Parker French (Texas)

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Top 25 Breakdown: No. 10 Texas

2014 Record: 46-21. RPI: 3.

Coach (Record at school): Augie Garrido (763-366-2, 18 years).

Postseason History: 56 regionals (active streak: 1), 35 CWS trips (last in 2014), 6 national titles (last in 2005).

Texas' Projected Lineup

2015 Lineup Pos. Name, Yr. AVG/OBP/SLG HR RBI SB C Tres Barrera, So. .261/.337/.402 5 35 0 1B Travis Jones, Fr. HS -- Humble, Texas 2B Brooks Marlow, Sr. .268/.383/.375 3 21 4 3B Bret Boswell DNP -- Redshirt SS C.J. Hinojosa, Jr. .298/.373/.376 2 35 5 LF Ben Johnson, Jr. .263/.367/.405 6 33 21 CF Zane Gurwitz, So. .284/.327/.370 2 28 9 RF Collin Shaw, Sr. .264/.355/.301 0 23 13 DH Michael Cantu, Fr. HS -- Corpus Christi, Texas

Pos. Name, Yr. W-L ERA IP SO BB SV RHP Parker French, Sr. 7-5 2.41 104.2 62 44 1 RHP Chad Hollingsworth, Jr. 4-0 1.15 54.2 28 13 2 LHP Josh Sawyer, So. 1-0 5.59 9.2 8 6 0 RP Kyle Johnston, Fr. HS -- Flower Mound, Texas

SEE ALSO: Five Questions With Texas’ Augie Garrido

Hitting: 60. This will be a productive Texas lineup. Will it be one of the elite lineups in the country? Probably not, but it will be solid, and it will be balanced, something that is music to the ears of a Texas fan. UT is expected to get productive campaigns from Hinojosa, Gurwitz, Barrera, Marlow and Johnson—all players who showed at various times last season they could be productive, while also handling stiff expectations. Marlow always shows a veteran-like approach, with the ability to spray the ball around the field. Boswell is a talented player over at third, and his impact will be felt after missing last season with a wrist injury. Also watch out for freshman Travis Jones. The athletic youngster played shortstop in high school, but could start at first base opening day for the Longhorns. He has some pop in his bat, but just needs to become more refined as a hitter.

Power: 45. The Longhorns aren’t loaded with big-time power threats, but they don’t need to be, especially considering their home ballpark. With that, Texas does have some power options with this club. Johnson and Barrera have already proven to have home run power, while Boswell, Gurwitz and Marlow have some pop to the gaps.

Speed: 60. Considering the Longhorns always seem to perfect the small ball game under the direction of Tommy Nicholson and Garrido, the fact they have some legitimate speed throughout the lineup is a scary proposition for opposing teams. UT has some real speed with Johnson and Shaw leading the way, while Marlow and Gurwitz are a scrappy combination with an ultra aggressive, hard-nosed approach.

SS C.J. Hinojosa (Texas athletics)

Defense: 70. Color me a huge fan of the Longhorns from a defensive standpoint. Boy, is this an impressive club on paper. The Longhorns have a stable defender behind the plate in Barrera, while up the middle, the double play combo of Hinojosa and Marlow is one of the best in the country. Hinojosa, in particular, gained a great deal of confidence by his play down the stretch last season. Boswell has quick hands and is expected to shine at third, while the outfield is in terrific shape with the speedy and athletic Johnson and Shaw, along with Gurwitz, who moves from third to center and has that scrappy presence exemplified by Mark Payton the past few seasons.

Starting rotation: 55. The Texas starting rotation will be good, but will this be a rotation that can win the program’s seventh national title? That’s to be determined, especially if French is forced to move to the bullpen. French, the hard-nosed senior, has a fastball anywhere from 89-93 mph, along with a 79-82 changeup and 82-84 mph slider. French fields his position well and tends to induce a lot of ground balls with his sinking action at times. Hollingsworth is progressing well from an injury and likely is to occupy that Saturday role. Hollingsworth was the hero for the Longhorns against Texas A&M in that Houston Regional last year, and we get the feeling the hard-nosed righty takes the big jump this year. He will sit anywhere from 87-90 with his fastball, along with a mid-70s curve (his go-to secondary offering) and upper 70s change. Finally, the No. 3 spot in the weekend, at this point, likely is to go to Sawyer, the talented sophomore. Sawyer made an impression in the fall, and sits in the upper 80s, touching 90 mph, with his fastball, along with an improved changeup. He has good mound presence and the ‘Horns feel like he might just be the biggest surprise coming out of fall workouts. The Longhorns also have high hopes for two-way talent Kacy Clemens. Clemens has a quality arm and only will get better with more innings. He also could start again at first base for the Longhorns.

Bullpen: 55. Somewhere in the Texas locker room, there should be a sign stating “In Skip Johnson We Trust.” Even in the years the Longhorns look to be vulnerable on the mound, particularly in the bullpen, one of the nation’s elite pitching coaches always seems to have the burnt orange headed the right direction. Johnson has his work cut out with this unit, which is ultra-talented, but lacking experience. For instance, UT is leaving open the option of moving its projected Friday starter, French, to the closer role, while for now, it looks like freshman Johnston could occupy the role. Johnston is a 6-foot, 202-pounder, who was up to 95-96 mph with his fastball in the fall. Travis Duke is a key option from the left side. He’ll only sit 83-87 with his fastball, but he mixes in a pair of good secondaries in a curveball (72-74) and changeup (77-79). LHP Ty Culbreth will eat up a lot of innings out of the pen, while another freshman, RHP Connor Mayes, did some nice things in the fall to put his name into the mix. There’s talent here, and where there’s talent, Johnson will take care of the rest.

Experience/Intangibles: 60. After experiencing heartache for a couple of seasons and not reaching the NCAA postseason, the Longhorns entered 2014 hungrier than ever. Still, they had to go out there and prove their worth. They did just that, regrouping in the postseason, beating rival Texas A&M in a regional, then beating Houston to get back to the College World Series for an astonishing 34th time. Texas has some question marks on the mound in terms of experience, needing to rely on a few first-year guys in some key situations, but this lineup is loaded with veteran talents, many of whom stepped up on the Road to Omaha last year.