Whispers from the baseball scrimmages this weekend

[Coach34]

1. Bauer was 97-99 and looked great for 1.2 and then got wild.
2. Val looked great and was 95 consistently.
3. Parker swung the bat well with a HR on Friday and a couple hits today. Beans gonna be fighting for playing time
4. 34 is punishing the baseball
5. Same for Sully
6. Miller struck out the side for an inning
7. Teel is everything people say he is
8. James looks good
9. Stallman played some 1B
10. Infield defense aint Top 10 right now- not even close.

[Pancho]

At this point, the arms( and we have plenty) are a bit ahead of the bats and the D as a whole.

[Todd4State]

If Bauer can look great for 1 inning this year every time he pitches I will be very happy. That's essentially the profile of a closer.

I think Jacob Parker is underrated because he doesn't have to play right away on this team. If he hits for power he and adjusts quickly to the SEC then he will play.

[BeardoMSU]

https://youtu.be/IwljKo0yeoA?si=N9FueDaVxfVgAtVi

[Coach34]

If Bauer can look great for 1 inning this year every time he pitches I will be very happy. That's essentially the profile of a closer.

I think Jacob Parker is underrated because he doesn't have to play right away on this team. If he hits for power he and adjusts quickly to the SEC then he will play.

Just going to be a constant fight for AB's and innings. And that's a good thing most of the time. May have a guy or two press too much but by and large the talent will perform. We wont be stuck with a guy like Highfill out there waiting to see if he lives up to potential. Perform or you're headed to the bench

[Todd4State]

Just going to be a constant fight for AB's and innings. And that's a good thing most of the time. May have a guy or two press too much but by and large the talent will perform. We wont be stuck with a guy like Highfill out there waiting to see if he lives up to potential. Perform or you're headed to the bench

Ross was given way too many chances to perform. That may have been more about keeping promises than anything.

But we're going to have several lineups this year like we did under Cohen. I'm sure our fans will complain about it but maybe not since there isn't the underlying "I don't like Cohen cussing at our players and we should have given Raffo a chance" going on.

[Saltydog]

1. Bauer was 97-99 and looked great for 1.2 and then got wild.
2. Val looked great and was 95 consistently.
3. Parker swung the bat well with a HR on Friday and a couple hits today. Beans gonna be fighting for playing time
4. 34 is punishing the baseball
5. Same for Sully
6. Miller struck out the side for an inning
7. Teel is everything people say he is
8. James looks good
9. Stallman played some 1B
10. Infield defense aint Top 10 right now- not even close.

8 and 10 are why I think James is your starting 2B. 34 can swing it but he's not a SEC level 2B, at all.

[msstate7]

After football and MBK, I'm really excited about baseball. God, I'm tired of being shit at all sports

[confucius say]

What about catcher?

[AlSwearengen]

10 is worrisome; that can undo all of the good above it. Can’t be giving anything away on the weekends.

[Todd4State]

10 is worrisome; that can undo all of the good above it. Can’t be giving anything away on the weekends.

If it's bad I doubt that BOC is going to wait until SEC play to make changes. It might mean we lose a game to Delaware or something but we have enough talent that we should be able to have a decent defense. Even if that means we have to play Gat at SS and Chone James at 2B. We also have Wyers who can play both and hit.

[Saltydog]

10 is worrisome; that can undo all of the good above it. Can?t be giving anything away on the weekends.

10 is what won us a natty. We didn't commit not one single error and played flawless defense in the 21 CWS. Well, the D and Will Bednar.

[Coach34]

8 and 10 are why I think James is your starting 2B. 34 can swing it but he's not a SEC level 2B, at all.

34 is going to be in the line-up somewhere tho. We arent sitting a guy that will hit .350 this Spring

[AlSwearengen]

Coach, any idea if 34 is doing it from both sides of the plate or primarily from the left side like he did last year?

[Coach34]

I dont. All I have heard is that is he possibly the best hitter on the team currently. He is going to play.

[Todd4State]

34 is going to be in the line-up somewhere tho. We arent sitting a guy that will hit .350 this Spring

His splits from the right side are going to have to improve for him to be in the lineup everyday. Maybe they will be?

He has enough versatility in that he can play the OF or 2B that it will work out.

[Pancho]

What about catcher?

Milewski, but here is a good possibility we also see Raymond and can't rule out Owen depending on how the other 2 perform.

[Coursesuper]

If it's bad I doubt that BOC is going to wait until SEC play to make changes. It might mean we lose a game to Delaware or something but we have enough talent that we should be able to have a decent defense. Even if that means we have to play Gat at SS and Chone James at 2B. We also have Wyers who can play both and hit.

No one in our league is good enough to consistently give up extra outs. If that’s where we are it will get fixed.

[Coursesuper]

If Bauer can look great for 1 inning this year every time he pitches I will be very happy. That's essentially the profile of a closer.

I think Jacob Parker is underrated because he doesn't have to play right away on this team. If he hits for power he and adjusts quickly to the SEC then he will play.

Bauer isn’t there yet, his heat is flat and he still can’t consistently land his off speed stuff yet. When the cutter he’s learning really arrives he will be hard for anyone to handle but he still has to get better at locating the fastball. 100 over the heart of the plate can get turned around fast and has a bad habit of leaving the yard. But you can’t teach 100 mph and the potential is just wow.

[maroonmania]

After football and MBK, I'm really excited about baseball. God, I'm tired of being shit at all sports

Agreed, high hopes for baseball but our sports programs overall are in about as bad a place as I can remember right now. Football has been in the toilet since Leach passed, MBB was at least competitive under Jans but now its looking rough, baseball hasn't even hosted a regional since the Natty that was 5 years ago and WBB hasn't been anywhere close to the same since Cohen pissed off Schaefer and he flew the coop. I know NIL is a big part of the problem but its tough sledding out there right now for State fans. I actually feel the worst for our students right now that dont have any good sports team to enjoy while living there student life there. Just another reason we need something special out of this baseball team.

[confucius say]

Milewski, but here is a good possibility we also see Raymond and can't rule out Owen depending on how the other 2 perform.

Catcher is a concern until proven otherwise.
So is infield defense.
And while we have a lot of talent on the mound, we don't have a single arm who has been a frontline SEC guy yet. We're banking on guys developing.

[Ranchdawg]

Agreed, high hopes for baseball but our sports programs overall are in about as bad a place as I can remember right now. Football has been in the toilet since Leach passed, MBB was at least competitive under Jans but now its looking rough, baseball hasn't even hosted a regional since the Natty that was 5 years ago and WBB hasn't been anywhere close to the same since Cohen pissed off Schaefer and he flew the coop. I know NIL is a big part of the problem but its tough sledding out there right now for State fans. I actually feel the worst for our students right now that dont have any good sports team to enjoy while living there student life there. Just another reason we need something special out of this baseball team.

Exactly! My granddaughter that was cheerleader 2023-25. She worked her tail off only to cheer for football games that there were more fans of the opposing team in the stands. She did get to go to Las Angeles for several days with the women?s basketball.

The one I really feel sorry for are the average Joe that spends thousands traveling, tickets, Bulldog club donations, lodging, dining and tailgating. For what a subpar performances by most sports.

[EdwardDrayton]

https://youtu.be/IwljKo0yeoA?si=N9FueDaVxfVgAtVi

LOL!!!

[cheewgumm]

If you had to put Frei into a position and leave him there all year?.can?t change your mind, once you pick that?s not he plays there in the field all year long what would it be?

[Coursesuper]

If you had to put Frei into a position and leave him there all year?.can?t change your mind, once you pick that?s not he plays there in the field all year long what would it be?

2nd.

[Coach34]

If you had to put Frei into a position and leave him there all year?.can?t change your mind, once you pick that?s not he plays there in the field all year long what would it be?

He would be the LF'er if I made the line-up out

[AlSwearengen]

Agree on LF. He survived it last year; didn’t look good but survived with what I believe was limited time out there beforehand. I’m assuming that he has been working out there a good bit since then so you would hope that he has improved.

He came in as a 3B but the only thing 3B and 2B have in common is that balls come on the ground. The middle infield is more complicated and requires a lot more movement among other things.

[Saltydog]

Sounds like a DH. . . . . .

[maroonmania]

He would be the LF'er if I made the line-up out

Agree, if he has to play in the field he would be less of a liability in LF than at 2nd or 3rd.

[Coach34]

Sounds like a DH. . . . . .

Already have one and he is one of the best in the country

34 can play LF. 2B? We shall see. Our 3rd baseman is also a LF'er or 1st baseman. That's another problem we have

[Todd4State]

I don't know where I would put Frei. I want to see how he looks at second because that might be the best for the team. In the offseason I toyed around with the idea of him at first base because then we could get Wyers in at 2B, Woodson in at SS, Noah at DH. And yes, Chance will play some at LF. I think if someone overtakes Chance it's actually going to be Parker which is why I didn't put Frei in LF for this discussion.

[maroonmania]

I don't know where I would put Frei. I want to see how he looks at second because that might be the best for the team. In the offseason I toyed around with the idea of him at first base because then we could get Wyers in at 2B, Woodson in at SS, Noah at DH. And yes, Chance will play some at LF. I think if someone overtakes Chance it's actually going to be Parker which is why I didn't put Frei in LF for this discussion.

If we are going to do that then we can just play Sullivan at 1st and DH Frei. Hasn't Sully already played some 1st base?

[Todd4State]

If we are going to do that then we can just play Sullivan at 1st and DH Frei. Hasn't Sully already played some 1st base?

Yes, and that would absolutely be an option. Of course, the question was a little bit limiting because it asked if I could keep him at one position what would it be and I wouldn't do that with a player like Frei to start with. I would probably look at him at 1B/LF to get the best splits possible. BOC sounds like he is going to do something similar except with Frei at 2B as I have never known Frei to play 1B but he has the skillset to do that.

[cheewgumm]

Why can?t Frei play right field?

That seems easier than LF, but maybe I?m wrong there.

He, Teel and Chance as OF. Then Sully DH, then we get someone else in at first( Stallman or Beevis or Valencia 2) and don?t have to worry as much about 2b.

[CaptainObvious]

We are going to have some starters standing along the rail this year due to being defensive position specific handicapped. That is most unfortunate because we are going to need them to play a lot for their bats.

[The Federalist Engineer]

Already have one and he is one of the best in the country

34 can play LF. 2B? We shall see. Our 3rd baseman is also a LF'er or 1st baseman. That's another problem we have

(1) If Chance is not slugging in practice, then Frei is LF or they Platoon
(2) 1B has Stallman, Vystas, and Revis as collegiate experienced Veterans
(3) 2B has Wyers (experienced), Sanders (experienced), James (high end prospect), Frei (slugger with struggle in defense)
(4) C has Milewski that is expected to slug, Raymond that is experienced, Mershon as a blue chip, and Owen as an unknown

Sullivan is first choice DH. But MSU has great platoon options and pinch hit matchups.

This is normal competition and better than most years. Last year, had a horrible defensive and offensive catcher with no arm and pass ball machine. Had a SS that could not hit and a 905 fielding percentage. 2B had been awful for 3 years. RF was either an awful hitter with bad Defense, or a slow 250 hitter with some pop, all while Lemons benched a top-50 national recruit.

[Coursesuper]

Already have one and he is one of the best in the country

34 can play LF. 2B? We shall see. Our 3rd baseman is also a LF'er or 1st baseman. That's another problem we have

We will start at least two that are playing out of position (according to where they project) on the infield. These bats will be in the lineup.

[Coach34]

The preference is to have a Lefty at 1B- and the only one that is a lefty is Stallman. But we are like a softball team with about 5 first basemen on the team

[The Federalist Engineer]

The preference is to have a Lefty at 1B- and the only one that is a lefty is Stallman. But we are like a softball team with about 5 first basemen on the team

Hey Coach, What do we hear about Stallman's hitting this year. Like Terry Pendleton, I think corner infielders have to be productive bats.

FWIW, last year at UVA, they played with a Right Handed hitter and Arm at 1B. Henry Ford.

[Coach34]

Hey Coach, What do we hear about Stallman's hitting this year. Like Terry Pendleton, I think corner infielders have to be productive bats.

FWIW, last year at UVA, they played with a Right Handed hitter and Arm at 1B. Henry Ford.

I'm not saying its mandatory to have a lefty- just a preference if possible. Stallman has been doing pretty well- enough that BOC talked about him in a press conference last week.

[HoopsDawg]

Hey Coach, What do we hear about Stallman's hitting this year. Like Terry Pendleton, I think corner infielders have to be productive bats.

FWIW, last year at UVA, they played with a Right Handed hitter and Arm at 1B. Henry Ford.

Stallman is going to walk, hit bombs and strike out. Interesting combo.

[msstate7]

Stallman is going to walk, hit bombs and strike out. Interesting combo.

Sounds like Kyle schwarber