Zac Houston had an Ok day in the Cape

[Todd4State]

6 IP, 0 hits and 9K's.

Maybe Kyle Peterson was right about him pitching in our rotation next year after all.

[DistrictDawg92]

He's going to be a force next year. Any stats on Dakota from this summer yet?

[smootness]

I think our clear options for the rotation are Hudson, Sexton, Tatum, and Houston. It's possible one of the freshmen plays their way in there, but I doubt it. I like what we'll have in those 4. The tough thing will be replacing them all when all 4 are likely drafted next year.

[I seen it dawg]

Won't make any difference if the toxicity and stupidity didn't exit at the final out of the last game. Although I do like seeing the progress out of Houston and Hudson.

[Tbonewannabe]

Of course he will bring it. Butch always gets great things out of someone their last year. How crazy is it that Holder and Ross Mitchell are the only pitchers that have been worth anything for more than one year.

[Todd4State]

He's going to be a force next year. Any stats on Dakota from this summer yet?

He has been equally filthy and has had scouts buzzing right now. What the stats don't say is he has been consistently at 92-94 with his fastball and his breaking ball has been unhittable.

http://www.pointstreak.com/baseball/...seasonid=29031

[Jacksondevildog]

Todd, I agree with your tweet to MSUBaseball to the effect that we shouldn't have to wait until their junior year to have these type of results. I concur. Other schools do and our pitching coach isn't a retard. We should have guys competing for weekend spots or midweek spots as a freshman.

[Todd4State]

Won't make any difference if the toxicity and stupidity didn't exit at the final out of the last game. Although I do like seeing the progress out of Houston and Hudson.

If they pitch like this, they can be as stupid as they want. But don't allow 8-9 runs and then dance around in the dugout trying to figure out what rally hat to wear.

[Todd4State]

Of course he will bring it. Butch always gets great things out of someone their last year. How crazy is it that Holder and Ross Mitchell are the only pitchers that have been worth anything for more than one year.

I'm honestly not sure what to think of it. Is it a coincidence? I'm not really sure. It's not like we've been sending guys to the same summer league pitching coach and he has "fixed" our guys. All of our pitchers are pitching for different coaches and having similar results minus Austin Sexton so far- and against the top prospects in college baseball. It's like our season ended- and then the switch came on almost immediately. Why?

It's bizarre.

I would include Caleb Reed in your list of guys that have had more than one good season too though.

[DistrictDawg92]

dance around in the dugout trying to figure out what rally hat to wear.

This has gotten out of hand in College Baseball.

[DistrictDawg92]

I'm honestly not sure what to think of it. Is it a coincidence? I'm not really sure. It's not like we've been sending guys to the same summer league pitching coach and he has "fixed" our guys. All of our pitchers are pitching for different coaches and having similar results minus Austin Sexton so far- and against the top prospects in college baseball. It's like our season ended- and then the switch came on almost immediately. Why?

It's bizarre.

I would include Caleb Reed in your list of guys that have had more than one good season too though.

Nick Routt had some good years. If he had been on the 2013 team we would've won it all.

[Todd4State]

Todd, I agree with your tweet to MSUBaseball to the effect that we shouldn't have to wait until their junior year to have these type of results. I concur. Other schools do and our pitching coach isn't a retard. We should have guys competing for weekend spots or midweek spots as a freshman.

What I want to start seeing is guys like Ethan Small, Jared Padgett, etc. be used out of the bullpen in short one inning stints as freshmen and build their confidence up. Rather than be used sparingly as freshmen, get shelled as sophomores and then have the switch come on.

I hate to give the devil his due, but I like how Ole Miss used Drew Pomeranz. He pitched out of the bullpen as a freshman- and actually built up enough confidence to transition into a longer and more prominent relief role by the end of the year. And then he was ready as a sophomore. The Cardinals have done with that with pitchers before as well- like Adam Wainwright and Carlos Martinez- and have had a lot of success with it.

[Todd4State]

Nick Routt had some good years. If he had been on the 2013 team we would've won it all.

He was OK. He had some injuries if I recall that limited him some. We definitely needed another quality starter to win the CWS in 2013.

[messageboardsuperhero]

What I want to start seeing is guys like Ethan Small, Jared Padgett, etc. be used out of the bullpen in short one inning stints as freshmen and build their confidence up. Rather than be used sparingly as freshmen, get shelled as sophomores and then have the switch come on.

I hate to give the devil his due, but I like how Ole Miss used Drew Pomeranz. He pitched out of the bullpen as a freshman- and actually built up enough confidence to transition into a longer and more prominent relief role by the end of the year. And then he was ready as a sophomore. The Cardinals have done with that with pitchers before as well- like Adam Wainwright and Carlos Martinez- and have had a lot of success with it.

Amen. Put them in advantageous situations as freshmen to build their confidence- then have them step in and start games as sophomores. Jesse McCord and Dakota Hudson are good examples of what you're talking about- starting weekends as freshmen and getting shelled, then not being used the rest of the year.

Hopefully these rising juniors stepping up will allow our freshmen to come along slowly.

[I seen it dawg]

If they pitch like this, they can be as stupid as they want. But don't allow 8-9 runs and then dance around in the dugout trying to figure out what rally hat to wear.

I'm speaking in general not just the pitchers. The team needs to get focused and quit dicking off.

[I seen it dawg]

What I want to start seeing is guys like Ethan Small, Jared Padgett, etc. be used out of the bullpen in short one inning stints as freshmen and build their confidence up. Rather than be used sparingly as freshmen, get shelled as sophomores and then have the switch come on.

I hate to give the devil his due, but I like how Ole Miss used Drew Pomeranz. He pitched out of the bullpen as a freshman- and actually built up enough confidence to transition into a longer and more prominent relief role by the end of the year. And then he was ready as a sophomore. The Cardinals have done with that with pitchers before as well- like Adam Wainwright and Carlos Martinez- and have had a lot of success with it.

It's not hard to figure out....why can't our genius pitching coach

[smootness]

I think there are a lot more guys throughout the country that only have 'one good year' before leaving than we think. And I think we too often expect big-time results too quickly.

Graveman gave us 3 very good years. Hudson wasn't terrible this year but didn't get a chance to start this year.

Beede only gave Vandy one great year; it just came as a sophomore. Pomeranz gave Ole Miss one great year and one good one.

We don't really bring in as many elite guys as Vandy and LSU do. And beyond that, we're probably pretty normal in terms of how many good years we're getting. I mean, while we're rightly excited about our pitching class, Vandy is bringing in the #12 overall player in the pre-draft rankings to pitch.

[Todd4State]

It's not hard to figure out....why can't our genius pitching coach

I'll tell you what I've seen happen a lot. We'll be up big on someone late in the game but instead of getting one of our younger guys an inning or two, we'll leave Ross or Caleb Reed, or even Holder in to finish the game out. What's the point?

If the freshman struggles, just have another guy that is reliable ready just in case.

[Todd4State]

I think there are a lot more guys throughout the country that only have 'one good year' before leaving than we think. And I think we too often expect big-time results too quickly.

Graveman gave us 3 very good years. Hudson wasn't terrible this year but didn't get a chance to start this year.

Beede only gave Vandy one great year; it just came as a sophomore. Pomeranz gave Ole Miss one great year and one good one.

We don't really bring in as many elite guys as Vandy and LSU do. And beyond that, we're probably pretty normal in terms of how many good years we're getting. I mean, while we're rightly excited about our pitching class, Vandy is bringing in the #12 overall player in the pre-draft rankings to pitch.

What Vanderbilt brings in is more about signability than anything. I actually thought we did pretty well in that category to be honest with you. We lost two guys to the draft that had close MSU ties and a guy that the Orioles had to go way over slot to sign. I know the Phillies went over slot to sign Pickett. Not sure what Riley signed for as far as whether it was over slot or not- but based on what I've heard about the Braves draft I suspect it was over slot. Oddly enough, we got most of the guys with non-MSU ties that were draft risks like Ford, Padgett, Marrero, and Zinn. We were actually pretty darn close to bringing in our entire class.

The thing that no one talks about is what Vanderbilt isn't bringing in.

I want to see our guys give us one good year and one great year. That's the problem- we've been getting two bad years and a great year.

We're starting to get better pitching classes though- Spaes has a chance to be a first round pick. Mitchell Miller, Walker Robbins, Riley Self, Cole Whitman, and Elliott Johnson are also all good prospects as well.

[smootness]

What Vanderbilt brings in is more about signability than anything. I actually thought we did pretty well in that category to be honest with you. We lost two guys to the draft that had close MSU ties and a guy that the Orioles had to go way over slot to sign. I know the Phillies went over slot to sign Pickett. Not sure what Riley signed for as far as whether it was over slot or not- but based on what I've heard about the Braves draft I suspect it was over slot. Oddly enough, we got most of the guys with non-MSU ties that were draft risks like Ford, Padgett, Marrero, and Zinn. We were actually pretty darn close to bringing in our entire class.

The thing that no one talks about is what Vanderbilt isn't bringing in.

I want to see our guys give us one good year and one great year. That's the problem- we've been getting two bad years and a great year.

We're starting to get better pitching classes though- Spaes has a chance to be a first round pick. Mitchell Miller, Walker Robbins, Riley Self, Cole Whitman, and Elliott Johnson are also all good prospects as well.

Are you arguing that our class is on par with Vandy's? Because while ours is very good, Vandy's is just stupid with top talent. I understand why they're able to do it, but it still doesn't make sense to compare most of the guys we've had with what they've had.

We are increasing the talent level. With that, we should see more guys give us more good years.