Looking at the baseball roster

[HoopsDawg]

I see 7 high end arms with college experience:

Valincius, McPherson, Foster, Stone, Burns, Pitzer, and Ben Davis. Thats Omaha level there.

Then only need a couple of other guys to emerge from a big group of players such as: Kirk, Bauer, Webb, Logar, Rhodes and some Juco transfers.

Could be a season where we have 3 quality weekend starters who go deeper into games. This means you need less arms for a weekend. As few as 6-8 if someone can pitch multiple times out of the pen.

[Todd4State]

That's why I wouldn't be surprised if we use McPherson out of the bullpen so we can maximize our talent. And then we have Pitzer who we can use as a traditional closer too.

[Coach34]

Gonna be interesting

I dont see us with both Davis and McPh in the pen unless the others just really force their way into the rotation. Pitzer should def be a closer type guy.

Got to figure Valincius and Foster likely make the weekend. We wont go with 3 LHP's for the weekend so a righty will have to take a spot. So thats obviously going to be McPh/Davis or Stone

[Pancho]

depth, depth and more depth. and that is only the pitching

[3dawgnight15]

Be cool to see some of our recruits make a jump. Braden Booth had some early buzz his redshirt year.

[HoopsDawg]

Gonna be interesting

I dont see us with both Davis and McPh in the pen unless the others just really force their way into the rotation. Pitzer should def be a closer type guy.

Got to figure Valincius and Foster likely make the weekend. We wont go with 3 LHP's for the weekend so a righty will have to take a spot. So thats obviously going to be McPh/Davis or Stone

Thats the way I see it. I like McPh as the Sat guy but we?ll see how the intrasquads and exhibitions go.

[Pancho]

I am interested who portals out by Xmas

[Todd4State]

Gonna be interesting

I dont see us with both Davis and McPh in the pen unless the others just really force their way into the rotation. Pitzer should def be a closer type guy.

Got to figure Valincius and Foster likely make the weekend. We wont go with 3 LHP's for the weekend so a righty will have to take a spot. So thats obviously going to be McPh/Davis or Stone

Duke Stone is more likely to be a starter than Foster. I think Davis ends up as a midweek starter/long reliever.

[Coach34]

Duke Stone is more likely to be a starter than Foster. I think Davis ends up as a midweek starter/long reliever.

Why is that? Foster was ahead of the rest of the freshmen this past Spring until he got hurt. Upon returning in May- he threw 4.1 innings and didnt allow a run, striking out 9 and allowing 1 hit. He throws 95. Hell, Foster could be better than Valincius by March

[99jc]

Why is that? Foster was ahead of the rest of the freshmen this past Spring until he got hurt. Upon returning in May- he threw 4.1 innings and didnt allow a run, striking out 9 and allowing 1 hit. He throws 95. Hell, Foster could be better than Valincius by March

That is what i think also.

[HoopsDawg]

Why is that? Foster was ahead of the rest of the freshmen this past Spring until he got hurt. Upon returning in May- he threw 4.1 innings and didnt allow a run, striking out 9 and allowing 1 hit. He throws 95. Hell, Foster could be better than Valincius by March

You are correct. He?s probably basing that off of summer ball which I don?t value much at all.

I think Foster is our Sunday guy.

[Pinto]

Where?s TBA going to be in the rotation?***

[Homedawg]

Be cool to see some of our recruits make a jump. Braden Booth had some early buzz his redshirt year.

Booth got killed this summer. He gonna have a tough time getting any innings at all.

[AlSwearengen]

Foster’s stuff is electric to the point that he is SEC Ace material; let’s see where his command is. I haven’t seen Stone throw, so I have no clue about his “stuff”, but he apparently impressed a lot of people at the Cape in a big way. McPherson made Team USA ahead of Valincius but team need could have played a factor in that.

If everyone is healthy, it would be nice to not have to extend the starters too much during the season so we don’t have tired arms at the end of the season. I also don’t envy the coaches having to keep everyone happy.

[AlSwearengen]

Homedawg, are you hearing any chatter coming out of team workouts? O’Conner mentioned that Bauer had made a lot of progress in just 2 weeks. That’s all I’ve seen mentioned.

[Homedawg]

Homedawg, are you hearing any chatter coming out of team workouts? O’Conner mentioned that Bauer had made a lot of progress in just 2 weeks. That’s all I’ve seen mentioned.

I haven't talked to anyone in a week. I don't put a ton of stock until they hit the field. Lots of positives about depth. Position players and the mound.

[Todd4State]

Why is that? Foster was ahead of the rest of the freshmen this past Spring until he got hurt. Upon returning in May- he threw 4.1 innings and didnt allow a run, striking out 9 and allowing 1 hit. He throws 95. Hell, Foster could be better than Valincius by March

I think Duke is better and doesn't have the history injury.

https://x.com/d1baseball/status/1957442553659130168?s=46&t=9hORli1j-tihHXxpBLPOpg

[Todd4State]

Homedawg, are you hearing any chatter coming out of team workouts? O’Conner mentioned that Bauer had made a lot of progress in just 2 weeks. That’s all I’ve seen mentioned.

If he has that's scary for the teams we play.

[Coach34]

I think Duke is better and doesn't have the history injury.

https://x.com/d1baseball/status/1957442553659130168?s=46&t=9hORli1j-tihHXxpBLPOpg

I think Stone will be good also. But If Foster is healthy? I'm betting on Foster in Feb

[ZedFedder]

The fact we got Stone back from the portal is looking better each day

[HoopsDawg]

12 hitters on the roster with a .400+ OBP at the college level. Impressive. Per Hail State stats.

[Coach34]

12 hitters on the roster with a .400+ OBP at the college level. Impressive. Per Hail State stats.

There will be such a fight for playing time. We can match-up everybody we play. Always need luck and health- but this is as good of a chance to win it as in 85

[Todd4State]

I think Stone will be good also. But If Foster is healthy? I'm betting on Foster in Feb

There is a chance both of them are in the rotation. It's not necessarily either/or.

There's also a chance that they're in the bullpen because guys like William Kirk and Dane Burns will compete for spots also. And of course McPherson.

[Todd4State]

12 hitters on the roster with a .400+ OBP at the college level. Impressive. Per Hail State stats.

We will be different than we were when Lemonis was here. And more of an emphasis on making contact and getting on base is one of those things.

We should be much better fundamentally as well on defense and on the bases too. Improving those things alone will make us harder to beat and will probably get us 2-3 extra wins at least compared to when Lemonis was here.

And let's be honest- we weren't that bad last year in the grand scheme of things compared to the rest of the country even though we were also not up to Mississippi State's standards either. My point is we were a top 30 type team the past two years and those 2-3 extra wins might be enough to get us to host. Moreso true in 2023 than 2024.

[DawgFromOxford]

We will be different than we were when Lemonis was here. And more of an emphasis on making contact and getting on base is one of those things.

We should be much better fundamentally as well on defense and on the bases too. Improving those things alone will make us harder to beat and will probably get us 2-3 extra wins at least compared to when Lemonis was here.

And let's be honest- we weren't that bad last year in the grand scheme of things compared to the rest of the country even though we were also not up to Mississippi State's standards either. My point is we were a top 30 type team the past two years and those 2-3 extra wins might be enough to get us to host. Moreso true in 2023 than 2024.

Always seemed to give away at least 1 or 2 outs a game on the base paths.

[Todd4State]

Always seemed to give away at least 1 or 2 outs a game on the base paths.

Cheese was pretty bad as a third base coach. That didn't help. And I get it's a thankless job and things happen sometimes but there was confusion more times than there should be.

[shoeless joe]

pitching, defense, 2 out RBIs....and the 3 run homer

Looking forward to seeing this group and how they fair. Talent is there, depth is there...so we've put ourselves into the arena. now, those aforementioned traits of championship teams will determine exactly how fun feb-june can be.

[99jc]

Cheese was pretty bad as a third base coach. That didn't help. And I get it's a thankless job and things happen sometimes but there was confusion more times than there should be.

You were being nice CHEESE SUCKED!

[Pancho]

my goodness, what a collection of players