there are ongoing position battles at second base and right field. Sophomore Gable Mitchell is competing with Andy Nelson who is finally healthy after missing last season and playing just 18 games the year before due to injuries. In right field, it’s College of San Mateo transfer Connor Hennings battling with Andy Nelson and Ben Wilmes. Hennings impressed with his bat in the fall, while Andy Nelson is someone that may force his way into the lineup. There is no shortage of options, but it will be interesting to see who starts game one at a couple of spots.

4. How do the Hawkeyes replace the power lost from the 2023 lineup

This is probably the biggest question for the Iowa lineup heading into the season. The Hawkeyes were third in the Big Ten in doubles (129) and fifth in home runs (70) last season. However, 65 of the doubles (50.4%) and 40 of the home runs (57.1%) are gone from the roster. Brennen Dorighi, Keaton Anthony and Sam Hojnar account for most of those losses. That doesn’t mean the Hawkeyes are without power in their lineup. Sam Petersen hit 11 home runs last season and is a candidate to hit 15+ this year, while Kyle Huckstorf and Raider Tello can hit some as well. Power hitter Blake Guerin is expected to be a double digit home run guys after getting just 31 at bats last season as a true freshman. Utah transfer Davis Cop could be a portal steal, while College of San Mateo transfer Connor Hennings showed good power during the fall. Yes, the Hawkeyes lost of lot of power numbers from last season, but there are players that can replenish those numbers this year.