Top questions for Iowa Baseball heading into the offseason

It feels like just a few weeks ago that the Iowa Baseball season got underway down in Arizona. But just like that, the only activity at Duane Banks Field until September rolls around and fall ball begins will be the sound of construction noises as the new press box gets constructed.

With the sheer volume of innings lost on the mound, the expectation was that Iowa was set to go a rebuilding season of sorts. At one point, the Hawkeyes were just 18-15 and 5-10 in Big Ten play, but they won 14 of their last 20 in the regular season, including two sweeps, entering postseason play with some momentum. They won their opener at the Big Ten Tournament over Illinois, but losses to Michigan State and Purdue eliminated them short of the quarterfinals. Iowa closed the season with a 33-23 overall record, a 16-17 mark against Big Ten teams and a 9-1 record in midweek games.

Anytime a season comes to a close there’s a level of disappointment, but there’s reason for optimism going into next season. HawkeyeReport takes a look at the top questions surrounding the Hawkeyes heading into the offseason.

1. Is next season’s weekend rotation already on the roster and how good can it be?

It very well might be that the Hawkeyes go from losing all three starting pitchers last season to entering this year’s offseason with more than a starting rotation’s worth of options. There’s plenty of reason for optimism with this group heading into the offseason as long as the group stays intact.

After missing his true freshman season with a torn UCL, Kyle Alivo burst onto the scene with his upper 90’s fastball. In nine appearances of 3.0+ innings pitched, Alivo had a 3.14 ERA over 37.1 innings, including 49 strikeouts. He averaged 18.26 pitches per inning over 17 total appearances, so he’ll have to work on his efficiency, but he’s got Friday night talent. There’s also a very high likelihood that he’s going to get some calls from schools trying to convince him to enter the portal.

If it’s Alivo on Friday, the coaching staff will have some options thereafter. Brody Irlbeck passed on the MLB Draft and was set to be the Saturday starter before an injury cost him his season just before it began. He’s expected to be ready when the ’27 campaign gets going, but will he be ready for the starting rotation immediately? Jaron Bleeker and Maddux Frese will both return after spending parts of their season in the rotation. Bleeker had solid year overall and was really good late, posting a 0.59 ERA over his final three outings (15.1 INN), including 13 strikeouts. Meanwhile, Frese had a rough final three weeks, but was third in the conference in ERA (2.58) prior to his late scuffle. Maddux, like Bleeker, had success in the starting rotation and out of the bullpen, so they’re comfortable in each role.

In a perfect world, Irlbeck will be back healthy and ready to go for the beginning of the season, but they could also go Alivo-Bleeker-Frese while Brody eases into things. If Alivo and Bleeker can take the next step, this could be a really strong starting rotation with another arm or two behind them capable of going long in relief.

2. You can’t just replace Gable Mitchell and Kooper Schulte, but can Jaixen Frost and Ben Swails be the new leaders of the infield?

There’s going to a changing of the guard on the infield, as Gable Mitchell (198 career games) and Kooper Schulte (103 career games) have wrapped up their respective Hawkeye careers. The coaching staff is going to have to add a transfer or two, but they’ll need returning infielders Ben Swails and Jaixen Frost to be the new leaders on the dirt.

Swails, a redshirt junior, was in and out of the lineup with a couple of ailments, but batted .340, with 15 extra base hits and five home runs in just 101 at-bats. That’s on track for close 30 extra base hits and double-digit home runs over a full season. As for Frost, his solid freshman campaign was followed by a mostly frustrating sophomore year, batting just .250 over 34 starts. However, he found his stride late in the year, tallying 17 hits and four home runs over his last 12 games.

The Hawkeyes are set to lose 63.0% of their at-bats from this season, so there’s plenty to replace. If the Iowa offense is able to avoid a big setback statistically, it will be because Frost and Swails are everyday guys in the lineup.

3. How much improvement does there need to be with the pitching staff to get into regional contention?

Certainly, an improved and mostly more consistent starting rotation would be a significant help, but the bullpen will have to show marked improvement as well if Iowa wants to get back to an NCAA Tournament regional.

The Hawkeyes, assuming they return all of their starting rotation options, should be in great shape in that regard. Still, that leaves the bullpen that finished the season with a 5.77 ERA over 306.0 innings. The starting rotation saw 11 different guys get starts, but they averaged just 10.29 outs per start, completing 5.0+ innings in just 11 of 45 (24.4%) starts. Improvement on those numbers will take a lot of pressure off of the shoulders of the bullpen. They’re set to return 11 of 15 arms that appeared in 10+ games and 13 underclassmen, so improvement should be expected.

The Big Ten is set to get three teams in the tournament as regional hosts (UCLA, Nebraska, Oregon) and one as a two seed (USC), while two teams (Michigan, Purdue) are firmly on the bubble. Here’s how the Hawkeye pitching staff stacked up to those six teams.

	Regional Contenders	Worst of Contenders	Iowa
ERA	4.88	5.27 (Purdue)	6.16
K/9	9.32	6.90 (Purdue)	8.39
B/9	3.90	4.50 (Nebraska)	4.80
Hits per game	7.83	10.05 (Purdue)	8.71

4. Could and/or should the coaching staff move one of the catchers to first base?

The coaching staff has two starting caliber players behind the plate, while Carter Geffre flashed everyday lineup potential in his limited starts. If his limited sample was a sign of what’s to come, he’s going to be an everyday guy in the lineup. That’s not to say that Max Burt would never get to start, but the Hawkeyes need a first baseman, so if Rick Heller feels like Burt needs to be in the lineup, a move to first base might not be a bad idea. The DH spot is also a place where the catcher that isn’t behind the plate can fit in, but this is just an idea.

It wouldn’t be the first time that a Hawkeye went from another position to first base. Caleb Wulf was primarily a catcher at Southeastern CC before an injury forced him to move, while former Hawkeye Keaton Anthony was an outfielder before moving to first base.

5. What are three positions of need in the transfer portal?

Shortstop – Say what you want about the pitching staff, but this is the glaring hole on the roster going into the offseason. There’s a shortstop on the roster, Kyle Alivo, however, he’s not going to start on the mound and get starts as an infielder. That means a transfer is the most likely way that Iowa is going to fill this spot. The Hawkeyes have been really good at shortstop in recent memory with guys like Michael Seegers, Gable Mitchell and Kooper Schulte, so don’t imagine the coaching staff won’t take this position lightly.

Relief pitching – The coaching staff, led by pitching coach Wes Obermueller, is going to have to their work cut out for them when it comes to figuring out what they need to add. The first piece of the puzzle is who is departing, graduates and transfers. Then, they have to evaluate what is returning and where improvement is needed. With loads of underclassmen arms on the staff, they’ll have to do a bit of projecting with some guys as they try to figure how many arms they need to add.

First Base – If moving Max Burt (or Carter Geffre) to first base isn’t a realistic option, the coaching staff is going to have to pick up a first baseman transfer. If that’s the case, it would become the biggest position of need right alongside shortstop, after Caleb Wulf tallied 89 hits this season.

Outfield – The Hawkeyes are set to lose Miles Risley and Joey Nerat, so at least two spots are up for grabs in the outfield. It’s not a completely bare cupboard, with guys like Kellen Strohmeyer, Jaylen Zeigler and Brett White potentially returning, while they already added Kirkwood transfer Wrigley Matthys. It’s a decent group, but if they could add another guy with some proven production, it would elevate the group to a higher level.