Unpacking Vanderbilt baseball's hitting metrics entering the 2023 SEC Tournament

Vanderbilt baseball heads into the SEC Tournament with more momentum than it's had in a while.

The Commodores (37-17) entered last weekend's against Arkansas having lost four straight games and six of their last eight, but took the final two games of the series to secure a 19-11 SEC record and are now projected to earn a national seed in the NCAA Tournament. They also secured a bye into the double-elimination bracket of the SEC Tournament with the No. 4 seed. But Vanderbilt continues to deal with injuries that have thinned out the pitching staff.

The Tennessean answers reader questions entering the postseason:

"I feel like Vandy hits about the same vs. SEC opponents as vs. midweeks. Is the lack of crazy good hitting in midweeks one of the reasons Vandy's overall hitting statistics aren't as good as those of other SEC teams?"

You might be onto something here.

Although this doesn't separate out midweeks from pre-conference games, Vanderbilt is the only team in the SEC to have a higher batting average in conference games than in the non-conference. It's actually pretty significant, as the Commodores are hitting .281 in SEC games and .274 overall.

Vanderbilt also has a higher slugging percentage (.458) in conference games than it does overall (.447), although the on-base percentage is slightly lower (.373 vs. .378).

As far as home runs go, 47 of the Commodores' 61 homers came in conference play (61%), despite conference games consisting of just 56% of the schedule. Although this number is relatively high, three SEC teams had an even higher proportion of their home runs come during conference play: Kentucky, Auburn and Texas A&M.

The reason for this is less clear. Vanderbilt did play a more difficult non-conference schedule than many SEC teams (as did Kentucky) and the weather may also have something to do with it. Early in the season, when many of these non-conference games are played, Nashville has colder weather than many SEC cities, which can lead to the ball not flying as far. Most of the Commodores' non-conference games were also played at home, and Hawkins Field is a pitcher-friendlier ballpark than other SEC teams have.

Most midweek games are also played at night, while SEC games are more likely to be played during the day, when it's warmer.

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"Have you done a comparison of (Patrick Reilly's) stats as a starter vs. in relief?"

Reilly has been much better in relief than as a starter. In relief, he has a 3.76 ERA in 26⅓ innings with a 33.6% strikeout rate and a 12% walk rate. As a starter, he has a 13.06 ERA in 10⅓ innings with a 21.7% walk rate and an 18.3% strikeout rate.

Reilly has 14 career starts, but only one of those was a quality start − a seven-inning, two-run outing against Alabama in 2021. That's the only time Reilly has pitched more than five innings as a starter, but he has three career relief appearances of more than five innings.

"Does Vandy currently have enough pitching to survive 5 games in 5 days?"

Most likely not. If Vanderbilt can get Hunter Owen back, it will have two above-average starters with him and Devin Futrell. The Commodores may be able to get through a third game such as it did against Arkansas by piecing together good performances from a variety of bullpen arms. After that, though, Vanderbilt might simply run out of arms.

Then again, few SEC teams have enough pitching at this point in the season to get through five games in five days, which could make the SEC Tournament quite unpredictable.

"Do we continue to see TJ (McKenzie) and Troy (LaNeve) in the lineup?"

I have to think that they will continue to get chances, although whether they will play every day remains to be seen, as Vanderbilt may desire to instead play matchups.

Particularly at designated hitter, the Commodores could opt to platoon LaNeve with Chris Maldonado, as Maldonado hits better against left-handed pitchers than right-handed pitchers, so coach Tim Corbin could opt to start LaNeve against right-handed pitchers and Maldonado against lefties.

Left field will likely continue to be a logjam between McKenzie, Matthew Polk and Calvin Hewett. Each of the three have very different skillsets. Polk hits for the highest average among the group but he is an aggressive, free swinger, so his skillset works best against strike-throwing pitchers. Hewett provides superb defensive and baserunning skills, which could be helpful in the type of pitcher's duels often seen in the first game of super regionals. McKenzie has the most power of the group but also strikes out more.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Vanderbilt baseball hitting metrics tell story entering SEC Tournament