We have made it all the way through our roster previews for position players covering both the infield and the outfield. We also dedicated almost a whole piece to potential superstar freshmen, Owen Paino who is in line to be the starting shortstop. However, there is another freshman that we haven’t mentioned yet. That is Hayden Federico. Throughout the fall and now early spring. Federico has been making waves by swinging one of the hotter bats on the team, and it looks like he might be another freshman to keep an eye on.
It certainly appears that Federico will get at least some playing time during that opening weekend trip to Arlington, and if he performs and some of the other names we mentioned aren’t, he might just work his way into being a regular starter for this ball club. So let's talk about him.
Hayden is from Louisiana and comes from a baseball family. His dad, Michael Federico, played baseball at Southern Mississippi and is ULM's current head baseball coach. He was ranked inside the top 200 high school prospects according to Perfect Game. Federico raked in high school, hitting well over .300 in all 4 seasons. The most impressive thing about Federico is his ball vision and plate discipline.
He certainly looks the part in the batter's box, with a silky smooth swing, the ability to take the ball the opposite way, and also work a walk. He doesn’t pack much power, standing 5 '11 and only 195, but he certainly could develop into a gap hitter. He never hit more than three home runs in a high school season. In fall ball however, he led the team in On-base percentage at over .500, hit .326 with only four strikeouts in his nearly 60 plate appearances, incredibly impressive for a true freshman against his first SEC pitchers.
So where can he play? Federico is a natural infielder and probably profiles best as a second baseman. However, we already have that position covered by team leader Luke Hill. Now, there was some talk-out hitting coach Mike Clement about Hill taking reps at 3B. This could be for the scenario that Federico will play second, Hill will slide over to third, and Uttermark will play one of the corner outfield slots.
This is certainly possible; it is also possible that Federico might be able to man the hot corner himself. We also know that Bianco and the staff believe they can convert a good athlete into a corner outfielder. They have done it a bunch, and as we discussed, that is one of the positions more open on this team; maybe he plays there. Of course, if the goal is just to get his bat into the lineup, Federico could always DH.
This is a good problem to have. Not knowing where to put everyone because you might have too many talented players is never a bad thing. Hayden Federico is undoubtedly a player to keep an eye on, as we are only two weeks away from opening day. Stay tuned for more here at Ole Hotty Toddy.