Carter Holton's return and other takeaways from Vanderbilt baseball preseason scrimmages

Matt Ossenfort got a hold of a baseball and it traveled off his bat, over the right-field stands and bounced off the top of a car before coming to a stop on 25th Avenue.

It may have been just a batting-practice blast, but his home run was just one example of Vanderbilt baseball's freshmen showing off their tools in a series of weekend scrimmages Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Ossenfort, a first baseman from South Dakota, and Braden Holcomb, a third baseman and outfielder from Florida, might have the most power on the team, but Holcomb has sneaky speed, too. He put that on display when he stole third base after an opposite-field double during Saturday's scrimmage. Holcomb, a 6-foot-4, 257-pounder, even saw some time in center field.

Meanwhile, infielder Cam Kozeal is a good enough hitter to be batting third in the lineup during the scrimmages. Kozeal had two RBI singles during the weekend.

How each of those players will fit into the lineup come the season opener Feb. 16 remains to be seen. But the Commodores have continued to see flashes from their recruiting class, and that can only be a good sign.

Here are other takeaways from the scrimmages.

Holton, Ginther healthy

Left-handers Carter Holton and Ryan Ginther are expected to be major parts of Vanderbilt's 2024 staff — Holton as a weekend starter and Ginther as a versatile reliever.

Both dealt with injuries during the back half of 2023 and sat out the entire fall, leading to uncertainty about their health. But both were back in action Sunday. Neither allowed a run: Holton struck out two, allowed one walk and one hit batter in two innings, and Ginther struck out three, allowed one walk and one hit batter in 1⅔ innings.

After a freshman All-American season in 2022, Holton started 2023 as the team's Friday starter, but he struggled after sitting out an April weekend series against Missouri with what was termed as soreness. He last pitched in a Vanderbilt uniform on May 4 before being shut down for the season with an arm injury, though he did see limited action for Team USA during the summer.

Ginther missed the SEC Tournament with an undisclosed injury and returned for the regional, but he was not sharp. He sat out the entire summer and fall.

Holton has All-American potential if he can return to his pre-injury form, while Ginther has the potential to be one of the top relief pitchers in the SEC.

Sophomore lefty JD Thompson, who also did not pitch in the fall, pitched during Friday's scrimmage.

There are a few players who are still out with injuries. Freshmen RJ Hamilton (knee) and Kaito Muto (back) have not seen any scrimmage action, with Hamilton not likely to play this season due to a torn ACL.

Freshman Ethan Robinson pitched in the fall but will redshirt 2024 after undergoing Tommy John surgery in January.

Who looked improved from the fall?

Holcomb has always shown physicality, and he has started to show more hitting ability in scrimmages, too. Though he's a natural third baseman, Vanderbilt used him primarily at first base and left field during the scrimmages. While in left field Friday, Holcomb threw out a runner trying to advance to third on a sacrifice fly. After moving to first base, he leaped to catch a line drive.

A few players who struggled to throw strikes in the fall had better outings this time out. Levi Huesman, the Coastal Carolina transfer, walked just one and had four strikeouts in two innings Saturday. If he can continue to throw strikes, he could become a quality bullpen option thanks to his nasty slider.

Freshman Nik Copenhaver performed well Friday and could put himself in position to be part of the bullpen. Sophomore David Horn, who showed his potential in wins over Louisville and Arkansas last season, threw three strikeouts and walked none in 2⅓ innings Sunday.

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Who will be in the weekend rotation?

Holton and fellow junior lefty Devin Futrell are experienced starters who are good bets to fill two-thirds of Vanderbilt's weekend rotation. Who will join them is still an open question.

To start Saturday's scrimmage, junior right-handers Bryce Cunningham and Greysen Carter faced off. Those two are likely the top contenders for the spot. Two potential wild cards, Andrew Dutkanych and Ethan McElvain, have little experience but high-octane arsenals. Neither pitched in the scrimmages but are potential options for Tuesday's scrimmage.

Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on Twitter @aria_gerson.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Carter Holton healthy, other Vanderbilt baseball scrimmage takeaways