Predicting Auburn baseball's opening day lineup, breaking down the 2024 roster
AUBURN — Auburn baseball made history in 2023.
For the first time ever, the Tigers secured hosting rights for back-to-back NCAA regionals. It didn't turn out how coach Butch Thompson wanted − Auburn opened the postseason tournament with an 11-inning loss to Penn before getting knocked out by Southern Miss a day later − but it was a notable achievement for a program that's only ever seen six regionals played on its campus.
Now it's time to try to make it three in a row.
The Tigers will open the ninth season of the Thompson era against Eastern Kentucky on Friday (6 p.m. CT, SEC Network+). Auburn, which was picked to finish fifth in the SEC West by the preseason coaches poll, will once again look to surpass the expectations placed on it.
Here's a breakdown of what the Tigers have in 2024, as well as a prediction for who could start versus the Colonels:
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Notable newcomers for Auburn baseball in 2024
The Tigers brought in 12 freshmen as part of the Class of 2023, including six top-300 prospects. It's a group headlined by left-handed pitcher Griffin Graves out of Trinity Christian Academy in Tennessee and right-handed pitcher Cam Tilly from Castle High School in Indiana.
Graves was tabbed by Perfect Game as the No. 11 LHP in the nation, while Tilly was given the No. 36 distinction as a righty.
Other additions for Auburn this offseason include six transfers and four junior-college pickups, with former Miami (Ohio) infielder Cooper Weiss being a key addition. Weiss, who started his career at Coastal Carolina from 2020-22 before joining the RedHawks last season, has 144 career appearances over the last four years.
Weiss figures to slide in at shortstop, where Cole Foster played last season before getting selected by the San Francisco Giants with the No. 85 pick in the 2023 MLB Draft. Jacksonville State transfer Javon Hernandez, the Atlantic Sun Conference's leader in batting average in 2023 (.397), is another infielder who could become a starter.
Ike Irish headlines key returnees
Few freshmen around the country made an impact like Ike Irish did last season.
The former No. 39 overall player in the Class of 2022, Irish hit the ground running in 2023. The 6-foot-2, 203-pound catcher started all 58 of Auburn's games in his first year; only one other player did that for the Tigers last season. He paced Auburn in batting average (.361), hits (86) and doubles (24), with those marks ranking No. 7, No. 7 and No. 2 in the SEC, respectively.
A pair of outfielders join Irish in the key returnees category: Bobby Peirce and Chris Stanfield. The duo combined for 96 appearances in 2023, and the pairing is expected to make important contributions in 2024. Stanfield is likely moving from left field to center field, and Peirce should get the nod at one of the corner spots.
Right-handed pitcher Joseph Gonzalez may be the most notable player coming back, though. A potential ace who missed all but one game last season with a shoulder injury, Gonzalez posted a 3.22 ERA in 14 starts as a sophomore in 2022.
Pitching rotation
Auburn returns 78.9% of its innings pitched from a season ago, with Tommy Vail's 69⅓ frames being the biggest loss. The Tigers announced Wednesday afternoon what their starting rotation will look like against Eastern Kentucky: Chase Allsup on Friday, Joseph Gonzalez on Saturday and Carson Myers on Sunday.
Allsup appeared in 20 games with eight starts in 2023, earning a 5.47 ERA and 49 strikeouts in 49⅓ innings. Gonzalez is set to make his return to the mound for the first time since he tossed five scoreless innings against Indiana on Feb. 17, 2023.
Myers spent the last two seasons at UAB before transferring to Auburn in June. He made 13 starts and one relief appearance in 2023, striking out 70 batters in 71⅔ innings pitched.
The bullpen has a variety of arms including veterans such as Tanner Bauman, Will Cannon and John Armstrong and youth like Tilly and Graves. Redshirt senior Christian Herberholz and former Tacoma Community College pitcher Dylan Watts should be in the mix, too.
Starting lineup prediction
Here's what the starting lineup could look like in the season opener:
SP: Chase Allsup
2B Javon Hernandez
RF Bobby Peirce
C Ike Irish
1B Cooper McMurray
SS Cooper Weiss
DH Christian Hall
3B Deric Fabian
LF Mason Maners
CF Chris Stanfield
Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on X, formerly on Twitter, @rich_silva18.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Breaking down Auburn baseball's roster, predicting starters in 2024
