But, they've been EXTREMELY successful with outfield transfers over the past 2 years. Enough so that they will likely continue to lean in that direction: Cannizzaro Micheletti Watson The name of the game with the transfer portal across college baseball appears to be that the outfield will be heavily made up of transfers year-year who have proven hit record in college baseball. I say this based on podcasts from D1 and Baseball America who have discussed this model (see link below to BA podcast discussing this). It will unfortunately be tough for freshmen to get plate appearances in the future at SEC and ACC schools unless you're a Drew Burress type. The transfer w/ success in college ball is a far less risky profile than freshmen or even rising sophomores with limited college experience. The team has access to data that will allow them to better project success than most of us can work with for transfers. Ben Watson was no accident. He was on the radar of UVA too. Using poor numbers in the summer to say a player won't be productive in the ACC is a dangerous game. See Ben Watson's summer stats in 2023. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/baseball-america/id... I don't doubt the abilities of incoming freshmen or rising sophomores. I'm simply stating what I believe is likely to happen based on recent roster construction activity. Even summer league success doesn't always translate to ACC success, unless we're talking Cape League. We've had some guys find success in the summer who struggled to produce in the spring. All 3 OF transfers bring a wealth of D1 experience, some against premier competition. In the end I think that will increase their likelihood of getting the starting job.