With the departure of a team MVP and the return of a starting center fielder who missed most of last year, it's appropriate that there are questions.

When the first pitch of the 2003 Penn State baseball season is thrown this weekend in Charlotte, there will be several important issues surrounding the outfield that can only be answered with time. First and foremost will be replacing Chris Wright, the team's most valuable player last season. Wright leaves Penn State with top-10 marks on the career list for doubles, runs batted in and homeruns. Last season, the left fielder batted in a team-high 46 runs and hit for a .337 average while starting all 53 games.

However, it's not all doom and gloom, according to the Nittany Lions. Taking Wright's spot in the field will be one of this season's tri-captains, senior Wes Reohr. Reohr enjoyed a breakout season at the plate as a junior last year, hitting .393 -- the fifth-best total in the Big Ten -- and led the team with nine homeruns. His 75 hits were the third-most by a Lion in a single season, while his 115 total bases were seventh best in the conference. His work with the lumber, coupled with his .975 fielding percentage in center field, were good enough to garner the National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association's District 1 Player of the Year award and a spot on the All-Big Ten's third team.

Penn State coach Joe Hindelang was quick to praise Reohr's defense, however, saying the senior's speed will put him instantly at ease with his outfield.

"It's like having another center fielder in left," Hindelang said. "Left field and center field puts me into a comfort zone." Taking over for Reohr in center will be senior tri-captain Zack Smithlin. After providing a consistent threat for the Lions his first two years at Penn State, Smithlin suffered broken hamate bones in both hands last year, which limited him to action in just nine games and one start. While his speed in the field and on the base path is not much of a question -- after totaling 31 stolen bases in his first two seasons, Smithlin led the team with seven in only eight attempts -- it will be interesting to see if there is an adjustment period. After playing in the 2002 Cape Cod League, an off-season league that features several collegiate players, it will be interesting to see if Smithlin can return to the form that earned him second team All-Big Ten honors in the 2001 season. Hindelang said that ability will be key.

"I would compare him with anyone in the country in terms of ability," Hindelang said. "He has Major-League tools in the outfield." The third position in the outfield is also the third question. Currently, junior Brett Showalter is penciled in as the starter in right field. After an injury in his sophomore campaign that caused him to red-shirt, Showalter struggled at the plate in 2002, batting .222 in 117 plate appearances.

Challenging for playing time in right field is freshman Derrick Barr. If Showalter sees time at designated hitter, as is expected, Hindelang said Barr brings the speed of a third center fielder to the mix. Perhaps the most interesting situation, one that every team must deal with, is depth. Backing up the upperclassmen in the outfield are six freshmen. Smithlin said that the captains' leadership would be more than enough to overcome any of those issues, however.

"We are an experienced bunch out there," Smithlin said. "We're guys that have been through the rigors of a Big Ten season." That leadership will be important, and is something Reohr says motivates him each day.

"It gives you that competitive nature to get the team fired up and ready to go for every game," Reohr said. "It's actually something that helps get me going."

The outfield will have to hit the ground running if it's going to answer the questions currently looming.