Photo: Nicholas Badders/WCSN
“We’ve got four shortstops out there,” head coach Tracy Smith said during the first official practice of 2018.
That is the simplest way to sum up the Arizona State infield this year.
Having an infield made up entirely of natural shortstops is a defensive dream for a baseball team. It’s even better when the players contain the caliber of talent that Jeremy McCuin, Carter Aldrete, Alika Williams and Drew Swift do.
In their respectable draft class last year, Perfect Game Baseball rated Swift as the number four shortstop in Arizona and Williams was the number nine shortstop in California. Two years ago, Aldrete was rated the number three shortstop in California for his class, according to Perfect Game Baseball as well. McCuin has spent time practicing, and starting games, at every position in the infield during his time with the Maroon and Gold. McCuin has also been linked to the catcher position as well this season.
This amount of talent and range creates a lot of options for Smith. Aldrete, McCuin and Williams are all projected to man positions other than shortstop, but all three have the ability to handle the position if needed.
Not only do the coaches see the potential in this combination of defensive talent, but so do the players themselves. McCuin even jokes he could see the team making a play that lands in SportsCenter’s Top Plays segment.
That’s the kind of respect these players have for each other and the level of confidence they share in the plan Smith has created for them.
The main talk of these interchangeable pieces is the ability of Swift and Williams to switch back and forth between second base and shortstop depending on games and match-ups.
“If I have to go over to second base that’s totally fine with me,” Swift said. “If he goes to short, he knows what he’s doing over there. So it works.”
McCuin, who has two years of experience with Smith and in college baseball, figures to add much-needed defensive depth to an infield that a season ago finished tied for last in the Pac-12 with a .967 fielding percentage.
The junior from Gilbert, Ariz. appears to be set for more of an infield utility role in 2018. It’s a challenge McCuin hasn’t experienced so far in a Sun Devil Uniform.
“It’s something new,” McCuin explained. “I’m just about trying to make the team better.”
Although raw talent is certainly a key reason why the coaching staff has said this group of players could form one of the best infields ASU has seen in recent years, the players’ connection already seems to be playing a key role.
“Now I feel like we have a strong base,” Aldrete said. “Our chemistry is getting better and better by the day.”
Swift and Williams have both been very open about how Aldrete and McCuin have both made the transition to college baseball enjoyable and easier. The laughter and smiles whenever the infielders are seen at practice is obvious to anyone observing.
Aldrete gives advice to the two freshman often, and he takes them out on the field to practice drills or to the batting cages to get some extra swings in, according to Williams.
When asked about key factors, McCuin said that keeping the confidence the team has built is a crucial element. They want to keep that upbeat mood going and use it to get the ball rolling toward Opening Day and even into Pac-12 conference play.
