This is the ninth of a 10-part series previewing the Kentucky
baseball season, leading up to the opener vs. No. 1 Virginia on Feb. 14
in Wilmington, N.C. Part one (A.J. Reed), part two (Matt Reida), part three (Kyle Barrett), part four (Kyle Cody), part five (Chandler Shepherd), part six (Thomas Bernal), part seven (Austin Cousino), part eight (Greg Fettes). A season ago, Kentucky infielder Max Kuhn opened the year with three career at-bats. After a season as the everyday third baseman in 2013, Kuhn enters his junior season with an entirely different perspective. “This year is just, after having a year of SEC under my belt, I just have an idea of what to expect,” Kuhn said. “In the summer and the offseason it has just been about focusing on those key things to get better at, working hard at those things and just trying to be as prepared as I can be for this upcoming season and for SEC play.”Kuhn, a native of Zionsville, Ind., started 54 of UK’s 55 games at third base as a sophomore. The 5-foot-11, 205-pounder hit .242 with nine doubles, one triple, five homers and 29 RBI, stealing 7-of-9 bases. It was a solid season for Kuhn, who showcased a tremendous skill set at the hot corner. A former high school shortstop, Kuhn has quick hands and owns some of the best third-base arms in the SEC. He finished his first year in the lineup with a .952 fielding percentage, starting primarily at third base, with a few starts at first base with A.J. Reed on the mound. At the plate, Kuhn’s end-of-the-year offensive numbers were not truly indicative of the type of campaign he was capable of. For most of the year, Kuhn’s average hovered around .300, with his walk-strikeout ratio consistently 1-for-1. “What I learned was that SEC pitching is a step above other conferences,” Kun said. “You really have to have an approach and stick to that approach. With the SEC having so many different types of pitchers, whether it is a lefty sidearmer or a right-handed power arm, you just have to stick to you approach and be able to adjust between pitches.”Overall, Kuhn drew a team-best 37 walks and struck out 40 times and reaching base safely in 48 of his 54 games. It marked the most walks for a UK player since All-America outfielder Collin Cowgill finished with 49 walks in 2008. “I never have thought about it too much,” Kuhn said. “It is more just going up there and hoping the pitcher makes a mistake. Sometimes it helps and sometimes it can hurt you if I am not aggressive enough. I am just working on the approach and on handling the whole plate a lot better. Handle the tough pitches and be even more selective. Get that walk-strikeout ratio more at 1:1 or better.”Kuhn had several key at-bats during the year, including a game-tying home run at No. 9 Louisville and a game-winning blast in the bottom of the eighth inning in a series opener vs. Michigan State. He added a home run against No. 1 Vanderbilt and Commodore southpaw Kevin Ziomek. During the offseason, for the second consecutive summer, Kuhn ventured to the highly competitive Northwoods League, regarded as one of the top three summer leagues in the nation. Kuhn earned all-star honors in the circuit, batting .280 with 39 runs, 13 doubles, six homers and 46 RBI. One of the hallmarks of the Northwoods League is its grueling schedule, with teams playing upwards of 60 games in a summer.”It just helped me by showing up to play every day,” Kuhn said. “When you are up there, you don’t know the area and there is not much to do, so you spend a lot of your time trying to get better, whether it is showing up for early infield work or extra BP.”Kuhn’s time in the Northwoods League was his second tour, giving the former 24th-round selection of the Oakland Athletics in 2011 a total of 378 wooden at-bats over the two summers. That kind of workload can only help Kuhn in his development and after a fall, he earned praise from the UK coaching staff for his leadership. In a season where player leadership takes on an increased role, Kuhn has been praised for his growth and development on and off the diamond. “My freshman year was definitely a shocker,” Kuhn said. “Everything was new to me. I just learned from older guys my freshman year and ever last year, what we are trying to do at Kentucky and our mission. This year, being an upperclassman and being a junior and also having a lot of older guys who were also there in 2012, we all know where we want to be and where this team can go. It is just important to keep the team together and keep everything positive.”