Heading into last season, ASU baseball's outfield was as solidified as could be with two seniors and a talented junior on a consensus top 25 team in the preseason polls.
Now, both Jake Peevyhouse and Trever Allen have graduated and Johnny Sewald left after being drafted in the 14th round of the 2015 MLB Draft by the Houston Astros.
The Sun Devils are losing 197 combined hits, including 32 doubles, nine triples and eight homers with the departure of the trio. The three were also stellar defensively as they combined to commit just four errors all season.
Questions loomed the entire offseason, but after small workouts and a week of official team practices, the new starting outfield is beginning to take shape. Preseason speculation points to freshman Tyler Williams in left field, freshman Gage Canning in center and sophomore Andrew Shaps in right.
Canning is a freshman from Ramona, California, who earned All-State honors in 2013, 2014 and 2015. Additionally, he was named a Perfect Game All-American in 2014 and 2015.
Before the team's first official practice on Jan. 29, head coach Tracy Smith said Canning had been the most consistent player vying for an outfield position. In the last week and a half, not much has changed for a guy who could be the team's leadoff hitter.
"It's probably his job to lose in center right now, so we'll see how that goes," Smith said.
Shaps, who is also expected to step into the closer role, only served as a relief pitcher last season. However, he said he played in the outfield a lot in high school and made it known to the ASU staff that he hoped to play there this year.
While he loves pitching, he said the allure of playing in the outfield comes in the reward of being an everyday player. He played in the outfield in high school and during summer ball after last season, so it isn't foreign territory.
Shaps said he learned the most from Sewald and Peevyhouse simply by observing. He didn't even need to ask any questions.
"I watched Johnny a lot, his footwork from the outfield was incredible, so I learned a lot from him," Shaps said. "Peevyhouse didn't have the greatest arm in the world, but he was the most accurate arm we had, so I watched a lot from him ... those are the two I really modeled my game after."
Williams is a raw athlete who was the No. 67 player in the 2015 recruiting class, according to Perfect Game USA. He was also recently named a top 100 college freshman in Perfect Game's rankings.
The local talent from Glendale Kellis High School was a career .494 batter in high school with a .566 on-base percentage. He tallied 158 hits and drove in 108 runs.
However, since transitioning to college, Smith said he would like to see more consistency from Williams.
"Tyler (Williams) has been a little up and down," Smith said before practice on Feb. 4. "I think once he (shows consistency), he can add another element of power. For the size that he is, he really runs, but he's just got to find more consistency at this point."
The depth remains to be seen as there are a few options, but those are unproven as well. Sophomore two-sport athlete Coltin Gerhart batted .182 with six hits in 24 appearances and seven starts last season.
Additionally, junior-college transfer Daniel Williams — unrelated to Tyler — was Perfect Game's 49th ranked outfielder in the 2013 high school recruiting class.
Although Smith has appeared fairly confident that his youthful outfield could surprise some people, the concern of its inexperience perhaps still looms. Junior shortstop Colby Woodmansee said he and the other infielders — the group that has stayed the most constant from last year — will be putting an emphasis on communicating with the outfielders.
"Just making sure they know outs and simple stuff that you probably don't think of," he said. "Stuff someone would forget when there's 4,000 people in the stands, (that stuff) is the last thing you try to think of. That can decide whether we win the game or not."
Related Links:
Dirt on the Spikes: The nitty gritty of ASU baseball
ASU baseball looking for new guys to step up in rotation, outfield
Reach the reporter at Justin.Toscano@asu.edu or follow @justintoscano3 on Twitter
Like State Press Sports on Facebook or follow @statepresssport on Twitter
