What's next for Texas baseball without Max Belyeu

Yesterday brought a whirlwind of news for fans of Texas Longhorns athletics. While the women’s basketball team punched their ticket to the Final Four, the Longhorns received injury news in multiple sports that have shaken up the future landscape for their respective teams.

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While news of injuries to football WR Ryan Wingo and baseball players Rylan Galvan and Adrian Rodriguez were primarily positive, the bombshell of Max Belyeu’s near season-ending wrist injury sent shockwaves through the Texas and college baseball worlds.

Belyeu had turned himself into one of the best Longhorns on the roster, the best hitter since Ivan Melendez won the Golden Spikes Award in 2022. Belyeu had first-round aspirations and was one of a handful of players with the ability to win the SEC Player of the Year award. Instead, the slugger will be sidelined for an extended period of time, currently designated as week-to-week, but potentially out into the postseason or longer.

With Belyeu sidelined, head coach Jim Schlossnagle has a lot on his plate in terms of replacing the production and fielding a roster that can still compete for the SEC Championship. The players around Belyeu have been stellar; you can’t be 8-1 in the SEC without that, but this injury came at a time when Texas doesn’t have a lot of answers in the outfield.

Will Gasparino has been one of the best hitters on the planet this past week, and Tommy Farmer IV has been swinging the bat a bit better, but the depth behind those two and Belyeu has been a problem all year. Easton Winfield is the most obvious candidate to see an increased role with Belyeu out, but the ULM transfer has struggled to this point.

Winfield was originally the expected LF or DH starter, but Farmer and 3B Casey Borba have forced him out of the lineup. His .189 AVG and .432 OPS don’t do him any favors, either. Winfield has gotten just five combined ABs in SEC play and hasn’t gotten much of a chance to exit his slump. Now would be the perfect time for the lefty to get his swing back in motion.

There are a few other players who could contest for this open corner outfield spot. Veteran Jayden Duplantier is a natural middle infielder but has played in the outfield before and brings a consistent glove and blazing speed. The downside is, Duplantier has only two hits since the start of the 2024 season. Schlossnagle would prefer to keep him as a pinch runner, if possible.

The player that Inside Texas most believes could break out as a result of Belyeu’s injury is Matthew Scott II. Scott is a true freshman who was ranked as the No. 4 outfielder in the state coming out of high school, and one of the 40 best in the country. Scott brings a 6-foot-4 frame that can hold a lot of power in his swings and has a more natural feel to right field than Farmer or Winfield might. Scott has only taken two plate appearances in three games, but he will get his chance to play.

Outside of the three most likely replacements, Texas does have some deeper names that could be called on. We know a lot of readers would’ve wanted to see two-sport star Jonah Williams‘ name mentioned, but he seems like an unlikely choice. There’s also Donovan Jordan: another top-10 outfielder in this class, Blake Peterson: a redshirt freshman and Samuel Richardson: one of the top 40 recruits in the country, whose more natural position is at third base. Inside Texas will be monitoring Richardson and Scott, especially as freshmen who could make an impact.

Texas will have to replace a big hole in this lineup, and will need other batters to step up. Kimble Schuessler did well at the No. 2 spot in the order, so IT projects that will stick going forward. The lineup Inside Texas expects to face Georgia on Friday is as follows.

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1. 2B Ethan Mendoza
2. 1B Kimble Schuessler
3. SS Jalin Flores
4. DH Adrian Rodriguez
5. C Rylan Galvan
6. CF Will Gasparino
7. LF Easton Winfield
8. 3B Casey Borba
9. RF Tommy Farmer IV