Lemon interview tonight recap

[Coach34]

1. Charlie Foster is probably the top Freshman this year entering the season
2. Trout/O'Brien competing in CF- could be a platoon situation
3. Sullivan will be an every day guy and also be called upon to get us 3 outs
4. Stevens likely starts in RF and will be called upon to get 3 outs
5. Hines/Reese/Sullivan will be middle of the line-up
6. Pico and Ligon are def going to be SP's to start the season along with Indiana St
7. Loves our catchers with Highfill/Powell/Owen and said they will all play
8. Cupp is the SS but there is a damn fight at 2B
9. Loves Reese and feels like he will be bigtime. Said he has alot of work to do but that 3B is his likely position in MLB- as in he is a pro hitter
10. Loves the depth of this team vs last year. More L vs R on O and D

Team goal is get to Host and get to Omaha

[Tater]

"I love all our players at X position that really needs one full time guy."

Means no one is standing out.

[Coach34]

Gonna disagree. Saying O'Brien is pushing Trout in CF and it could be a platoon situation tells me O'Brien is playing well. I figured Trout would get the job easily.

2B- Reeves is the odds on favorite because he is top notch defensively. Nobody else will be close to him defensively. The only reason the job is open is because Reeves might hit .220 this season. They are looking for someone that can hit .270 and be solid at 2B. 2B might also be a platoon situation this Spring

C? Powell is the best receiver and the other 2 swing it better. Probably gonna see guys start and play with Powell coming in and finishing games

[HoopsDawg]

Who plays LF if Chance wins the CF job?

[Tater]

Gonna disagree. Saying O'Brien is pushing Trout in CF and it could be a platoon situation tells me O'Brien is playing well. I figured Trout would get the job easily.

2B- Reeves is the odds on favorite because he is top notch defensively. Nobody else will be close to him defensively. The only reason the job is open is because Reeves might hit .220 this season. They are looking for someone that can hit .270 and be solid at 2B. 2B might also be a platoon situation this Spring

C? Powell is the best receiver and the other 2 swing it better. Probably gonna see guys start and play with Powell coming in and finishing games

My comment was mainly about Catcher. Should have clarified. We've got two hitters and a catcher who can't hit well playing catcher is what I've understood. Lotta defensive replacement movements in our future.

[Coach34]

Who plays LF if Chance wins the CF job?

Sullivan I think. Sullivan is possibly 20 HR guy. He will be in the line-up somewhere

[Coach34]

Reese hits lefty
Sullivan righty
Hines lefty

That is likely our 3/4/5 in some sort of order but who knows with Lemon and his analytics

Throw in Highfill as a righty around 6 hole- however with his speed could maybe hit 2

[WSOPdawg]

Reese hits lefty
Sullivan righty
Hines lefty

That is likely our 3/4/5 in some sort of order but who knows with Lemon and his analytics

Throw in Highfill as a righty around 6 hole- however with his speed could maybe hit 2

...and did I see where he mentioned Highfill could also see time in CF as he is arguably the best athlete on the team?

[Todd4State]

1. Charlie Foster is probably the top Freshman this year entering the season
2. Trout/O'Brien competing in CF- could be a platoon situation
3. Sullivan will be an every day guy and also be called upon to get us 3 outs
4. Stevens likely starts in RF and will be called upon to get 3 outs
5. Hines/Reese/Sullivan will be middle of the line-up
6. Pico and Ligon are def going to be SP's to start the season along with Indiana St
7. Loves our catchers with Highfill/Powell/Owen and said they will all play
8. Cupp is the SS but there is a damn fight at 2B
9. Loves Reese and feels like he will be bigtime. Said he has alot of work to do but that 3B is his likely position in MLB- as in he is a pro hitter
10. Loves the depth of this team vs last year. More L vs R on O and D

Team goal is get to Host and get to Omaha

1. Yes, but what role will he have on the pitching staff? That will be interesting to watch.
2. Really depends on how well O'Brien hits as we have said all along. If he hits well he will start in CF and if not it will be Bryce there and Highfill when he isn't catching. And that kind of leads me into point 3
3. Sullivan is a DH/1B so that's part of the reason why Highfill will have to play the OF when he isn't catching if we want his bat in the lineup. Noah was in the rotation at USC-Upstate so him being able to give us an inning here and there is expected.
4. Nolan will probably be our closer a la Bobby Thigpen.
5. True
6. I'm still not sold on Ligon being in the rotation and the 3 walks in the first scrimmage don't change my mind about that.
7. Owen keeps hitting home runs so he should get a chance because he has earned it.
8. In response to another post- about Reeves- if he hits .220 it will be a disappointment and he won't start. Not when we have Pulliam, Gehrig Frei and Lutkas Buckner.
9. True
10. Our offense is going to be different. A lot more contact and a lot less swing and miss but we're not sacrificing power to do that. Should make us more "clutch" in theory.

[Todd4State]

Reese hits lefty
Sullivan righty
Hines lefty

That is likely our 3/4/5 in some sort of order but who knows with Lemon and his analytics

Throw in Highfill as a righty around 6 hole- however with his speed could maybe hit 2

Stevens is going to be a really good hitter too. Don't forget him.

[cheewgumm]

Great stuff. Thank you

Fired up!

[SPMT]

Gonna disagree. Saying O'Brien is pushing Trout in CF and it could be a platoon situation tells me O'Brien is playing well. I figured Trout would get the job easily.

2B- Reeves is the odds on favorite because he is top notch defensively. Nobody else will be close to him defensively. The only reason the job is open is because Reeves might hit .220 this season. They are looking for someone that can hit .270 and be solid at 2B. 2B might also be a platoon situation this Spring

C? Powell is the best receiver and the other 2 swing it better. Probably gonna see guys start and play with Powell coming in and finishing games

Who the 17 is trout?

[Todd4State]

Who the 17 is trout?

Bryce Chance

[Todd4State]

It's going to be interesting to see how the actual lineup shakes out. We're going to need to find a leadoff hitter. O'Brien looks like a traditional old school leadoff guy except we don't know if he can hit or not. Obviously we need whoever is leading off to hit and get on base. Chance's OBP wasn't the best last year so while he makes contact and doesn't strike out a ton we would need him to get on base more. It makes we wonder if they go with Dylan Cupp as the leadoff guy?

1. Cupp SS
2. Reese 3B (Assuming he is our best hitter?)
3. Sullivan DH
4. Hines 1B
5. Highfill C
6. Stevens RF
7. Chance LF
8. O'Brien CF
9. Reeves 2B

[Todd4State]

And as far as pitching goes, it sounds to me like they are leaning towards Stevens being the closer which isn't surprising because they used him a ton in high leverage situations last year. With Kevin Mannell, Gavin Black, and Chase Hungate along with Sullivan we have a solid bullpen. I hope they use Stone Simmons in tandem with Ligon because I just don't have a ton of faith in Ligon going deep in any game or even staying in the rotation because of his command.

I would keep an eye on Ryan McPherson too- he was absolutely dominant today and hitting 96 on the gun. Was a major prospect before getting hurt in high school. Waiting to see Makhai Grant soon.

[MStateDawg]

I would keep an eye on Ryan McPherson too- he was absolutely dominant today and hitting 96 on the gun. Was a major prospect before getting hurt in high school. Waiting to see Makhai Grant soon.

I think between Grant, McPherson, Foster, Burns & Duke Stone that a couple of these freshmen will be contributing in a major way by the end of the season.

[Homedawg]

It's going to be interesting to see how the actual lineup shakes out. We're going to need to find a leadoff hitter. O'Brien looks like a traditional old school leadoff guy except we don't know if he can hit or not. Obviously we need whoever is leading off to hit and get on base. Chance's OBP wasn't the best last year so while he makes contact and doesn't strike out a ton we would need him to get on base more. It makes we wonder if they go with Dylan Cupp as the leadoff guy?

1. Cupp SS
2. Reese 3B (Assuming he is our best hitter?)
3. Sullivan DH
4. Hines 1B
5. Highfill C
6. Stevens RF
7. Chance LF
8. O'Brien CF
9. Reeves 2B
I believe this will be the opening day 9. Batting order who knows. I also think we will start 11/12 different players opening weekend. W sanders, Owen and stahllman all drawing starts as well.

[HoopsDawg]

I believe this will be the opening day 9. Batting order who knows. I also think we will start 11/12 different players opening weekend. W sanders, Owen and stahllman all drawing starts as well.

I could see Downs drawing a start in LF too.

[Homedawg]

I could see Downs drawing a start in LF too.

It's possible. As could Powell behind the dish. 3b, ss 1b, rf and chance are locks and can probably add Sullivan but Owen is making that tougher by the day.

[Homedawg]

And as far as pitching goes, it sounds to me like they are leaning towards Stevens being the closer which isn't surprising because they used him a ton in high leverage situations last year. With Kevin Mannell, Gavin Black, and Chase Hungate along with Sullivan we have a solid bullpen. I hope they use Stone Simmons in tandem with Ligon because I just don't have a ton of faith in Ligon going deep in any game or even staying in the rotation because of his command.

I would keep an eye on Ryan McPherson too- he was absolutely dominant today and hitting 96 on the gun. Was a major prospect before getting hurt in high school. Waiting to see Makhai Grant soon.

I don't think Stevens is going to be the closer. We might close by committee. I think he pitches some. But not a top back end guy.

[HoopsDawg]

It's possible. As could Powell behind the dish. 3b, ss 1b, rf and chance are locks and can probably add Sullivan but Owen is making that tougher by the day.

Yeah, I thought the fall could have been a bit of a fluke on Owen but 2 homers in 2 scrimmages this spring is hard to ignore.

[KOdawg1]

IF Owen is too good to keep out of the lineup and can handle it defensively, I think I would go:

1. Highfill CF (R); can he cut down on the high K% he had as a freshman? If he can, he's got some of the best wheels on the team.
2. Reese 3B (L); should be our best all around hitter
3. Sullivan DH (R); could swap him and Hines
4. Hines 1B (L)
5. Chance LF (R); could swap him and Stevens
6. Stevens RF (L)
7. Owen C (R); could obviously move him up if he produces
8. Cupp SS (R); elite defensive SS. Just needs to prove it with the bat.
9. Reeves/Sanders 2B (R/L)

[schddog72]

Bryce Chance

Huh????

[schddog72]

Great stuff. Thank you

Fired up!

At the risk of bursting your bubble (pun intended), I lost any ability to get fired up about anything associated with Lemonhead after 2021.

[cheewgumm]

It?s ok to be skeptical

[Coach34]

Hard not to be excited about baseball. We upgraded the roster and signed a strong freshman class of pitchers.

[Coach34]

I don't think Stevens is going to be the closer. We might close by committee. I think he pitches some. But not a top back end guy.

I hope that we go dual closers with Stevens and maybe Black. Having a lefty closer always makes me nervous.

[SPMT]

Bryce Chance


Ok. Thanks. Chance will be starting. Maybe someone pushes home for time but I have my doubts. Chance is pretty gritty.

[Coach34]

Ok. Thanks. Chance will be starting. Maybe someone pushes home for time but I have my doubts. Chance is pretty gritty.

Well I'm wondering if we do something like this:

vs RHP- play OB in CF, Trout in LF and DH Sully
vs LHP- plat Trout in CF, Downs in LF and DH Sully

Or some variation of that with someone else

[3dawgnight15]

Does anyone know if/how Robert Fortenberry has pitched preseason? He had some great JuCo numbers, but that?s JuCo.

[MStateDawg]

Does anyone know if/how Robert Fortenberry has pitched preseason? He had some great JuCo numbers, but that?s JuCo.

He pitched 2 innings on Saturday, gave up no runs on 1 hit, 1 walk & 2 Ks.

[preachermatt83]

I think by sec season Gavin black will be closing for us

[The Federalist Engineer]

I think by sec season Gavin black will be closing for us

Fits the profile. Power Arm (95 mph). Strike Thrower. Right Handed. Experienced. Pedigree (Cape Cod All Star)

With Black, Simmons, and Hungate, the bullpen is strong. For Friday and Saturday competitiveness.

Depth of Bullpen depends on who emerges from: Stevens, Dotson, Grant, Sia

[3dawgnight15]

Our pitching should be improved as a whole. We don?t have the front end studs but have a talented pen. I?m worried about scoring runs. We are hoping these transfers are productive and some guys make significant contributions that have not consistently done so.

[Todd4State]

Our pitching should be improved as a whole. We don?t have the front end studs but have a talented pen. I?m worried about scoring runs. We are hoping these transfers are productive and some guys make significant contributions that have not consistently done so.

Pico might surprise some fans. He wasn't ever really 100% last year and he got healthier as the year went on.

[Coach34]

I?m worried about scoring runs. We are hoping these transfers are productive and some guys make significant contributions that have not consistently done so.

We have significantly upgraded at 3B from a hitting standpoint. Stevens wont be Jordan but he should be a good player. Sullivan is swinging it well. Hines should rebound. I think we will be better offensively. My concern is getting 5 innings out of the SP's day after day

[msu15]

Expect to regress once again.

[Tater]

Expect to regress once again.

Wrong board, go back to the Yankees board. Dakota Jordan ain't no Juan Soto. LFGM