13 Freshmen

[bulldogcountry1]

And none of them are contributing. I've always though that the biggest indicator of the health of a program is having multiple freshmen contributing in the lineup and on the mound every year. We are screwed. Nolan Stevens showed some signs of life, but he's not helping us now. Everyone else looks awful. There's no excuse for us being in this position, and I think Lemonis' reputation as a good recruiter is a farce.

[Santiago]

Particularly with the pitching help.
But yeah, seems in past years we always had 2-3 freshmen we could already see talent in them and despite up and down play, they had the ability to make plays.
Mershon last year is a good example.
If Cupp is healthy , he might change things.

Also, Grant's arm injury was a big deal. He would have helped this year.

[StarkVegasSteve]

Stevens is hit or miss. Cupp was good in the field but not so good with the bat and he has been hurt. Grant is the biggest piece we are missing. He would be our 3rd starter right now if he was not injured. The rest of the Freshman, I mean maybe we are disappointed to not be getting stuff from the pitchers but all our position players are older veterans. They were not going to supplant those guys anyways.

Really interested though: I can only think of 3, maybe 4, freshman each year that have contributed even in the last 10 years. 18 is the outlier year. Just trying to think back,

13: Robson kind of
14: no one
15: no one
16: Mangum, Stovall a little bit, Marrero, Pilkington
17: Self
18: Jordan, Allen, Hatcher, Foscue, Westburg
19: Ginn, Hayden Jones for a week
21: Clark, Fristoe, Forsythe
22: Hines, Cheatham, Pico
23: Mershon, Dakota, Ross, Cjintje
24: Cupp, Stevens, Spalitta/McKenzie/O?Brien. Kind of all count as one due to spot starts

[msstate7]

Stevens is hit or miss. Cupp was good in the field but not so good with the bat and he has been hurt. Grant is the biggest piece we are missing. He would be our 3rd starter right now if he was not injured. The rest of the Freshman, I mean maybe we are disappointed to not be getting stuff from the pitchers but all our position players are older veterans. They were not going to supplant those guys anyways.

We have a DH spot that we can't get any production from. I'm shocked at a sec program, we can't find a guy that can square a baseball up. That's horrible

[No BS Dawg]

We have a DH spot that we can't get any production from. I'm shocked at a sec program, we can't find a guy that can square a baseball up. That's horrible

No DH and no closer? two critical pieces to collegiate baseball success.

[StarkVegasSteve]

We have a DH spot that we can't get any production from. I'm shocked at a sec program, we can't find a guy that can square a baseball up. That's horrible

Downs. We just refuse to play him.

[louisvilledawg]

Downs. We just refuse to play him.

Respectfully, Downs is ass. It's just everybody else isn't good either so it makes him look like not ass.

25k in 66 AB. No power. 2 doubles on the season and one of those was a ball that got misplayed by the outfielder on a can of corn pop up.

This dude is now a junior and has 5 XBH (all doubles) in his career. His career K% is 40%. He is not good.

[StarkVegasSteve]

Respectfully, Downs is ass. It's just everybody else isn't good either so it makes him look like not ass.

25k in 66 AB. No power. 2 doubles on the season and one of those was a ball that got misplayed by the outfielder on a can of corn pop up.

This dude is now a junior and has 5 XBH (all doubles) in his career. His career K% is 40%. He is not good.

Oh I agree. We just do not have a good answer for that position unless someone steps up. Maybe move Cupp to the field and Larry to DH.

[msstate7]

Oh I agree. We just do not have a good answer for that position unless someone steps up. Maybe move Cupp to the field and Larry to DH.

Probably should happen. Cupp to SS

[Brobi-wan]

I could see putting Cupp in the lineup. Larry can?t hit or play defense right now. If you get defense from Cupp and he still can?t hit that?s at least 1 plus. Larry hasn?t really hit well all year. No reason to think he?s in a slump. This is just him.

[StarkVegasSteve]

I could see putting Cupp in the lineup. Larry can?t hit or play defense right now. If you get defense from Cupp and he still can?t hit that?s at least 1 plus. Larry hasn?t really hit well all year. No reason to think he?s in a slump. This is just him.

Larry is just streaky. He will hit well for 2 weekends and then not hit for 3 weekends. The defense going to hell is the worrying thing about him.

[Brobi-wan]

Sure, but he’s a senior and won’t be here next year. Why not get a freshman some playing time that we can have come back?

[TNDawg35]

You would be surprised about some of the freshman we have if we actually had a hitting coach that taught and instructed hitting. Name me one kid that actually got better under Gotro that wasn’t already a beast out of high school…

[Homedawg]

Downs. We just refuse to play him.

he's k'd in 17 of 28 sec at bats

[StarkVegasSteve]

You would be surprised about some of the freshman we have if we actually had a hitting coach that taught and instructed hitting. Name me one kid that actually got better under Gotro that wasn’t already a beast out of high school…

Dustin Skelton. He may be the only one but Gautreau somehow got through to him.

[StarkVegasSteve]

he's k'd in 17 of 28 sec at bats

And the others K in their ABs too. We are in a shitty position so we have tried Spalitta and O’Brien and McKenzie. Lets go back to Downs now.

[MaroonFlounder]

Stevens is hit or miss. Cupp was good in the field but not so good with the bat and he has been hurt. Grant is the biggest piece we are missing. He would be our 3rd starter right now if he was not injured. The rest of the Freshman, I mean maybe we are disappointed to not be getting stuff from the pitchers but all our position players are older veterans. They were not going to supplant those guys anyways.

Really interested though: I can only think of 3, maybe 4, freshman each year that have contributed even in the last 10 years. 18 is the outlier year. Just trying to think back,

13: Robson kind of
14: no one
15: no one
16: Mangum, Stovall a little bit, Marrero, Pilkington
17: Self
18: Jordan, Allen, Hatcher, Foscue, Westburg
19: Ginn, Hayden Jones for a week
21: Clark, Fristoe, Forsythe
22: Hines, Cheatham, Pico
23: Mershon, Dakota, Ross, Cjintje
24: Cupp, Stevens, Spalitta/McKenzie/O?Brien. Kind of all count as one due to spot starts

I don't remember a Freshman named Marrero in '16.
Who was that?

[Pancho]

Eli, of the Dodger family of players?

[Pancho]

All the Miami folks asked why he wasn't on the team when Miami came for the regional, whatever year that was.

[StarkVegasSteve]

All the Miami folks asked why he wasn't on the team when Miami came for the regional, whatever year that was.

That was in 19. Cann kicked him off the team in 17 because he was dealing coke. Had a few players caught up in it, one big time player. Had been a problem since midway through the 16 season.

[Homedawg]

And the others K in their ABs too. We are in a shitty position so we have tried Spalitta and O’Brien and McKenzie. Lets go back to Downs now.

63% k ????

[Commercecomet24]

63% k ????

My goodness you almost have to try and strike out 63% of the time. Don't know that I've ever seen a k rate that high on a player with that many abs. Makes you wonder(and I'm being serious), if he's not having some vision problems

[msstate7]

Perhaps lemonis let one of the young hitters get a few games in a row. It's a tall ask to put a guy in without any PAs to step in and hit.

[HoopsDawg]

Perhaps lemonis let one of the young hitters get a few games in a row. It's a tall ask to put a guy in without any PAs to step in and hit.

Stevens should be the DH the next 10 games and then reevaluate

[StarkVegasSteve]

Stevens should be the DH the next 10 games and then reevaluate

Yea I agree with not pitching him for a while. Let’s see if he can get in a groove hitting. We just need something at that spot at the end of the day. I do not care if it’s Downs, Chance, Larry, Chester, McKenzie, OBrien, Spalitta, or Stevens. Just get some production from that spot.

[MetEdDawg]

Perhaps lemonis let one of the young hitters get a few games in a row. It's a tall ask to put a guy in without any PAs to step in and hit.

Here's a question. Can someone explain why Spalitta was the DH against a lefty on Saturday?

Why did we not have someone who could hit right handed in the DH spot?

I get Lemonis trying to find someone, but I felt like he hamstrung Spalitta in that game in the limited opportunity he already gets.

[basedog]

We have no one coming off the bench who has helped us. It’s all about our 1-6, depending on 7-9 has been really bad. Auburn hasn’t been very good pitching so far. May be the worse team in Sec.

[CaptainObvious]

he's k'd in 17 of 28 sec at bats

Then he fits right into this lineup. We have 2 guys in the middle of the lineup, supposed RBI spots, that K 3 times each per game and hit the occasional solo homerun when there is no pressure to perform.

I suspect close to 60% or more of their outs made are K's which means Unproductive outs!

Downs could bat leadoff with his level of production for this team!

[msstate7]

Downs at least has a .390 obp.

[mparkerfd20]

Look I want Lemonis gone too, but if your determining the strength of your program on freshmen then you're simply putting your emphasis in the wrong place. Period. No team is depending on more than maybe 1-2 freshmen max and throughout the history of our program the same is true. Anything over 2 is a huge bonus but not an indicator of strength by any means.

Now if those freshmen never compete then yes absolutely... We have no closer. That is 100% on Lemo. Our Catcher isn't good beyond receiving the ball well. That's on Lemo. We have no good option at DH. That's on Lemo. Our hitting is spotty at best. That has always been on our horrible hitting coach that I've never underatood the message board love for, Gautreau... Lemo won't fire his sorry ass tho so that's 100% on Lemo.

[Leeshouldveflanked]

Next years Freshman class looks worse.

[ZedFedder]

Another reason we need to move on from Lemonis is that his recruiting has continued to get worse and worse. After the last two years a lot of our high profile commits jumped ship. In fact, there are two kids in Perfect Game?s top 10 who were once committed to us that are now committed elsewhere.

[Pancho]

Next years Freshman class looks worse.

who is listed on it?

[Cooterpoot]

Here's a question. Can someone explain why Spalitta was the DH against a lefty on Saturday?

Why did we not have someone who could hit right handed in the DH spot?

I get Lemonis trying to find someone, but I felt like he hamstrung Spalitta in that game in the limited opportunity he already gets.

Because Lemonis is a dumbass and it's been proven over and over again. Hines in the 2 hole? That was ignorant too. Lemonis looks like a desperate man walking death row.

[Santiago]

Because Lemonis is a dumbass and it's been proven over and over again. Hines in the 2 hole? That was ignorant too. Lemonis looks like a desperate man walking death row.

The only reasoning I can see on that, is with Mershon getting on base, then it eliminates the shift by the defense. Gives Hines more natural hitting lanes.

[Coach34]

Because Lemonis is a dumbass and it's been proven over and over again. Hines in the 2 hole? That was ignorant too. Lemonis looks like a desperate man walking death row.

Or it could be analytics that coaches use today- same reason that Tommy T bats 2nd for LSU and Condom batted 2nd for Georgia last year

[Cooterpoot]

Or it could be analytics that coaches use today- same reason that Tommy T bats 2nd for LSU and Condom batted 2nd for Georgia last year

Hines K rate is too high. You want your best hitter in that 2 hole. White is 10 times the hitter Hines is. Hines has 44 Ks, White has 17. It was a stupid ass decision just like Spalitta against a lefty. Mershon at leadoff was bad too but can at least see that attempt.
It was straight desperation and overthinking shit because that bucket is reallly hot now.

[Coach34]

It was a stupid ass decision just like Spalitta against a lefty. Mershon at leadoff was bad too but can at least see that attempt.

A) yes- DH'ing Spalitta against a lefty was dumb

B) I'm ok with Mershon leading off-especially because he is a switch. We really dont have another leadoff type unless you put Trout there

[Cooterpoot]

A) yes- DH'ing Spalitta against a lefty was dumb

B) I'm ok with Mershon leading off-especially because he is a switch. We really dont have another leadoff type unless you put Trout there

Don't disagree with either. I can try Mershon there but he was terrible, so drop him back or let him keep trying and see. Hines though isn't a fit at 2. Hines is a 4 or 5 hole guy. Jordan should be the three hole but his K rate is poor too. So we basically have no leadoff or three hole really unless people figure things out fast. We all know DH is terrible too. Just so many holes due to poor recruiting. I feel like there's a 90% chance we have a new coach next year. After today, our RPI will fall into the mid-upper 50s with our schedule ramping up again soon.
I thought early on we would be ok but LSU sucks and we've really done little else outside of UGA. I don't think Lemonis survives without making a super.

[Coach34]

2025?

Position- Stevens, MacKenzie, Spalitta, Highfill, Trout, Mershon, Cupp, Downs?...plus portal

Pitchers- Grant, Stevens, Loftin (maybe), Siary, Forsythe, Pico, Clark, Dotson, Cheatham, Miller, Passeau, Holcombe, Hardin, Black, Haley, Ligon, Gibbs plus portal

Does not include incoming Freshmen

[Santiago]

2025?

Position- Stevens, MacKenzie, Spalitta, Highfill, Trout, Mershon, Cupp, Downs?...plus portal

Pitchers- Grant, Stevens, Loftin (maybe), Siary, Forsythe, Pico, Clark, Dotson, Cheatham, Miller, Passeau, Holcombe, Hardin, Black, Haley, Ligon, Gibbs plus portal

Does not include incoming Freshmen

Which one of those can close games this year for us. I am all for it.

[maroonmania]

2025?

Position- Stevens, MacKenzie, Spalitta, Highfill, Trout, Mershon, Cupp, Downs?...plus portal

Pitchers- Grant, Stevens, Loftin (maybe), Siary, Forsythe, Pico, Clark, Dotson, Cheatham, Miller, Passeau, Holcombe, Hardin, Black, Haley, Ligon, Gibbs plus portal

Does not include incoming Freshmen

Man, that's depressing

[Pancho]

Next years Freshman class looks worse.

plz give us the list of incoming freshman

[Ezsoil]

Stevens is hit or miss. Cupp was good in the field but not so good with the bat and he has been hurt. Grant is the biggest piece we are missing. He would be our 3rd starter right now if he was not injured. The rest of the Freshman, I mean maybe we are disappointed to not be getting stuff from the pitchers but all our position players are older veterans. They were not going to supplant those guys anyways.

Really interested though: I can only think of 3, maybe 4, freshman each year that have contributed even in the last 10 years. 18 is the outlier year. Just trying to think back,

13: Robson kind of
14: no one
15: no one
16: Mangum, Stovall a little bit, Marrero, Pilkington
17: Self
18: Jordan, Allen, Hatcher, Foscue, Westburg
19: Ginn, Hayden Jones for a week
21: Clark, Fristoe, Forsythe
22: Hines, Cheatham, Pico
23: Mershon, Dakota, Ross, Cjintje
24: Cupp, Stevens, Spalitta/McKenzie/O?Brien. Kind of all count as one due to spot starts

You left off the 20 team James and Cumbest