Preseason hype won’t change Arizona’s Mason White, but he’ll have to make some adjustments

Mason White won’t sneak up anybody this season.

As a rookie at Arizona last year, White went from under-the-radar recruit to Freshman All-American according to at least one publication. He had one of the highest slugging percentages (.611) on a team full of sluggers.

With success comes recognition. White was named to the Preseason All-Pac-12 Team on Thursday. D1Baseball.com ranked him as the 17th-best shortstop in the nation entering the season, which for Arizona starts a week from Friday against Northeastern. Baseball America tabbed White as the No. 14 college prospect for the 2025 MLB Draft.

White said none of that changes who he is or how he’ll approach the upcoming campaign.

“It’s not any different than ... last year coming into the lineup as a freshman,” said White, who prepped at Salpointe Catholic High School. “I’m still playing my game. I’m still me. I’m not changing.

“It’s cool (to be acknowledged), but I’m just worried about myself.”

White batted .313 as a freshman with 35 extra-base hits in 208 at-bats. He did that mostly hitting sixth, seventh or ninth in the lineup.

White will bat in the top three in the order this year with Mac Bingham, Nik McClaughry, Chase Davis and Kiko Romero having moved on to other schools or professional baseball. White likely won’t get as many good pitches to hit without those star players on base in front of him.

“I’m in a new role,” White said. “I’m excited for it. I’m not scared of it.”

White got a taste of what that new role might be like in the Cape Cod League last summer. White hit just .190 with 26 strikeouts in 100 at-bats for the Brewster Whitecaps.

“It was hard,” White said Thursday during a news conference to preview the ’24 season. “It’s a tough place to hit. I learned a lot. I definitely got off that plane coming back here as a different person, a different human.”

White won’t alter his approach, but he knows he’ll have to make some adjustments. He wants to cut down his chase rate — how often he swings at pitches outside the strike zone — which was at 24.1% last year. His strikeout rate of 23.7% was third worst among UA lineup regulars.

When White makes contact, the ball flies. He hit three home runs in a recent intra-squad scrimmage. All traveled at least 432 feet, including one that TrackMan measured at 490 feet.

White is listed at 5-11, 176 pounds.

“It’s all about body mechanics and how your hips work and what your bat speed can get up to,” UA coach Chip Hale said. “He just keeps the bat in the zone for a long time. So when he gets it, it goes a long way.

“We noticed that the minute we started recruiting him, that his swing was going to be an exciting one here.”

White is making one change for sure: He’s shifting from second base to shortstop. His double-play partner is expected to be Garen Caulfield, who lost playing time to White at second a year ago. Caulfield is looking forward to working with White this season.

“I guess everybody knows that he’s a pretty good player by now,” Caulfield said. “We’re going to have a good year together. It’ll be fun.”

Sorting out the lineup

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Arizona enters the season with more depth than at any time during Hale’s tenure — but also more lineup questions.

White, Caulfield, Tommy Splaine (first base), Emilio Corona (right field) and Brendan Summerhill (left field) are the sure things for now. Every other position is up for grabs or subject to a platoon.

The catching duties will be shared by newcomers Adonys Guzman and Blake McDonald, with Splaine also possibly in that mix.

Hale mentioned three possibilities apiece for third base and center field.

The third base competitors are transfer Richie Morales, redshirt freshman Xavier Esquer and true freshman Andrew Cain (Ironwood Ridge).

The players competing in center field are redshirt freshman TJ Adams, true freshman Easton Breyfogle and transfer Brandon Rogers.

Any of those six players could serve as the designated hitter in a given game, especially early in the season. Redshirt freshman Kade Huff is also a possibility for DH at-bats.

‘I like being the underdog’

The uncertainty in the lineup — and the pitching staff — has made it difficult for preseason prognosticators to get a feel for the Wildcats. Both D1Baseball.com and the Pac-12’s coaches picked Arizona to finish ninth in the league.

“I like being the underdog,” junior right-hander Anthony “Tonko” Susac said. “People don’t know the weapons we have in the bullpen, the weapons we have in the lineup. We’re going to surprise a lot of people.”

New UA pitching coach Kevin Vance came from Boston College, which was picked to finish last in the ACC’s seven-team Atlantic Division last season. The Golden Eagles ended up in third place and earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

“Because no one had any clue what they actually had,” Susac said.

Hale conceded that he’s not entirely sure how his team will perform on opening night.

“We feel like we know what’s going to happen,” Hale said. “But until those lights come on ...

“It’s like when we’d send guys from triple-A to the big leagues. We thought, ‘Oh, this guy’s gonna be great.’ You put the third deck on the stadium, and things changed.

“When those lights go on against Northeastern (next) Friday night, and you cross that white line, we’ll see how it goes.”

Inside pitch

Veteran right-hander Dawson Netz also made the preseason All-Pac-12 team. Netz posted a team-best 3.33 ERA last season across a career-high 32 appearances. He struck out 27 batters in 27 innings. Netz has a career record of 4-2 with a 3.93 ERA.

Right-hander Kenan Elarton is out for the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, Hale said. Elarton, a redshirt freshman, has yet to appear in a game as a Wildcat.