D1 Baseball Fall Report: Texas A&M

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Texas A&M head coach Jim Schlossnagle saw all he needed to see by the end of his team’s scrimmage against Houston earlier this fall.

Schlossnagle isn’t guaranteeing a national title. He’s also not even uttering the words Omaha about the 2024 Aggies just yet. But there’s zero doubt he has high aspirations for this team.

For one, Schlossnagle and the Aggies believe this team is more talented than the one that reached college baseball’s national semifinals back in 2022. It’s certainly more talented than the 2023 version of A&M, particularly on the mound. There’s also a lot of premium depth at several positions around the diamond. Jace LaViolette is back after a monster freshman campaign at the plate, while A&M picked up a pair of stud transfers in Braden Montgomery and Ali Camarillo, among others.

On the mound, the past couple of months have been a transition for the Aggies. Former pitching coach and associate head coach Nate Yeskie moved over to fellow SEC foe LSU during the offseason, while the Aggies hired an innovative and younger pitching coach in Max Weiner, who previously was the Minor League pitching coordinator for the Seattle Mariners.

Time will tell if Weiner is able to help the pitching staff turn the tide after an unorthodox 2023 campaign, but the pieces are present to take a massive step forward. Hard-throwing righthanded pitcher Chris Cortez showed better command this fall, Jacksonville State righthanded pitcher Tanner Jones looks like a sure-fire starting pitcher on the weekends and lefthanders Justin Lamkin, Ryan Prager (injury) and Troy Wansing are back for another season.

The always-rugged SEC can humble any team quick, but the Aggies are confident about what lies ahead.

“I thought we had a very competitive fall at pretty much every position,” Schlossnagle told D1Baseball. “We have a lot of really good and young talented players, but there are also plenty of older, talented players in this program, too.

“The competition at every position — it was really fierce this fall. Honestly, it might’ve been the fiercest competition I’ve seen as a coach,” he added. “I’m really interested to see how things shake out between now and the spring.

“This is the most talented team I’ve had here for sure in terms of pure talent. But in our conference, that just puts you in the conversation — nothing more, nothing less. You’re never going to have all better players than every other team in the SEC, but you need to have as good of players to compete at the highest level.

“We’re not where we want to be just yet, but we’re headed the right direction. Again, the overall talent of this team has been really impressive.”

Let’s dive into the Aggies’ fall workouts.

LaViolette, Montgomery headline potent offensive lineup

The Aggies have a lot of promise from an offensive standpoint as the 2024 campaign nears.

Starting at first base, the Aggies have at least three intriguing options. Redshirt freshman Blake Binderup is a talented two-way player who didn’t have a defined role last season. However, Binderup, a 6-foot-6, 230-pounder, showed easy power in a scrimmage against Houston earlier this fall. He likely will begin the season in a designated hitter role instead of at first, but he’s in the mix. The most likely candidates are Michigan transfer Ted Burton and returning slugger Ryan Targac. Targac was a standout hitter for the Aggies two seasons ago before scuffling a bit last season. A&M is eager to see him return to his old form. As for Burton, he’s a fifth-year senior who has a solid track record. He hit 10 homers for the Wolverines two seasons ago before batting .301 with 13 homers and 45 RBIs last season.

Interestingly, whomever doesn’t win the first base job likely shifts over to second base to join competition with Swiss Army knife infielder Kaeden Kent. Kent is a hard-nosed, 6-foot-2, 200-pounder, who has shown a sweet swing from the left side at times. He’s in the mix at second, shortstop and third base. In essence, the Aggies would love to find a prominent role for him in the spring.

Kent is joined in competition at shortstop with Cal State Northridge transfer Ali Camarillo. Camarillo is a 6-foot-1, 180-pounder, who is coming off a season in which he hit .371 with seven homers and 44 RBIs. Schlossnagle said hitting coach Michael Earley has continued to improve Camarillo’s offensive approach, while in my scrimmage look, I was impressed with his smooth actions and relatively strong arm at the shortstop position.

Another infielder to watch is freshman Jack Bell. Bell is a 6-foot, 180-pounder, who had a turned ankle the night I saw the Aggies against Houston. However, Bell was a hard-nosed player this fall who showed a mature offensive approach.

The third base position is headlined by freshman Gavin Grahovac. Grahovac, a 6-foot-2, 220-pounder, looked the part throughout fall workouts. He can play third, the outfield and Schlossnagle pointed out that he also spent time with USA Baseball behind the plate and excelled at the position. He will stick to third for the Aggies, though. Grahovac has a sweet, but impactful, righthanded swing, and physically, reminds me of former Texas Tech standout and current Rangers slugger Josh Jung at the same age. Grahovac, as with LaViolette last season, looks like a slam dunk instant impact bat.

“Gavin is one of those ultra-talented kids who is going to have his warts at times as a freshman in the SEC — let’s not forget that LaViolette was hitting around .200 at one point last season, then turned it on. But with that, Gavin is a very good hitter with big-time power at the plate. He stays on the baseball and he’s the type of hitter who will take a single to right field if you’re willing to give it to him. He’s a big and strong hitter.

“As for the Jung comparisons, I think Josh was probably a bit more ahead of Gavin as a defender at the same age, but they’re really similar as hitters,” he added. “The biggest thing for Gavin is continuing to get him reps at third base. I think it’ll be a great spot for him.”

Behind the plate, the Aggies welcome back sophomore Max Kaufer. Kaufer should’ve been in high school last season but graduated a year early than expected. Given the age gap, he struggled offensively for much of last season before showing a much more mature offensive approach as the season progressed. He’s expected to take a sizable step forward. Meanwhile, Penn transfer Jackson Appel is another guy to watch. The graduate student has a ton of experience and is coming off a solid season for the Quakers, where he hit .295 with 13 doubles, five triples, four homers and 40 RBIs. Also keep an eye on Hank Bard. Bard likely will not be an everyday catcher but has certainly earned more playing time after leading the team in hitting during the fall with a .450 batting average.

“Appel is not as physical as everyone else at the catcher position, but he’s super experienced and can hit for power from both sides of the plate,” Schlossnagle said. “He can really throw, he’s super intelligent and he has good feel for the game. Kaufer just continues to improve, and there’s some real competition at the catcher position right now.”

In the outfield, the center field position needs zero introduction with Jace LaViolette back for another season. LaViolette was an All-American type of hitter by the end of last season and is expected to take another step forward. Meanwhile, Stanford transfer two-way standout Braden Montgomery will occupy right field. Montgomery showed huge power, as expected, during fall workouts, and the Aggies made a point during the fall to emphasis an ability to hit with equal power and production from both sides of the plate. Schlossnagle said the Aggies would like to see Montgomery control the zone a bit more in 2024.

The only position battle in the outfield is out in left, where Travis Chestnut, Hayden Schott, Jett Johnston and Caden Sorrell are in the mix. Chestnut is a good athlete who had a terrific fall but is still working an uphill climb, while Sorrell is a 6-foot-3, 205-pound freshman who also impressed the coaching staff this fall. Then, there’s the likely leader in Columbia graduate student transfer Schott. Schott is a 6-foot-2, 200-pounder, who had two strong seasons for the Lions — he hit .320 with 12 homers and 55 RBIs two seasons ago before hitting .333 with 16 doubles, 11 homers and 31 RBIs last season. As for Johnston, he’s a 6-foot-1, 210-pounder, who crushed the ball at times during fall workouts.

New-look pitching staff has plenty of weapons

With the Aggies expected to score plenty of runs in the spring, all eyes are on the pitching staff with new maestro Max Weiner in charge. Weiner’s philosophy clearly hinges on having premier stuff, but he places an even heavier emphasis on simply throwing strikes.

It would only be natural to begin the discussion from a command standpoint on potential starting pitchers, which includes junior righthander Chris Cortez. Cortez, a 6-foot-1, 205-pounder, has a massive arm. He was up to 97-98 mph with his fastball last season. However, his inability to consistently command both the fastball, and especially the slider, led to him tallying a 7.34 ERA in 41.2 innings of work last season. Cortez continues to show the same velocity this fall, but Schlossnagle said his command was improved. The question now is can he carry that over to the spring? We’ll find out sooner rather than later.

Sophomore lefthanded pitcher Justin Lamkin and Jacksonville State transfer righthanded pitcher Tanner Jones are two other strong candidates to be in the rotation. Lamkin is a projectable 6-foot-4, 210-pounder, who had an important role on the weekend for the Aggies last season. He has improved this fall, getting bigger and stronger, and showing more crispness to his overall stuff. Lamkin was up to 93-94 mph with his fastball in the UH scrimmage, along with a mid-80s changeup and a low-80s slider. Jones, a 6-foot, 190-pounder, had a strong fall and showed electric stuff earlier this fall, getting up to 95-96 mph with his fastball, along with a quality slider.

“Those two — Lamkin and Jones — are the easy ones for me right now in terms of the rotation spots,” Schlossnagle said. “Lamkin has gotten bigger and stronger and he’s throwing harder than he did last season. There’s some crispness to his stuff. Jones is also throwing a little harder than he did last season. He’s got three or four pitches he can command for strikes. He doesn’t have SEC experience, but what he does have is a lot of college baseball experience.

Three more arms to watch include lefthanders Troy Wansing and Ryan Prager and righthander Zane Badmaev. Wansing has a fastball in the low-90s to go with a quality curveball. However, the big key with him is his command. He had a tendency last season to look good, then out of nowhere, walk several hitters. Prager was a talented freshman for the Aggies but missed last season because of an injury. He should be ready to roll in the spring. Then, there’s Badmaev, a stocky 6-foot-8, 265-pounder, who looked good in an inning of work against A&M last season. Badmaev probably serves better at the backend of games, but Schlossnagle said he’ll at least get a look at the rotation. He’s up to 94-95 mph with this fastball, along with a nasty short slider that tunnels out of the same arm slot.

“The thing I saw with a guy like Zane is that he’s a strike thrower who has pitched in a lot of roles throughout his career,” Schlossnagle said. “He has good velocity on his fastball, he has a really good breaking ball and he’s a guy who will throw endless strikes. As for Prager, he’s kind of a big part of what we’re trying to do. If we’re going to be an elite pitching staff, we’re going to need Prager to get all the way back to his old self.”

In terms of the bullpen, the Aggies welcome back one of the more effective arms in the SEC in lefthander Evan Aschenbeck. Aschenbeck was one of the biggest surprises of last season for the Aggies and seems to draw weak contact and such at times despite not having overwhelming stuff. Another lefty, Shane Sdao, is a what you see is what you’ll get type of pitcher with a fastball up to 92–93 mph along with an 82 mph slider, while righthander Brad Rudis is up to 92-93 mph with his fastball after dropping his arm slot, and San Diego State transfer righthander Eldridge Armstrong could factor into some important innings as well. Armstrong, a 6-foot-2, 205-pounder, was up to 92-93 mph with his fastball in the scrimmage I attended, along with a decent slider.

Three young arms to watch include righthanders Isaac Morton and Brett Antolick, and 6-foot-2, 190-pound lefty Kaiden Wilson. Morton is a 6-foot-3, 190-pounder, who likely would’ve been in pro ball by now if not for an injury before last season. Morton has huge upside with a fastball up to 95-96 mph, along with a slider in the mid-80s and a changeup. Morton showed impressive stuff and poise against UH earlier this fall. Antolick is another low-90s guy who Schlossnagle and Co., like, while Wilson could be another bell cow on this pitching staff before the dust settles. Wilson, a Maryland product, is up to 96-97 mph with his fastball, along with two distinct breaking balls. Schloss said Wilson reminds him a lot of former TCU standout lefty and big leaguer Brandon Finnegan.