Any conversation about Georgia’s 2020 baseball team begins with talk about the pitching staff where Emerson Hancock and Cole Wilcox will anchor what could be one of the better starting rotations in college baseball.

But what about the bats? Will the Bulldogs be able to score enough runs for it to matter?

While Georgia will certainly miss the likes of Aaron Schunk, Tucker Maxwell, John Cable and LJ Talley who combined for 41 of the team’s 75 home runs, head coach Scott Stricklin believes this year’s squad has the potential to post similar numbers this spring.

Although the Bulldogs probably don’t have what you would quantify as a true power hitter, Stricklin expects returnees Tucker Bradley, Cam Shepherd, Riley King and Connor Tate could all hit around 10 home runs apiece, with junior college transfer Garrett Blaylock another possibility for power after a strong fall.

Catchers Mason Meadows and Shane Marshall also have long-ball potential.

Defensively, Georgia just might be the top fielding team in the league.

The Bulldogs finished 11th nationally with a .980 fielding percentage, led by Shepherd at short who committed just three errors in 235 changes (.987) all season.

With preseason practice set to begin Friday, let’s take a look at how the Bulldogs should look for their season-opener Feb. 14 against Richmond, shall we?

Patrick Sullivan is back for his second year as the starter.

At 6-foot-4, Sullivan may be the league’s best defensive first baseman, committing just two errors last spring. He’s also making headway at the plate.

Sullivan batted .263 for the Bulldogs with three home runs and 24 RBI and according to Stricklin, is putting together much more consistent at-bats.

With Talley gone, Riley King moves from right field to second base and projects as the Bulldogs No. 2 hitter, which is where he batted in the lineup for most of last year.

The team’s most versatile player, King returned to Georgia after being a late-round pick by the Atlanta Braves and the Bulldogs are certainly glad that he did.

King enjoyed a breakout season last year for Georgia, batting .295 with eight home runs and 43 RBI and is also one of those clubhouse guys who brings a ton of energy to the field every time he steps across the white lines.

Stricklin breathed a sigh of relief when Cam Shepherd told him he planned on coming back for his senior year instead of moving on the pros.

We’ve already discussed Shepherd’s defensive prowess.

Shepherd won the Rawlings Gold Glove Award for being the nation’s best shortstop, although offensively, last spring wasn’t what he had hoped it would be.

The Duluth native batted just .231 with eight homers and 33 RBI, although he started to show signs late last season of returning to the player that hit .307 as a freshman and led the Bulldogs that year with 74 hits.

“You know in fully feel he loves being a college baseball player. He wants to play professionally but he just felt like that he had some things to finish here. He's got a bad taste in his mouth about the way this ended his sophomore junior year,” Stricklin said. “You started to see what he's capable of late in the season he got hot late in the season and then he put up some numbers. I think he just wants to have a complete year.”

Replacing Schunk at third base is a tall order for anyone but junior college transfer Garrett Blaylock is going to give it a shot.

Blaylock, who comes to Georgia from St. John’s River Community College after playing his freshman season at Vanderbilt where he batted .231 in 26 at-bats with two doubles and six RBI.

“He’s a really good defender, he’s got a big-time throwing arm and is one of those guys when you watch him throw it looks like a guy who might need to get on the mound,” Stricklin said. “But he’s also got a lot of power in his swing, so potentially we’re talking about a middle of the order hitter.”

According to Stricklin, Georgia’s outfield will feature sophomore Randon Jernigan in center, redshirt junior Tucker Bradley in right and newcomer Ben Anderson in left.

Of all the players on the team, Stricklin believes that Jernigan has made the biggest jump.

If his game against Florida in last October’s exhibition is any indication, Stricklin may be correct. Jernigan enjoyed a stellar game against the Gators, driving in two on a hard single to right and tripling off the wall in right-center field.

“I thought what you saw down in Florida is what you're going to see a lot this year he's a lot more comfortable just as a sophomore,” Stricklin said. “You know you've heard me say before freshmen turning into sophomores that's the best thing that coaches See, and he's just kind of slowed the game down a little bit.”

Bradley, meanwhile, is back after playing in just three games before injuring his shoulder against Dayton.

A career .303 hitter, the former Gordon Lee standout is expected to bring some added pop to his game and should be among the Bulldogs’ leading hitter.

Anderson comes to Georgia from Furman after sitting out a season due to the NCAA’s transfer rules.

Don’t let the fact that he played for a smaller school fool you.

The former LaGrange standout earned Freshman All-American honors by Collegiate Baseball after batting a team-best .361 while serving as the leadoff hitter for the Paladins scoring 46 runs and setting a school-record seven triples.

Older fans of the Atlanta Braves will appreciate this comparison made by Stricklin.

“I would say a fairly good comparison would be a Brett Butler-type of player, a left-handed guy that's really tough out hits the ball the other way who can bunt and can run,” Stricklin said. “He’s a guy that you're going to see hit a lot of line drives to left field but he's got a little bit of juice in his bat so if you start shifting over a shark to try to pitch in on him a little bit he can hit a ball out, especially to our right field. He’s just a really good baseball player so Brett Butler is a guy that he kind of reminds me of, just an undersized left-handed hitter that drives defenses crazy.”

Anderson and Jernigan are expected to alternate as Georgia’s leadoff hitters, depending on whether a left- or right-handed pitcher is on the mound.

If you’re looking for another Bulldog to make a jump and provide some of the power missing from last year’s squad, then Connor Tate might be your man.

At 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds, the redshirt sophomore certainly had his moments last year, batting .333 in SEC play (10 for 30), with three home runs and 19 RBI.

“Right now, if the season were starting today, Connor will be the DH although he’s a really good athlete who has improved defensively,” Stricklin said. “John Cable gave us a big bump last year, but going in we really didn’t know who was going to be our DH. I think Connor Tate has a chance to have a breakout year.”

Redshirt junior Kaden Fowler is also another potential option at designated hitter after hitting 18 home runs in two years at Barton Community College in Great Bend Kansas.

Mason Meadows and Shane Marshall are both back to give Georgia plenty of experience and depth behind the plate.

Meadows, for those wondering, is 100 percent after suffering a scary injury last year when he fouled a pitch directly off his face, who Marshall has added 20 pounds to his 6-foot-4 frame.

(Marshall) is guy that has the, the makings of a big leaguer behind the plate because he can really throw. He's really athletic back there,” Stricklin said. “I you have one catcher you're in trouble. It's kind of like having one quarterback but we've got two really good ones.”

Junior Chaney Rogers is a career .262 hitter with a homer and 14 RBI in 63 career games as an outfielder-first baseman, but the player to watch may be freshman infielder Buddy Floyd.

A native of Covington, Floyd only stands 5-7 and weighs 160 pounds but according to Stricklin brings incredible energy to the field as a switch hitter.

Football fans will recognize Ryland Goede, who redshirted as a tight end for the Bulldog football team last fall.

Goede will work out with the baseball team prior to the start of spring football practice, then return to the diamond after the G-Day game in mid-April.

“He’s got big time power. I mean, as you can imagine, he’s 6-2, weighs 250 pounds and the ball jumps off his bad,” Stricklin said. “He hasn’t played baseball competitively in two years, so he’ll be out here getting the cobwebs off and knocking off some of the rust. But he’s got a chance to be a really good player and hit for a lot of power.”

Cole Tate, the twin brother of Connor, will add to Georgia’s infield depth.

Preseason Preview Part 1: Dawgs to lean on pitching