Super Bowl Update

This is the second of three previews, and it should be a long one as we preview five different positions.

CATCHER - Troy brought in Brandon Brown from Middle Georgia College and he hasn't disappointed, taking charge of the starting role as it was wide open. Brown did suffer a concussion in the scrimmage last weekend, though, leaving the tiny chance he may not be ready for Friday's opener.

"He's probably more athletic than most catchers we've had in the past here," Troy head coach Bobby Pierce said. "He has a demeanor similar to Todd McRae in that he knows how to work with pitchers. He's a brilliant student and a student of the game. He's adjusting from being the guy that everybody loves in Todd McRae, and it's been a seamless transition as any adjustment I can think of. That's giving both guys a compliment."

Pierce said there's a chance Brown could be a leadoff hitter because he finds his way on base and has a little speed. In the order, Brown projects as a 1-2 or 8-9 guy.

Senior Blake Martz is the backup, and has a chance to be the starting DH, but his availability is in question after he got hit in the shoulder during the scrimmage. Martz, when he's hot, would be in a run-producing part of the order, usually in the 6-7 range.

True freshman Jake Harrell is also in the mix to play this year. He missed the entire fall after a finger injury from last summer lingered.

"I've been very impressed with the short amount of time we've had to spend evaluating Jake Harrell," Pierce said. "He's catching and throwing extremely well, and he's hitting OK. He's certainly a guy we think can contribute to this year's team."

FIRST BASE - The starter is junior Logan Pierce (pictured above, Troy University photo) and his backup is sophomore Kyle Brown. Brown also has a chance to be the DH. Pierce is slotted in the batting order in the 4-5-6 range.

"There were a couple of categories Logan was very good at - scoring runs and driving in runs," Pierce said. "His average was lower than he'd like, but it's not really what we consider when he was getting runs in and getting on base."

SECOND BASE - This is a nice battle with two guys who will play a lot. Senior Tyson Workman, who is also the closer, moves in from right field and is battling with sophomore Jakob Nixon, who transferred from Middle Georgia.

"Workman's more of a leadoff guy with his strike zone awareness," Pierce said. "Nixon is a run-producing type hitter. He's determined and a guy who had a great fall. Tyson, even when he's struggling at the plate, he helps us because he's got great baseball instincts and if you get him out, you're going to get him out in the strike zone."

SHORTSTOP - Senior All-American candidate Tyler Hannah moves from third base to shortstop and he'll open the year as the No. 3 hitter.

"He had played shortstop every year of his life until last year, but if it was the first time you had seen him play, it would have been hard to believe as he did such a great job at third," Pierce said.

There are a couple of guys behind Hannah in junior college transfer Austin Golden and sophomore Tyler Vaughn.

THIRD BASE - The guy here is sophomore Danny Collins, who had a big year last year at NW Florida State College, and he'll be a guy who hits in the 6-7 range with the potential to be a No. 3 hitter as his career develops.

"We really like what we've seen in ball off bat," Pierce said. "He's another guy who is working hard to improve on the defensive side."

I mention Golden more here as Collins' backup because of his versatility. Pierce said that if Golden continues to show he can play third and be a valuable depth guy, then they can redshirt Peyton Fuller.

"Austin is a guy who we've worked at short and some at third base, and a guy that if we pinch run for Danny Collins, he can come in and play third," Pierce said. "We recently started giving him reps at third and we're still making the decision on if we want to use this year for Fuller or redshirt him. If we feel good about using Golden as a backup third baseman, it gives us the ability to redshirt fuller.