TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Brad Bohannon was glad Friday’s scrimmage wasn’t a real game.

The Alabama baseball team held its first official practice of the 2020 season on Friday, which featured a 2 p.m. CT workout and a six-inning scrimmage at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.

As expected, there were a few mistakes and sloppy play at times, but entering his third year at the helms of the Crimson Tide program, Bohannon was pleased with his club’s effort.

“The spirit of this team is really good,” Bohannon said. “These kids really like to play. They’re very serious about being good at baseball. They really like each other. We’re as healthy as we’ve been. We’re at a really, really good starting point, and I think after a couple more weekends playing against each other, we’ll be ready to play some really good baseball.”

Alabama is coming off a 30-26 (7-23 SEC) season and returns 20-of-33 letterwinners from last year’s team. Those numbers include 6-of-10 starting position players returning, 11-of-16 pitchers returning and 16 newcomers and/or redshirts for the upcoming 2020 season.

Figuring out the pitching staff with so much turnover is a “huge key,” Bohannon said.

“We don’t really have a lot of experience on the mound,” Bohannon said. “But we’ve got arm talent. We’ve got guys that throw hard, we’ve got secondary pitches and I think it’s really important for (Jason Jackson) and I to try to get guys in the right roles maybe a little quicker than we did last year. But we’ve got some length to our staff. There’s not a lot of separation.

“So, that’s going to be really important these next three weeks -- and I would even say the first three weeks of the season -- is trying to get the right guys in the right roles everywhere.”

Alabama baseball coach Brad Bohannon

Whether on the mound or as positional players, the Crimson Tide will once again rely on some of its newest additions this spring. Alabama signed the nation’s No. 15-ranked recruiting class, according to Baseball America. Bohannon mentioned some young names to watch.

“That freshman class is really talented,” Bohannon said. “Some of those guys are probably going to be asked to do maybe a little bit more than they’re ready for. But pitching-wise, Connor Prielipp has kind of separated himself from a stuff standpoint -- and he needs to get better, but he’s going to pitch a lot. Antonie Jean is going to pitch a bunch for us. He’s really talented, and he’s going to have a great year. Landon Green is a redshirt freshman, and he threw today. He had surgery right when he got here, but Landon’s going to pitch a bunch.

“And positionally, Jim Jarvis is a guy that just keeps getting better. We’re not going to be able to keep him off the field. The same with Owen Diodati. They’re two of the freshmen that have really stood out. Myles Austin’s really talented, he’s going to get a lot of opportunity. Really glad Peyton Wilson’s here. He can play anywhere on the field, and if he keeps working hard to make me give him an opportunity. And then there’s a couple others, but those are several guys that you’re going to see a lot of this year.”

So, what should fans of Crimson Tide baseball expect to see out of the entire 2020 squad?

“I’m not ready to make predictions on our club, but I think this team is what you’re going to see going forward,” Bohannon said. “In the recruiting process, I kind of always err on athleticism and tools. We’ve got a lot of guys that can play a lot of different positions, and I think that’s important here with our scholarship limitations that we have players that are versatile.

“I want to have balance, I want to have speed and power. I want to velocity on the mound, but I also want to have pitchability. We’re a very balanced club. The biggest issues are inexperience on the mound, but I’m really, really excited about our freshman and sophomore classes. We’ve some nice older pieces, too. I think when these freshmen and sophomores get some league experience under their belt, it’s going to look right.”

Bohannon’s players feel the same way as their coach.

“The talent that we have this year, I’m confident and everyone else is confident that we’re going to make some noise this year,” sophomore right-handed pitcher and utility player Tyler Ras said, “and hopefully bring Alabama baseball back to what it was.”

Contact Charlie Potter by personal message or on Twitter (@Charlie_Potter).