Iowa Baseball Season Preview: Infield
The HawkeyeReport Iowa Baseball season preview kicks off with a look around the infield. The Hawkeyes return three of five starters in this group, however, with the departure of Brennen Dorighi and Sam Hojnar, the right side will be brand new. We take a look at the entire group, plus a Utah transfer that will provide immediate help at DH and behind the plate.
First Base – Soph Blake Guerin
The Hawkeyes have enjoyed consistency and success at first base over the last five season, with Izaya Fullard, Peyton Williams and Brennen Dorighi. Now, the job is being turned over to sophomore Blake Guerin, who got just 31 at-bats as a true freshman last season. Rated as the #11 1B recruit in the country by Perfect Game, Blake got a chance to learn behind veteran Brennen Dorighi last season.
“I think Brennen was really good for Blake, especially in the defensive training and I think it was good for Blake from a show up and give a professional effort every single day (standpoint),” said Rick Heller.
Despite getting just 26 at-bats during the regular season, Guerin stepped up in the Terre Haute Regional, with a pinch-hit single against UNC that was followed by Michael Seegers RBI triple to advance the Hawkeyes to the regional final. He earned a start in the next game against Indiana State and delivered a two-run home run. After the season concluded, Blake spent the summer playing for the Bluefield Ridge Runners in the Appalachian League, where he slashed .281/.390/.506 (AVG/OBP/SLG). While his strikeout was a bit high at 22.9%, he hit six home runs in 25 games (14.4 pace for 60 games) and has worked to improve his swing over the offseason.
“Blake has done everything we’ve asked him to do. He went out this summer and got a lot of at-bats and he has tightened up his swing and his swing decisions have improved,” said Heller. “It’s just going to be a matter of him believing in himself and fighting through the ups and downs, which all guys have their first full year playing.”
From a defensive standpoint, the Hawkeyes lost an excellent defensive first baseman in Dorighi, who finished last season with just three errors over 420 chances. His .993 field percentage led all full-time Big Ten first baseman. Rick Heller said that Blake has really made strides on the defensive side of things going into the season.
“I would tell you that (the difference) from where he started and where he’s at now defensively, it’s light years. He is a really good defensive first baseman and that is going to pay huge dividends with the rest of the infield, having a target that’s big and a guy that can pick guys up on high throws or balls in the dirt. He does extremely well and he also he throws really well.”
Second Base – Soph Gable Mitchell or Sr Andy Nelson
Sam Hojnar put together a solid year at second base last season, but his transfer to Maryland left a hole in the Hawkeyes infield going into the offseason. Coach Heller feels comfortable with the available options, but who is going to start on opening day is still up for grabs.
Option #1 is sophomore Gable Mitchell, who appeared in 33 games with five starts last season as a true freshman. Over 43 plate appearances, he managed just four hits, but did have eight walks to just six strikeouts. He spent the summer playing with the LaCrosse Loggers in the Northwoods League and showed notable improvement. Mitchell slashed .273/.419/.347, including seven doubles, while his 20.2% walk to 10.1% strikeout rate shows his elite level plate discipline. On the base paths, he racked up 18 stolen bases on 19 attempts.
“Gable is an excellent defender and plays really hard and I feel like his swing has really improved. He’s a good bunter and he’s definitely a guy that you want out there every day,” said Heller.
Option #2, senior Andy Nelson, has spent much of his career on the shelf with injuries. During the 2022 season, Nelson flashed some good moments, including a clutch three-run home run in a win over #12 Texas Tech, but hamstring injuries limited him to just 18 games. He then missed all of last season after getting Tommy John surgery, but his arm is back to full health as of early January. When Andy is healthy he has great speed, a solid glove and underrated pop in his bat, which is why the coaching staff is looking him at second base or possibly in right field.
“The good thing about Andy is he gives you the ability to play multiple positions. He’s a guy that we wait and see where he’s going to be defensively when he’s 100%,” said Heller in December. “Andy is extremely athletic and has pop in his bat which could really help us this year, losing the guys we lost.”
“The thing that you tried to figure out is what is the best rotation or what is the best way to do it? Is it best to just leave a guy out there and play all the time and just leave the other guy coming off the bench or is it best to rotate games?”
Shortstop – Sr Michael Seegers
Sliding over to the left side of the infield, the Hawkeyes have both positions locked down, starting with multi-year starter Michael Seegers at shortstop. He started 59 of 60 games for the Hawkeyes last season, batting .322/.428/.449, with seven doubles, five triples and four home runs. 25 of his 59 starts came as the leadoff hitter in the lineup. His offensive numbers took a jump last season, as he saw his batting average go from .286 to .322, while his on-base percentage jumped from .375 to .428. Seegers also dropped his strikeout rate from 18.4% to 11.5%.
“Michael’s challenge this offseason was to get as strong as he could…Cade (Moss) and Michael didn’t play summer ball. They just stayed here, ate, trained and tried to get as strong as they could and when those guys came back in the fall, the ball was carrying farther and their exit velo was up on hard hit balls,” said Heller. “Michael’s on-base percentage really jumped last season, but I would like his swing decisions and on-base percentage to continue to grow. I’d like to see him be a better bunter. He improved last year, but I think it can be even more of a weapon for him.”
Michael was a consistent, reliable hitter in the Iowa lineup last season and any improvement in the power department will be a huge boost for the Hawkeyes. The area of his game that isn’t talked about as much is his elite level fielding at shortstop. Last season, Michael was one of just eight infielders in the Big Ten with 140+ infield assists, while he had the second-best fielding percentage of that group (.975). Over the last two years, he has committed just ten errors on 421 total chances (.976). Seegers was first in the country in defensive runs saved at shortstop last season.
“Whatever role he has offensively, his number one role is his defense. I think he is as good a shortstop defensively as anybody in the country. He makes really hard plays that people take for granted. (Plays) that DI players don’t make all that often.”
Third Base – rJr Raider Tello
A transfer from Pasadena City College, Raider Tello made an immediate impact for the Hawkeyes at third base last season. Tello made 59 starts at the hot corner, while he slashed .315/.404/.432, including 14 doubles, four home runs and 40 RBI’s. He was second on the team behind Brennen Dorighi with 76 hits. Raider spent the summer playing in the California Collegiate League with the Arroyo Seco Saints. He batted .378, with a .417 on-base percentage over 96 plate appearances. Over the fall and winter, Tello added strength and is looking be a bigger force in the power department this season.
“(Raider) has gotten stronger in the weight room. He has worked hard on tightening his swing up, so that he can show more pull side power,” said Heller. “He’s in a great place and I feel like the ball was consistently jumping (off the bat) all fall. I’m talking well hit balls and miss hit balls. He has done the work and put on the strength and cleaned up his swing to the point where his power is going to play even more.”
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After transferring to Iowa last year, Tello found out that he had a torn lat muscle. He was back to full health at the beginning of the season, but struggled defensively with five errors in his first 40 chances (.875). However, over the last 36 games of the season, Raider did not commit single error on 79 total chances.
“Now, I’m watching him throw legitimately close to 95 miles an hour across the infield and be an elite defender at third base,” said Heller. “(Raider) is a guy who can play balls on the run as good as anybody we’ve had.”
Catcher – Sr Cade Moss or Sr Davis Cop
There’s no other way to put it, Cade Moss was a stalwart behind the plate for the Hawkeyes last season. He started 46 of 60 games last season and when Ben Tallman and Gehrig Christensen were lost for the year due to the gambling investigation, Moss caught each of the last 20 games of the season. As a catcher, Cade was phenomenal, posting a .998 fielding percentage, including just one error on 519 chances. At the plate, he slashed .261/.356/.321, including eight doubles. There is room for improvement on the offensive side, but the coaching staff really likes what Cade brings to the table as a catcher.
“Being the only catcher after the Ohio State series and having to catch every inning, handling the pitching staff that he had to handle, as they were going through their ups and downs with the strike zone was not the easiest job in the world,” said Heller. “He was a huge part of our success because Cade was able to handle those guys in a way that gave us a chance to not be giving up free bases all the time with steals and wild pitches.”
There is some unfortunate news regarding Cade and that is that his season debut will not come in the season opener against Seton Hall. He is expected to miss the first few weeks of the season with a broken hamate bone in his hand. Moss spent the summer working out with Michael Seegers and Ben Wilmes, so it will be interesting to see if his offensive numbers see improvement when he is fully healthy. The good news regarding the depth at catcher is that Utah transfer Davis Cop will take over the starting job while Cade is out and can give him rest days once he is healthy. Redshirt freshman Reese Moore and true freshman Max Burt provide even more depth behind them.
Designated Hitter – Sr Davis Cop
Davis Cop just may be one of the most underrated transfer additions in the entire country due to the fact that he was left off of the D1Baseball Top 150 transfers list. He comes to Iowa City after spending the last two years at Utah. During his time with the Utes, he slashed .322/.380/.484, including 18 doubles, 13 home runs and 77 RBI’s over 93 games. Cop was an Honorable Mention All-PAC 12 selection in 2022 and batted over .330 in conference play, back-to-back seasons in a league that sent five teams to NCAA regionals last year. In the fall Davis showed a lot of gap power for doubles and routinely posted exit velos as high as 105 mph. The one area that does need to see some improvement is strikeout-to-walk ratio. While his strikeout rate was an admirable 17.2% last season, his walk rate was incredibly low at just 5.5%.
“As a hitter, we feel like Davis is going to have to hit every day. If (Cade) Moss is catching the majority, then Davis is going to be at DH or possibly backing up first base,” said Heller. “Cop has come in and done everything that we hoped he would do and more, as far as filling some of the void left by guys we lost in the middle of the lineup.”
Rick Heller said that upon his arrival at Iowa, that the program holds their catchers to a high standard from a fielding standpoint, so there was a lot for him to learn, despite starting 81 games at the position at Utah. Cop will likely be the starting catcher for the first few weeks of the season, while Cade Moss recovers from his broken hamate bone.
“He had a great fall and he’s continued to work his tail off. We expect a lot out of our catchers, maybe more than some, and any catcher that comes into our program, there’s going to be a learning curve on what is expected in the receiving part, especially, and he has done a great job with that,” said Heller. “Really open to all suggestions not a hard headed, this is the way I’ve always done it type guy. Willing to learn, I want to be the best player I can be. I want to win and that’s the most important thing.”
On days where Davis Cop is behind the plate catching, there are a few other options at DH. Depending on how the starting lineup shakes out, guys like Andy Nelson, Connor Hennings or Ben Wilmes could find themselves getting some at-bats here.
Outlook
There is a lot to like about this Iowa Hawkeyes infield. Raider Tello and Michael Seegers are as good of 3B-SS duo as there is in the Big Ten to anchor the group. Meanwhile, the catcher situation looks better depth wise with Cade Moss and transfer Davis Cop set to split time, while Cop could end up having a Brennen Dorighi type impact as a plug and play guy in the lineup. The right side of the infield is where the questions lie. It feels like Blake Guerin is ready for the starting spot, but what numbers will he put up in his first year as a starter? At second base, the Hawkeyes will be better defensively, but replicating Sam Hojnar’s ten home runs and 59 RBI’s will be a really tough task. Luckily, Tello and Seegers are expected to take another step forward offensively, which should take some of the pressure off.
UP NEXT, we move to an outfield led by Big Ten Player of the Year candidate Sam Petersen and Kyle Huckstorf, while a new starter is set to enter the lineup in right field.
