The Auburn Tigers are set to open the 2023 season on Friday, Feb. 17 against Indiana at Plainsman Park. While we count down the days, here’s a brief look at what to expect this season.
The first chapter of Auburn Wire’s baseball season previews will take a look at Auburn’s returning hitters from last season’s College World Series roster.
Auburn returns plenty of contributors to last season’s lineup and will see a lot of new faces at the plate as well. However, the caliber of bats that have since moved on to the professional ranks leaves a few questions for Auburn to answer.
The biggest void on this season’s roster is [autotag]Sonny DiChiara[/autotag], who was drafted 148th overall by the Los Angeles Angels and was immediately delegated to Double-A Rocket City. In his lone season on the Plains, DiChiara smashed 22 home runs and was responsible for 59 RBI.
Auburn will also be without [autotag]Blake Rambusch[/autotag], [autotag]Brooks Carlson[/autotag], and [autotag]Brody Moore[/autotag], who finished the season in the top-five of batting average last season behind DiChiara.
There are some familiar faces, however, who will return to the Auburn lineup this season including [autotag]Bobby Peirce[/autotag], [autotag]Cam Hill[/autotag], [autotag]Cole Foster[/autotag], and [autotag]Kason Howell[/autotag], who all hit over .250 last season.
Here’s a look at the top returning bats to Auburn’s roster ahead of the 2023 season, based on last season’s batting average.