Arkansas played three intrasquad scrimmages over the weekend in preparation of the 2019 season. HawgBeat was at Baum-Walker Stadium for every pitch, providing live updates on our message board and taking extensive notes.
We then wrote in-depth recaps and put together unofficial box scores for each scrimmage, posting them on our premium message board. Those can be found using the links below. If you’re not currently a HawgBeat subscriber, you can change that by clicking here and getting access to the best Arkansas football, basketball, baseball and recruiting coverage available anywhere on the internet.
Friday scrimmage observations + box score
Saturday scrimmage observations + box score
Sunday scrimmage observations + box score
After taking in the three days of baseball, a few common themes emerged. Here are our biggest takeaways from the weekend, with the Feb. 15 opener against Eastern Illinois just 11 days away…
1. Battle at catcher still going strong
The most enjoyable aspect of the scrimmages was watching Casey Opitz and Zack Plunkett compete for the starting job at catcher. Head coach Dave Van Horn said a couple of weeks ago that it was a tight battle and neither guy was able to separate himself from the other over the weekend.
Opitz, a switch-hitting sophomore from Colorado, was productive at the plate by going 3 for 7 with two walks, three RBIs and a beautiful sacrifice bunt, but he was even more impressive in other areas of the game. On the base paths, he was 5 of 5 on stolen base attempts, including swiping home when the first baseman fell asleep after a failed pickoff attempt, and he took an extra base or two with other heads up plays. As a defender, he threw out six of 10 potential base stealers.
Plunkett, a fifth-year senior who came to Arkansas via a transfer from TCU, launched an estimated 370-foot home run Saturday for the highlight of his 5-for-10 weekend. His power has been a known commodity, but if he can hit for average like that, it’ll be tough to keep him out of the lineup. He also showed off his cannon for an arm by throwing out a pair of would-be base stealers.
Depending on how a couple other positions shake out, it wouldn’t be outside the realm of possibility for them to platoon, with one catching and the other serving as the designated hitter. Opitz is also versatile enough to play first base or in the outfield, but his strongest position is at catcher.
2. Casey Martin picks up where he left off
Coming off a Freshman All-America season, there are some pretty lofty expectations for Casey Martin in 2019 and he seems ready to meet or even exceed them. He hit another couple of home runs, including one off ace Isaiah Campbell on Friday, and finished the weekend 5 for 10 with three RBIs.
Last weekend, Martin had a triple and two home runs. That means he has an incredible .786/.800/1.786 slash in five open scrimmages since returning from Christmas break to go along with eight runs score and seven RBIs in 14 at bats.
He didn’t have to do much defensively, but there was one play Friday on which he displayed the range that led to Van Horn moving him from third base to shortstop and threw the runner out at first. It was a difficult play that Martin made look easy.
3. Less power, more small ball
This has been discussed quite a bit since the fall, but continues to show up in scrimmages. While there are still players like Martin, Heston Kjerstad and Dominic Fletcher capable of reaching double digit home runs, the Razorbacks likely won’t come close to approaching the school-record 98 homers they hit as a team last season. Instead, there will be more small ball.
In what was essentially 42 innings for Arkansas hitters over the weekend, there were only the three home runs by Martin and Plunkett. That works out to just 0.6 per nine innings, compared to 1.5 last season. By contrast, the Razorbacks attempted 20 stolen bases, or 4.3 per nine innings, compared to 0.8 last season.
Not only will Arkansas be stealing more bases, but it will also lay down more sacrifice bunts, try more hit-and-runs (which Fletcher and Opitz executed flawlessly) and be aggressive in taking extra bases when given the chance. There has been a lot more tagging up on fly outs, players going first to third and trying to advance on pitches in the dirt.
4. Strong starting pitching
The six starting pitchers over the weekend combined to allow only four earned runs on 13 hits and four walks while striking out 24 in 21 1/3 innings. That works out to an impressive 1.69 ERA and 0.797 WHIP.
With all of them on a pitch count, Campbell, Kole Ramage, Jacob Kostyshock and Patrick Wicklander each threw four innings, while Cody Scroggins faced the minimum in three innings. Still working his way back from Tommy John surgery, Kevin Kopps had the worst outing, as he was limited to just 2 1/3 innings thanks to a 37-pitch first inning.
Expected to fill Blaine Knight’s shoes as the staff ace, Campbell struck out six and his only real blemish was the aforementioned homer by Martin. He is about the only lock for Arkansas’ starting rotation and this weekend’s performances likely made Van Horn’s decision tougher. The good news is that some of those guys will end up in the bullpen, where the Razorbacks need to replace long relievers Jake Reindl and Barrett Loseke.
Arguably the most encouraging of the starts belonged to Kostyshock, who struck out six and allowed only one hit. MLB scouts reportedly love his stuff, but he has struggled in 15 career appearances at Arkansas (6.52 ERA in 19.1 IP) with inconsistent command. On Sunday, though, 41 of his 59 pitches were strikes.
5. Key newcomers struggle, but still get on base
Arkansas will rely on several newcomers to replace the talent lost from last year’s national runner-up team and at the top of that list are Arkansas natives Trevor Ezell and Matt Goodheart, who joined the Razorbacks via graduate transfer and the JUCO ranks, respectively.
Neither hit as well as they are expected to this season over the weekend, with Ezell going just 2 for 12 and Goodheart hitless in six at bats, but they both showed they can still contribute when things aren’t going well at the plate.
Ezell was hit by a pitch three times, including once with the bases loaded to bring in a run, walked once and drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. HawgBeat has also heard that he brings a lot of leadership qualities to the team, despite being a newcomer.
Goodheart received four free passes, as well, drawing three walks and being hit by a pitch once. On three of those occasions, he came around to score. He also laid down a great sacrifice bunt and is considered one of the best on the team at it.
Both players stole a base, as well.
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