As is the case with all the other positions on the Cavaliers this year, the middle infield is stacked with talent from last years team as well as the first years.
The second basemen are lead by third year star Phil Gosselin. He will be looking to build on a breakout year from last year and turn it in to a high draft pick this upcoming June in the draft. He also provided one of the key memories from last years run through the Irvine Regional by taking #1 overall pick and the second coming of Cy Young/Jesus for any Nats fan, Stephen Strasburg deep in the first inning to cement the fear in Strasburgs eyes.
Gosselin's backup will more than likely be 2nd year Keith Werman. Keith had a great showing in Omaha last year and became the love of every 20-something girl in the nation by slicing and dicing the Cal State Fullerton Outfield. Werman will likely be a late inning defensive replacement since, like his brother Kyle, he's a human vacuum. Werman might also mix in some time in the s
tarting spot at 2B since he bats from the left side which would create matchup problems for any right-handed heavy pitching rotation. Corey Hunt could also see some time at the position but with Coach O'Connor discovering Corey is the greatest pitcher EVER he will probably see most of the time out of the bullpen.
There are only a few positions in the Cavs lineup that are locked down for the year. Shortstop is one of those positions. Everyone's favorite Shortstop, Tyler Cannon, makes his return for his 4th year. Tyler was drafted by the Pirates last year but wanted to make his return this year to be one of the senior leaders of the team. Pending national disasters, injury, and Armageddon, Cannon will start probably 99.5% of the games for the Cavs this year. The first year Chris Taylor looks to be the backup for Cannon and will probably see a significant amount of innings when the 'Hoos lead by so much that Coach O'Connor makes a line change. Taylor, out of the STL founder's hometown of Virginia Beach, VA, had an impressive fall and should see some time this spring.
If you are following along with your UVa baseball roster at home, that leaves us with three first years: Stephen Bruno, Reed Gragnani, and Colin Harrington. Even though all three were highly touted prospects coming out of high school, I just cant see them making a big impact year. Like at the other two positions I have previewed before, there is just too much returning talent in front of them.