Carter Aldrete was posed with a simple question on Tuesday: How was he – a shortstop and third baseman by trade – adjusting to his new role as Arizona State’s left fielder?
“I’m a little bit more comfortable now in the outfield,” he said, eyes shielded by blue-lensed shades in the afternoon sun. Then came the surprise.
“But I’m not out there anymore. I just got the news I’m getting moved to first base.”
Thirty-six games into the season, ASU is giving its defense a major shake-up. Aldrete will swap places with freshman slugger Spencer Torkelson, beginning with this weekend’s three-game home series against Utah. ASU coach Tracy Smith explained the decision was the best way to maximize both Aldrete and Torkelson’s defensive skills – prior to their ASU careers, Torkelson was mainly an outfielder, while Aldrete played almost exclusively in the dirt.
“We want both of those guys in the lineup,” Smith said. “But the physical piece of it, Spencer has been an outfielder primarily (before) coming here. Carter has been an infielder, primarily, coming here.”
On opening day, Aldrete was the starting third baseman while Torkelson filled the designated hitter’s role. An opening week injury to Jeremy McCuin opened the door for Torkelson to slide into first. Torkelson has started at first in almost every game since only moving to left field on rare occasions to allow catcher Lyle Lin a lighter defensive workload manning the first base bag.
Torkelson’s adjustment to the infield this spring hasn’t been seamless. His five errors are tied for fifth-most on the team. Fielding bunts have also become a treacherous adventure at times.
“The glove stuff around the (first base) bag has been a little bit of an issue for us in the last couple weeks,” said Smith, who absolved Torkelson’s defense of blame because of his position switch.
Torkelson’s defensive low-point came in an April 3 loss to Cal-State Fullerton, when the freshman committed a costly pair of ninth-inning errors to help fuel the Titans’ 7-6 comeback win.
Aldrete’s foray into the outfield hasn’t been faultless either. Between his time at third and left, the sophomore has committed a team-high seven errors. In ASU’s April 8 loss to USC, Aldrete collided with center fielder Gage Canning on a routine fly ball, a mistake Smith at the time credited to Aldrete’s inexperience at the position.
The Sun Devils’ skipper is hoping the latest position swap will put both Aldrete and Torkelson in more natural positions on the field.
“We are going to put (Spencer) where he is more comfortable but utilize the assets Carter has, which are his hands and his presence in the infield,” he said. “As we build towards the future if we are looking at this lineup and we take the physical skills, where are they better suited?”
Torkelson didn’t mind the move, instead describing it as “awesome”. Smith thought the power-hitting freshman – who leads the country this season with 18 home runs – would be able to cover more outfield ground than Aldrete. As Smith pointed out, Torkelson was a high school football running back, after all.
“He moves around pretty well. He’s probably going to get to more balls in the outfield,” Smith said.
Aldrete was less enthused with another move around the diamond. Aldrete was ASU’s starting shortstop last season, leading the defense in assists and finishing fifth among qualified players in fielding percentage. But the arrival of freshman Drew Swift forced Aldrete into the hot corner early this season before Smith later awarded the full-time third base position to fellow freshman Gage Workman, leaving Aldrete to play in left or as the DH.
This week will be the first time Aldrete has played first base in his life, forcing him to make a Scott Hatteberg-like transition. He said he will pick the brains of his teammates who have experience at first base. Lin will be one such mentor and even offered to let Aldrete borrow his first base-specific glove until he can acquire one of his own.
Smith trusts that Aldrete’s infield instincts will transfer to the other corner of the diamond though, regardless of who’s leather he’s wearing.
“When Carter gets his hands on it, he usually fields it,” Smith said.
Even as a novice at first base, Aldrete’s return to the infield means ASU will no longer be starting freshmen at all four infield positions, a positive change for a unit that has stumbled through most of the season and suffered from both mental and execution errors.
“He’s been a huge help in giving us advice on little things this season,” freshman second baseman Alika Williams said of Aldrete. “Having him over there at first base leading the infield is going to be huge for us.”
At the plate though, Aldrete admitted it can be challenging trying to stay sharp as a hitter while learning a new set of defensive skills. This season, Aldrete is hitting .277/.358/.370 with one home run and 15 RBIs.
“The cliché answer is ‘No it doesn’t, that I just have to do the same thing every day.’ But it really does,” Aldrete said. “It is a challenge. But at the same time, I’m playing the game I love every day. I can’t really complain. As long as I’m in the lineup trying to help this team win, I’m satisfied.”
