BASEBALL: 2024 Position Player Preview

NC State is less than a week from opening day of the 2024 baseball season. Let’s preview the position players.

The Outfield

Chase Nixon and Noah Soles return as the veterans while Eli Serrano is the blue-chip prospect who is making the unusual move from first base to center field. Serrano is the biggest x-factor; if he can play at least an average center field and be a top of the order bat, it solves two major questions. The pedigree and upside is there, as Serrano is listed as the 14th best ACC prospect in the upcoming draft by D1Baseball despite an up-and-down freshman year.

Nixon and Soles are experienced, above average bats who were in and out of the lineup last year due to injuries and depth. They produced 125 and 119 wRC+ respectively in conference play (100 is average).

Josh Hogue comes to NC State from Sante Fe College where he slashed .412/.481/.608 and is going to be an important bat. Serrano will be in center, but the other three will compete for the two corner spots and DH.

The Infield

The Pack rebuilt the infield and clearly prioritized defense in the process. Brandon Butterworth, Alec Makarewicz, and Garrett Pennington are upperclassmen, portal additions who are known defensive quantities.

Butterworth played second base at Western Carolina and his underlying offensive metrics were better than his traditional numbers. He appears to be in line to start at shortstop. Butterworth is the second biggest x-factor after Serrano.

Last year, Makarewicz put up an .832 OPS with 11 home runs at ECU while Pennington hit 15 home runs at Wichita State with a 120 wRC+. Makarewicz will play third while Pennington will play first, and both slot into the middle of the lineup.

Luke Nixon is the younger brother of Chase who is the most likely freshman to start on opening day. Nixon will start the year at second base and seems likely to transition to shortstop in future years. Matt Heavner and Carson Falsken return but have only played sparingly.

Catcher/DH

Jacob Cozart is the best catcher in college baseball and a likely first round pick in the upcoming draft. Cozart is a complete player: he slashed .290/.389/.579 with seven home runs in conference play, yet his calling card is his defense.

Cozart will hit in the middle of the order all year and catch the majority of the games. He will be the top draft pick out of NC State since Patrick Bailey went 13th in 2020, and he has a chance to go higher than Bailey did, which would make him the second highest draft pick in school history.

Alex Sosa is the next man up after Cannon Peebles left for Tennessee. Sosa is the top prospect coming to NC State on the offensive side and is in line to replace Cozart in 2025. For now, Sosa will backup Cozart and compete with Chase Nixon and potentially Hogue or Soles for DH reps.

Building the Lineup

Last year, State had too many guys and never settled on a lineup. 12 players had at least 80 plate appearances. This year, there’s no such issue. Right now, it’s very straight forward: there’s 10 guys for nine spots.

Sosa and whichever corner outfielder gets squeezed out will compete at DH, and certainly there will be a lot of rotation there regardless of who starts on opening day. Other guys will get some reps early in the year, but I think the lineup is primarily set.

Soles RF

Serrano CF

Cozart C

Pennington 1B

Makarewicz 3B

Hogue LF

Butterworth SS

C. Nixon DH

L. Nixon 2B