Florida seems to have everything figured out entering the 2010 season.
Coach Kevin O’Sullivan said the No. 7 Gators are two-deep at every position except for pitcher, where UF has a stable of young, live arms thanks to two-straight recruiting classes ranked in the top five by Baseball America.
UF also has the middle of its lineup loaded with 2009 Southeastern Conference Co-Freshman of the Year Preston Tucker batting third and newcomer Austin Maddox, physically one of the biggest players on the team, hitting cleanup.
But, with just three days left until opening night, one important question still lingers: Who’s up first?
For the past two seasons, outfielder Avery Barnes was a constant atop UF’s lineup, hitting leadoff in 93 of 122 games. Barnes, who was drafted in the 11th round by the Colorado Rockies in July, led the Gators in hits (90), stolen bases (18) and runs scored (76) in 2009.
But now, Barnes is gone, and O’Sullivan needs a new No. 1.
“Losing Avery, it’s a lot from our lineup,” O’Sullivan said. “He was really tough to strike out (and) had a knack for getting on base. We’re going to look for someone to hopefully fill that role.”
Senior center fielder Matt den Dekker and freshman shortstop Nolan Fontana are the leading candidates to bat first this season, O’Sullivan said.
Fontana, who is competing with fellow freshman Cody Dent for a starting shortstop position, hit leadoff for the 2008 USA 18-U National Team at the World Junior Championships. Although he said he’s wiling to hit anywhere, Fontana added he’s most comfortable batting first.
O’Sullivan said Fontana is patient at the plate, can bunt well and is a threat to steal bases — all characteristics of a productive leadoff hitter.
But the favorite to bat first is den Dekker, who hit leadoff in the 29 games Barnes didn’t the past two seasons.
Den Dekker was projected to be an early selection in the 2009 MLB Draft entering last season, and those expectations negatively affected his performance at the plate.
He said he pressed too much, trying to pull home runs instead of going the other way on outside pitches.
“You say you’re not worrying about it,” den Dekker said of the expectations. “You obviously have it in the back of your head.”
Not including a 19-game hot streak, den Dekker hit .263 last year.
After falling to the 16th round of the draft, where the Pittsburgh Pirates selected him, den Dekker elected to return to Gainesville.
Instead of playing in a collegiate league or for Team USA, like he has the past two summers, den Dekker stayed on campus and tried to relax after a disappointing year.
In the offseason, the coaches have worked with den Dekker on hitting outside pitches to the opposite field and becoming more comfortable against left-handed pitchers. Left-handed hitters like den Dekker have more trouble recognizing pitches from southpaws than they do from righties.
The coaches have also stressed putting the bat on top of pitches to produce more ground balls.
“Matt runs so well that any ball hit on the ground to the left side of the infield that the shortstop has to go to his right (den Dekker) has a chance to beat out,” O’Sullivan said.
Den Dekker also wants to be more relaxed so minor slumps don’t become year-long problems.
“(I) just go out there and have fun every day playing something I love,” den Dekker said. “That’s the way I’m going to look at it this year. That’s the way I’m going to try and look at it for the rest of my career.”
