SEASON PREVIEW: The Butch Thompson era begins

AUBURN | Ready or not, the Butch Thompson era begins at Auburn this weekend.

Thompson, who was hired in October after the Tigers completed fall drills, has had limited on-field work with his new players so the first 18 games before conference play will be a learning period for him, his coaches and players.

Fortunately, Thompson inherited a veteran roster that includes eight seniors and 17 juniors.

“Our older guys are going to get the first opportunity and that’s because we’ve been here a short period of time,” Thompson said. “They’ve been so receptive and open to our coaching staff, embracing us, that we’re going to give them an opportunity to lead because they’ve been there before. Then we’ll try to make the best decisions for the club going into SEC play.”

Thompson has referenced 12 position players during preseason practice he feels are SEC-ready, which includes a lot of experience — 12 upperclassmen — and versatility with most having played or expected to play multiple positions.

The group includes seniors Jordan Ebert (second, third, corner outfield), Cody Nulph (shortstop, third), Melvin Gray (second, DH), Bo Decker (corner outfield), and Jackson Burgreen (outfield), and juniors Anfernee Grier (centerfield), Damon Haecker (third, short, second), Daniel Robert (right field, first, DH), Niko Buentello (first, DH), Joshua Palacios (corner outfield), Blake Logan (catcher) and Ben Craft (catcher).

“I don’t think I’ve made any bones about it, there’s going to be some good players on the bench,” Thompson said. “We’ll play a bunch of games early, which will provide a lot of opportunities for our guys.”

Eight of those players started 35 or more games last season. Buentello and Palacios are impact junior college transfers that are expected to be in the starting lineup when Auburn hosts Sacramento State Friday.

Grier was named preseason first-team All-SEC after hitting .323 with 22 doubles, three triples, 41 runs scored and nine stolen bases last season.

“I’ll take our potential lineup and I wouldn’t trade that with many people in our league from a veteran standpoint and from an experience standpoint, and that’s supposed to mean something,” Thompson said. “All of this is a forecast. We’re not going to really know until we get out there.”

Auburn’s pitching staff isn’t nearly as deep. Junior Cole Lipscomb returns after finishing 8-2 last season with a 2.53 ERA and 91 strikeouts in 92.2 innings. Lipscomb will start Friday followed by senior Justin Camp Saturday and junior Gabe Klobosits Sunday.

Camp was Auburn’s closer last season with a team-high eight saves. Klobosits is one of four junior college transfers expected to have a key role on the pitching staff.

Thompson likes to use two of his top five pitchers out of the bullpen and junior college transfer Ben Braymer and true freshman Casey Mize will be counted on to close out games this season.

Also expected to play important roles out of the bullpen or potentially start midweek games are Tavo Rodriguez and Andrew Mitchell, both junior college transfers, junior Izaac Yarbrough and true freshman Daniel Sprinkle.

“There’s just so many question marks there that make you pause,” Thompson said of a pitching staff that includes more than six newcomers. “You want to see it so I can’t wait to see some guys step up and get 10 percent better. Hopefully we see that.”

Thompson said his starters will be limited to approximately 80 pitches the opening weekend. He would like for his entire staff to eventually be able to call their own games although it will take some time to get there.

“I think certain pitchers, once we go through one or two outings, we’re going to see where we can help them and if we can we’ll interject more,” Thompson said. “Guys we can pull away from, we’ll pull away from more. At the end of the day when this whole team comes together as its best ball club, you hope guys can run their own show.”

Sacramento State was picked second in the WAC and returns the conference pitcher of the year in left-hander Sam Long (8-2, 3.03 ERA), who will start Friday’s game.

“It’s good for us to see somebody really good,” Thompson said. “I know we’re going to have our hands full with Sacramento State and our job is to make sure their hands are full with us.”

Game times at Plainsman Park will be 3 p.m. CT Friday and 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Friday and Saturday’s games will be carried on Watch ESPN. Sunday’s game will not be televised.

“Our guys have worked hard and done everything we’ve asked them to do,” Thompson said. “They deserve this moment and they’re going to get the beautiful weather this weekend. It’ll be a great starting point to see where we’re at. It’s time to compete against another team besides yourself.”

***MORE PRESEASON BASEBALL COVERAGE***

JUCO transfer settling in under the Green Monster

Burgreen catching on with new coaches

Klobosits a super-sized starter

Pitching rotation coming into focus

Camp transitioning from closer to starter

JUCO pitcher bringing the heat

D-Rob an impact bat

Ebert returning to form

Grier putting team goals first

Smashing debut for Buentello

Thompson pushing forward

Auburn returns experienced lineup