El Dorado's Lester excited about 2021 season

It certainly did not feel like the start of baseball was on the horizon considering the weather in Union County last week, but despite not being able to get much work done, El Dorado coach Cannon Lester said the Wildcats are ready for Monday’s opener at Magnolia.

“I’m excited about them,” Lester said. “I told our coaches that this is probably as prepared as we’ve ever been to start the year. We missed a week, but I don’t feel too bad about it because we’ve gotten a lot in. We’ve gotten a lot of time out there. I’m excited about where we are.”

The Wildcats’ pitching staff has been hit hard with the injury bug.

Austin Jobe, a junior who has verbally committed to Arkansas, will not pitch until the summer due to undergoing labrum surgery back in November.

Junior Ashton Yarbrough also won’t pitch this season due to labrum surgery and sophomore Kolin Parker is out for the season after sustaining an injury in football.

“We need to find some more depth,” Lester said. “We lost Austin to labrum surgery. We think it was from a diving incident so we think his was more of a trauma. Then we lost our No. 2 in Ashton Yarbrough to labrum surgery as well. They’re going to be out for the year pitching. Our fourth or fifth guy, Kolin Parker, got his foot rolled up on in a football playoff game, so he’s out for the year. Losing three arms that were going to contribute a lot scares you a little bit, but we’ve really thrown the ball well here lately, and if we can keep our top five or six guys healthy, then I think we’ll have a shot to be pretty good.”

Lester said both Jobe and Yarbrough will be able to contribute at the plate once they are healthy enough to do so.

“He (Jobe) got cleared to be able to hit full bore,” Lester said. “We’ll probably keep him in the DH spot for a long time and see how his rehab goes. We don’t want to put him in there too fast, but the swinging part, he’s actually been swinging for quite a while now, we just haven’t been able to go live yet. He looks really good swinging it, and I think he’ll hit in the middle of our lineup at DH.

“We figure to have Ashton back in the lineup at some point to hit as well. He’s kind of like Austin. His was a little more invasive. Austin’s was pretty mild compared to Ashton’s. Ashton is going to take a little longer to get back, but we should have him to hit as well starting probably in the second or third week of the season. He will add an element to our offense as well that might bolster us a little bit.”

With several pieces missing, the Wildcats will be relying on junior Rhett Richardson, who transferred in from Smackover, as well as fellow junior Landen Rainwater to guide the pitching staff.

“I think they’re 1A and 1B,” Lester said of the duo.

Lester has also been pleased with the work of sophomore Justin Dumas.

“He’s thrown the ball very well,” Lester said. “He’s really starting to figure out his breaking ball and starting to come into his own.”

One veteran Lester will be counting on to pitch key innings is senior Tyler Johnson.

“He probably has as good of stuff as anybody on the team,” Lester said. “We’ve just got to keep him harnessed a little bit.”

Lester said senior Preston Howard has also thrown well this spring, and he backed that up by throwing 2 2/3 scoreless frames with three strikeouts in El Dorado’s 11-3 win over Crossett in their benefit game earlier this week.

“He changes arm angles, throws strikes and you’re going to have to beat him,” Lester said. “He’s thrown the ball well for us.”

On the infield, Lester said the battle at shortstop between Richardson and junior Aaron Ezell has been a fun one to watch.

“We’ve had a really good battle there this fall and spring,” Lester said. “Rhett Richardson moved in from Smackover and he’s going to be a really big addition to our team. He’s played good at shortstop. I think they’re our two best infielders. They’re going to be interchangeable there. I’m not sure who is going to get the nod there, but I think one of them will be there and one of them will probably be at second base or third base. It’s been really fun to watch them every day.”

Senior Brennan Jones, who had two hits in the benefit game, is expected to see playing time at second base, and he can also play in the outfield.

“He’s been a starter for four years, and he’s one of our best hitters,” Lester said.

At the corners, the Wildcats have a returning starter back at first base in Johnson, who went 3-for-4 with four RBIs in the benefit game, but third base is up in the air with freshmen Holden Lowry and Sam York among the candidates to play there.

Junior Joseph Bolin is slated to handle the catching duties.

“He caught a few games for us last year, and he’s ready to take over for Jared (Rhodes),” Lester said. “It’s a big hole losing Jared, but we really believe in what Joe does back there. He’s been really good.

Johnson and sophomore Sam Rothwell also could see playing time behind the plate, and Lester has been pleased with Rothwell’s work.

“He’s really starting to step up,” Lester said. “He’s grown a lot. He’s really starting to get athletic back there, so he’s done a good job back there for us as well. With COVID, we’re not sure what’s going to happen, so we’ve got to find some depth at each position.”

When he isn’t pitching, Rainwater, who joined Jones with two hits against Crossett in the benefit game, will be in left field.

Sophomore Shadarious Plummer is slated to start in center.

“He can go get it with the best of them,” Lester said. “He can really fly out there. He’s probably one of the best defensive outfielders I’ve had since I’ve been here.”

As is the case at shortstop, there is a battle for playing time in right field with Dumas, Howard and sophomore Hunter Lawrence competing for playing time.

“The outfield is pretty good right now,” Lester said. “We’ve got a battle for that right field spot.”

As far as the 5A South is concerned, Lester believes the competition to reach the state tournament will be fierce.

“It will be interesting,” Lester said. “I think the top two teams are probably Texarkana and Sheridan, and then after that, I think everybody is about the same for that third and fourth spot. White Hall is new to our conference this year and Lake Hamilton is going to have a pretty good squad, so I think there will probably be two spots for about four teams right there. It will go down to the end, that’s for sure.”

If the Wildcats are to enjoy a successful season, Lester said staying healthy, particularly the pitching staff, will be vital.

“I think right now, we’ve got to keep our arms healthy,” Lester said. “I think the No. 1 thing and the main thing is health. If we stay healthy, we’ll have a shot. If we have some arms go down, then it might be a tough year, but also, we’ve got some young guys on the mound and in the field that can really step up, so we need those freshmen and sophomores to not play like freshmen and sophomores. We’ve got a good group, so I look forward to them stepping up.”

Upcoming Events