AUBURN | The competition will be fierce when Auburn baseball begins preseason practice Jan. 13.

As many as 12 position players will be vying for eight spots in the field and designated hitter. The group includes three transfers and four true freshmen.

“I think it’s going to be a battle once we get back for those five weeks,” said AU coach Butch Thompson. “When we come back in January, the musical chairs, the music stops, and you really need to get locked in.

“I think we have enough to defend the field. We’ve got to balance the offense and the defense.”

In the outfield, four players are competing for three spots. Sophomore Cade Belyeu is the likely starter in center while East Carolina transfer Bristol Carter, who can also play center, along with freshmen Chris Rembert and Bub Terrell are competing for the two corner outfield positions.

Carter came on at the end of fall practice after recovering from hand surgery in July. He batted .292 with four doubles in the fall.

Rembert batted .270 with seven doubles, four home runs and 16 RBI while Terrell hit .233 with three doubles and one home run.

Two other freshmen are battling for a spot in the infield or DH in Chase Fralick and Addison Klepsch.

Fralick, who could play first base, catcher or DH, batted .328 with one double, two home runs and 15 RBI. Klepsch, who is a middle infielder, batted .350 with four doubles, two triples, two home runs and 10 RBI.

“Fralick struck out (four) times, the fewest amount of strikeouts on our roster. When freshmen start doing things like that, when Rembert has as many doubles as Ike Irish, you’re going to have to start finding a way,” said Thompson.

“We feel like we’re going to play some of these young guys. It’s not just a top-rated class. That doesn’t mean anything. What means something is when they get here and you feel like they can play and help now. That’s when it’s powerful. That’s when you have a real recruiting class.”

First baseman Cooper McMurray and catcher Ike Irish return as two-year starters and key team leaders. They should both bat in the middle of the order.

Sophomore Eric Guevara led AU with a .500 average in fall ball along with six doubles and 21 RBI. He’s the likely starter at third base.

That leaves a large group of players competing for shortstop, second and DH, which includes Fralick, Klepsch, senior Deric Fabian, USF transfer Eric Snow and Samford transfer Lucas Steele.

Fabian and Snow are probably the two best defensive shortstops along with Klepsch. Fabian batted .286 with one double and one home run in the fall while Snow hit .290 with five doubles and two home runs.

Steele, a switch hitter, is the leading candidate to be the DH after hitting .295 with two doubles, four home runs and 18 RBI in the fall.

Finding the right defensive combination is just as or perhaps more important than just putting the best bats in the lineup.

“When we’re playing each other, the two teams, we have not defended the three acres like I’ve wanted to,” said Thompson. “We can’t say we have all these bats and got a chance to have a dynamic offense. We’ve got to make sure we can defend the field properly."

The college baseball season begins the weekend of Feb. 14-16.