AUBURN | Josh Anthony was signed by Auburn to be a middle of the order hitter. A player the Tigers could build their offense around in season two under Butch Thompson.

But it’s Anthony’s work in the field that has pleased Thompson the most through the first 11 days of fall practice.

“We've been so excited about him,” Thompson said. “I think he started his career as a catcher, moved to the outfield and played a little bit of third base. We've really set him at third base and have felt comfortable. He's played a really solid third base.

“We kind of already knew he was a threat at the plate and would have good at-bats but I think the pleasant surprise with Josh is how comfortable he's looked at third base.”

Of course, Anthony is more than living up to expectations at the plate coming off a sophomore season where he hit .444 with 25 home runs, 84 RBI and 49 stolen bases at Western Oklahoma.

“I think he can swing it a little bit. He's really good,” senior catcher Blake Logan said. “He comes out ready to play every day and always has a good attitude. I'm really impressed with him at the plate. He has a really good swing.”

Anthony is looking forward to the challenge of facing SEC pitchers this season.

“The SEC is the best baseball conference in America, so I feel like if I want to be drafted and play professional baseball, I have to go through this first. If I can handle this, I can handle anything,” Anthony said.

Anthony had an opportunity to play professional baseball coming out of Western Oklahoma after being drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 16th round of the 2016 MLB Draft. He turned down the Braves’ initial offer, agreed to an increased offer before having that offer taken off the table when the Braves realized it would put them too far over their cap.

“I felt that was just God’s way of showing me his path that he wanted me to go down,” Anthony said. “It’s a blessing that I ended up here at Auburn, because I’ve made friends, I’ve made family. Auburn is going to help me progress toward becoming that big-leaguer I want to be.”

A Columbus, Ga., native, Anthony said his goal this season is just to be the best baseball player he can be on the field and the best man he can be off. It helps having his family just down the road.

“When I’m this close to home, I feel like I have my whole city behind my back. Just knowing that the support is right down the road, that’s what motivates me,” he said.