Baseball and our pitching staff

[engie]

I haven't keep up with baseball recruiting. Please tell me we have a 3b on the way.

This is Gene's info on our signees. I'd project that Humphries could challenge for a starting spot at either 3b or SS next year. Looking through it, this upcoming signing class has potential to be ELITE if it doesn't get murdered by the draft...

CLASS OF 2013 MSU BASEBALL SIGNEES/COMMITMENTS (14)
Name Pos. Ht. Wt. B-T High School

Reid Humphreys, SS/RHP, 6-2, 180, R-R, Northwest Rankin High School (Flowood, MS)
Reid is considered one of the top players in the nation .... In 2012 he batted .360 with 7 home runs and 38 RBI. He also had a 6-3 record with a 1.85 ERA ... In 2011 he batted .412 with 3 home runs and 18 RBI in 24 games. He also had a 5-2 record with a 3.18 earned run average on the mound.... Reid played his summer ball with the prestigious summer travel team program, the Marucci Elite 16s.... His older brother, Tyler Moore, played baseball at Mississippi State and is currently playing in the Major Leagues .... Top Tools: Hitting For Average, Hitting With Power, Arm Strength, Defense.

Austin Sexton, RHP, 6-2, 165, R-R, Sparkman (AL) HS
One of the top players in the southeast as well as the nation .... Perfect Game, as of December, 2011, rated him the 90th best player in the class of 2013 ... He was a Perfect Game High Honorable Mention Underclass All American for 2011 and a second-team Perfect Game All American for 2012 ... Austin will play in the Perfect Game National Showcase and has received an invitation to perform in the East Coast Pro Showcase without having to go through the tryouts ... He chose MSU over offers from Auburn, Troy, South Alabama and UAB ... Austin plays summer ball with the Dulins Dodgers program ... ... Top Tools: Arm Strength, Outstanding Curveball, Control.

Dakota Hudson, RHP, 6-5, 190, R-R, Sequatchie County (Dunlap, TN) HS
One of the top players in the state of Tennessee ... Increased his two-seam fastball velocity from 80-84 to 89-90 miles per hour between his sophomore and junior seasons, and continues to have great projectability which should lead to even more velocity in the future. Since his junior season he has seen his fastball increase to the low-90s, topping out at 95 ... He chose MSU over an offer from Kennesaw State as well as interest from Tennessee, Kentucky and Troy ... Top Tools: Arm Strength, Control.

Brent Rooker, 1B, 6-4, 185, R-R, Evangelical Christian School (Cordova, TN) HS
One of the top class of 2013 players in the state of Tennessee ... As a junior (2012), he hit .450 with 15 doubles, 3 triples, 3 home runs and 38 RBI. He also stole 19-of-19 stolen bases ... A great athlete who runs in the 4.65 forty-yard dash range and has a 36-inch vertical leap ... He chose MSU over an offer from Memphis as well as interest

Vance Tatum, LHP, 6-4, 180, L-L, Southaven (MS) HS
One of the top pitchers in the state of Mississippi ... Consistently throws in the 86-87 mph range, topping out at 89 ... Chose MSU over offers from Ole Miss, Southern Miss, Tulane, Memphis and Air Force

Ben Hudspeth, RHP/C, 6-0, 200, R-R, Itawamba (MS) Community College
As a freshman, Ben earned NJCAA All-American honors after going 11-0 record with a 1.82 ERA.

Cody Walker, C, 5-11, 190, R-R, Chattahoochee Valley Community College (Phenix City, AL)
He hit .312 and had a .996 fielding percentage his freshman season at CVCC. He chose Mississippi State over Auburn, Alabama and Columbia State University.

Glenn Irby, LHP, 6-2, 205, L-L, Mars Hills Bible School (Florence, AL)
One of the top pitchers in the state of Alabama .... His fastball velocity is in the high-80s, topping out at 92 ... Chose MSU over Ole Miss, Tennessee, Kentucky, Samford

Jake Vickerson, OF, 5-10, 180, R-R, Shelton State (AL) Community College
One of the top junior college prospects in the state of Alabama ... As a freshman, he batted .381 in 194 at-bats, walking 30 times while striking out just 1 times. He stole 19 bases in 21 attmpts ... Chose MSU over Alabama

Dylan Ingram, 1B, 6-4, 210, R-R, Edgewood Academy (AL)
As a junior, he hit .541 with 69 RBI. He was the AISA player of the year as a junior ... Has outstanding power potential ... He is also an outstanding student with a 4.0+ gpa and a 28 act ... He chose MSU over over Auburn, Florida State and several others

Zach Houston, RHP, 6-5.5, 217, R-R, Poplarville (MS) HS
He throws an 89-92 mph sinking fastball ... He has been invited to numerous invitation-only events in Minnesota, New York, Ohio and Jupiter , FL ... He chose MSU over offers from Ole Miss and Southern Miss. Other schools showing interest were LSU, Alabama and Tulane

Avery Geyer, RHP/OF, 5-11, 195, R-R, Catholic HS (Pensacola, FL)
As a junior, he was 9-1 with a 1.45 ERA and struck out 112 in 77.1 innings .... He throws in the 88-92 mph range ... He chose MSU over offers from South Alabama and Southern Miss and interest from ULL, Tulane and UCF.

Jacob Billingsley, INF/RHP, 6-1, 180, R-R, Magnolia Heights (MS) School
As a pitcher, Billingsley throws in the mid-80s, topping out in the 87 to 88 mph range ... He had a 2.22 ERA and a 2-0 record while throwing 41 innings his junior season. Teams hit .180 against him.

Gavin Collins, C, 6-0, 195, R-R, El Toro HS (Lake Forest, CA)
One of the elite prospects in the nation .... Outstanding hitter who is rated a 9.5 out of a 10.0 scale by national scouting service Perfect Game ... Also an excellent defensive catcher with a very good arm. Has a 1.90 pop time to second base ... Has the potential to be a very high draft pick in the 2012 summer MLB draft ... Chose MSU over his other three finalists, Oregon, Arizona State and Fresno State.

[JHdawg]

Agree about Woodruff Engine. Saw him pitch in High School at Wheeler. Reminded me of a young Tom Seaver. Now it looks like hes not getting any trunk rotation on his delivery at least that's what I'm seeing. (trying to do better on the spelling)

[Coach34]

Who are we pitching tomorrow? I havent heard- been f'ing with T-ball this evening

[CadaverDawg]

Who are we pitching tomorrow? I havent heard- been f'ing with T-ball this evening

Cox I think

[HereComesTheSpiral]

We have Brent Rooker from Memphis who can play any corner position, but I think he is more of a first baseman/outfielder. Reid Humphries from Northwest Rankin is having a very good year and he can play third also- as can Gavin Collins who I just mentioned. Long term, and maybe short term, I think Humphries is the most likely candidate to be our third baseman of the future.

Ultimately, it's probably going to be in about three years:

1B- Rooker Jr.
2B- Dale Burdick So.
SS- Luke Alexander Fr.
3B- Humphries Jr.

We'll see what happens at SS next year- Frazier is rated as the second best college shortstop at this moment, so we could very well have Kyle Hann or Britton playing over there next year.

Henderson was an infielder coming out of high school. As much as I hate to say it, he might be the better option at second and Pirtle at short instead of Hann or Britton. Hann and Britton are just duds at the plate and Hann has minimal upside with his' glove.

[Todd4State]

Henderson was an infielder coming out of high school. As much as I hate to say it, he might be the better option at second and Pirtle at short instead of Hann or Britton. Hann and Britton are just duds at the plate and Hann has minimal upside with his' glove.

I'm not the biggest fan of either Hann or Britton. I wouldn't be shocked if we go out and get a JUCO shortstop depending on what they think Frazier will do. I also wouldn't be surprised if Pirtle is moved to SS next year if Frazier leaves.

I doubt they will move Demarcus though because they feel like he is more productive if he is one spot and can concentrate on that spot- which of course is left field.

It's going to be an interesting offseason because we are bringing in way more than we are likely to lose and I'm expecting some attrition.

[Will James]

I'm not the biggest fan of either Hann or Britton. I wouldn't be shocked if we go out and get a JUCO shortstop depending on what they think Frazier will do. I also wouldn't be surprised if Pirtle is moved to SS next year if Frazier leaves.

I doubt they will move Demarcus though because they feel like he is more productive if he is one spot and can concentrate on that spot- which of course is left field.

It's going to be an interesting offseason because we are bringing in way more than we are likely to lose and I'm expecting some attrition.

Why not Pirtle at SS and Detz at 2B?

Seems the most logical.

[Todd4State]

Why not Pirtle at SS and Detz at 2B?

Seems the most logical.

That's a possibility and I'm sure it will be looked at in the fall like all of the other possible combinations. However, if Detz can't handle playing third base, I have a hard time seeing him being able to handle second. Third base is more of a reaction position whereas second is more of an athletic position and it may be just one of those weird cases where someone just fits better at a position. Although you would think that someone that is athletic enough to play a middle infield position would be able to react quickly enough to be adequate at third base from a reaction standpoint.

[HereComesTheSpiral]

Here are the players I can see not being here next year due to attrition or leaving early:

Armstrong
Flair
Hann
Britton
Frazier
Renfroe
Fullerton
Woodruff might pull a Rick Ankiel and just walk away

I think some will leave to explore other places where they will actually get to see the field and others will just hang it up entirely

[msstate7]

Is pirtle a prospect in the draft? Good 2b that can switch hit.

[CadaverDawg]

Not saying anybody's wrong....but I disagree with those saying Woodruff's issue isn't mental....

In my opinion, if his hips are flying open and it was mechanical, then he would also be horrible with location in bullpen sessions. And if he was, then Butch wouldn't have sent him out there the last few times.

To me, he is simply overthrowing in live action and thinking Way too much. He seems to be psyching himself out, and then completely abandoning his mechanics as a result.

So while I agree there are mechanical flaws with him....I tend to think it all stems from his mentality and him being a total headcase right now.

Kinda like Bracewell Saturday....He didn't lose his mechanics, he was just overthrowing it appeared.

Our pitchers could learn a ton from watching Graveman....they all have great stuff, but they don't rely on it. Like Graveman said on Cohen's radio show lastnight.....He said it took him a while to realize that he has good stuff, so 88-89mph with location is better than 91-92 and losing some command.

But you guys could be right. I just think if it was a mechanical flaw, he would also be doing it in bullpens, not just live....and Butch would fix it. Not just run him out there with obvious flaws.

[Spider-Man]

I agree Cadaver. From everything that Butch and Cohen have said, he has had great bullpens.

[engie]

Nobody is saying his issue isn't mental -- we're just noting that it's mechanical too in the games.

[WeWillScrewItUp]

What opinions do y'all have on inserting Woodruff into left field in an inning that they are planning on bringing him in for relief. Just bringing him in like they do C.T. where he doesn't have time to get worked up in the bullpen. I'm thinking get him a few short, solid outtings and it may make him realize he still has it. Then maybe we can get him into the starting role where we need him.

[Spider-Man]

What opinions do y'all have on inserting Woodruff into left field in an inning that they are planning on bringing him in for relief. Just bringing him in like they do C.T. where he doesn't have time to get worked up in the bullpen. I'm thinking get him a few short, solid outtings and it may make him realize he still has it. Then maybe we can get him into the starting role where we need him.

Not a bad idea. Midweek games only though.

[WeWillScrewItUp]

Not a bad idea. Midweek games only though.

I would like to see them get him going again. I'm starting to get worried that he may have lost the "it" factor that all pitchers have.

[Uncle Ruckus]

was flair not recruited as a 3b?