Pitching idea

[CadaverDawg]

1 thing we all want is some true SEC starting pitchers. And we know Ross, Fitts, Laster, Woody, and Holder have one year max, IF that, left.

It appears that Hudson and Tatum are the cream of the young pitching crop so far. So what if we penciled Hudson in as our Saturday guy and Tatum in as our Sunday guy, and threw Fitts Fri and Laster midweek. And sink or swim with The 2 stud Sophs all year? Gotta let the training wheels off and let these guys pitch and work their way out of jams without a short hook if you ever expect them to be an Ace. Worst case scenario, you adjust before SEC play. Best case they rise up and we have a dynamic 1-2 punch the next year. Our pen should be deep enough that it shouldn't cost us W's even if they struggle early. But I think it would help these guys to have a routine and not feel like they won't pitch for a month if they give up some runs. A great pen is huge...but I'm afraid it has hurt our starting pitching a little lately bc we become too dependent on it and our starters never learn to work through tough spots and then keep rolling.

Am I way off? Just a thought and wanting to get others' thoughts on how we can go from a piggy back bullpen heavy team to a team with 3 strong weekend starters.

[msstate7]

I like it, but Cohen won't do it

Oh yeah, I liked sexton better than Hudson. Neither were overly impressive though

[Dawg61]

We must host next year. Punting a few games so that we are better in the long run sounds like the right thing to do but we simply can not afford to not host.

[State82]

We must host next year. Punting a few games so that we are better in the long run sounds like the right thing to do but we simply can not afford to not host.

This right here boys. Absolutely correct. Over the years I have seen a lot of people pretty much brush off the ooc schedule. This year was a prime example of why we just cannot afford to slip up in any of those games. That's what got us the host last year. I know we have to get the lineup sorted out but we can't do it at the expense of bad ooc losses. Hosting is essential.

[dawgs]

We must host next year. Punting a few games so that we are better in the long run sounds like the right thing to do but we simply can not afford to not host.

No one is suggesting punting games. If they are giving up runs left and right, then we can go back to what we've been doing, but if they look good in practice, we need to let them figure out pitching in a game. Tbh I worry that our current method could cost us shots at higher end SP talent sooner or later. Or I wonder why our "studs" we are apparently recruiting can't be a guy we can count one weekly for 7+ IP and a <3.00 era.

What cost us hosting was bats costing us way to many low scoring non-conf and early sec games.

[Goat Holder]

We tried it this year, it didn't work. Just like with Briiton. If someone wants it, come take it, but those spots are taken until proven otherwise.

[CadaverDawg]

No one is suggesting punting games. If they are giving up runs left and right, then we can go back to what we've been doing, but if they look good in practice, we need to let them figure out pitching in a game. Tbh I worry that our current method could cost us shots at higher end SP talent sooner or later. Or I wonder why our "studs" we are apparently recruiting can't be a guy we can count one weekly for 7+ IP and a <3.00 era.

What cost us hosting was bats costing us way to many low scoring non-conf and early sec games.

This. I am not suggesting "punting" anything. I'm just saying let those 2 start every Sat and Sun in Non Conference so they KNOW they are in that spot and can develop into starting pitchers. If the first few starts we need to have some guys ready in the pen, that's fine, we should have a deep one. But I think what you'll see is that they can give us 4-6 innings each if they know they aren't going to be yanked at the first sign of trouble. And if our bats are worth anything, we should still win non conference games even if we give up 2-3 runs to Birminham Southern in the Saturday or Sunday game of a non conference series. Nobody is suggesting allowing them to go 9 innings and walk 10 batters without pulling them. Just give them some stability and show them that we have confidence in them, and that one bad outing isn't a ticket to the 8th inning of a midweek blowout

[CadaverDawg]

We tried it this year, it didn't work. Just like with Briiton. If someone wants it, come take it, but those spots are taken until proven otherwise.

We tried it? Really? How many games did Hudson start? How many of them were repetitive? You're missing my point, maybe I didn't explain it well or something. I'm saying to give these guys several starts in a row so they can grow. They will never become studs in the SEC if they are looking over their shoulder and worried that if they walk someone they are done for a month. Hell, I'm asking that we do at least what we've done with Fitts the last two years and you're Fitts' biggest fan. Let these guys know that they will be starting the first 4 Saturday and Sundays, and let them go as far as they can go, and then go to the pen. They may surprise us with what they can do when they're allowed to pitch. And I'm saying all this assuming they will take a step forward this offseason. They weren't ready for that as freshmen.

[State82]

We tried it? Really? How many games did Hudson start? How many of them were repetitive? You're missing my point, maybe I didn't explain it well or something. I'm saying to give these guys several starts in a row so they can grow. They will never become studs in the SEC if they are looking over their shoulder and worried that if they walk someone they are done for a month. Hell, I'm asking that we do at least what we've done with Fitts the last two years and you're Fitts' biggest fan. Let these guys know that they will be starting the first 4 Saturday and Sundays, and let them go as far as they can go, and then go to the pen. They may surprise us with what they can do when they're allowed to pitch. And I'm saying all this assuming they will take a step forward this offseason. They weren't ready for that as freshmen.

I wouldn't have a problem trying that. I think when you said sink or swim with the sophs all year I was taking that to mean ALL year not just the ooc schedule. But, like it was said above, the bats are what have been holding us back from any kind of experiments with the staff up to now. That absolutely has to change.

[Five-tool Poster]

Lets wait and see who goes pro. From what I hear, there may be some names that could surprise you.

[CadaverDawg]

Lets wait and see who goes pro. From what I hear, there will be some names that may surprise you.

Spill it. Ross? Fitts? Heck? Britton? Rea?

We all assume Woody and Holder could go.

Tell us what you heard, teaser

[preachermatt83]

Hudson has the tools to be a stud... he needs experience. I think he will be a weekend starter next year.

[Todd4State]

We're going to start the best three that are performing well. I love the upside of Hudson, Sexton, and Tatum- but they all had ERA's in the 5's. Fitts, Ross, and at the time Preston all were performing better and that's why they started.

As I said yesterday- all three of those guys, and Jesse McCord as well, will be competing for a spot in the rotation.

For arguments sake, let's say Woodruff goes pro and Preston is recovering. That leaves us Fitts, Ross, and Laster as known commodities. But Hudson, Sexton, and Tatum as a group all have higher ceilings in terms of talent. They're going to go off and pitch somewhere this summer and then come back and I think they will provide stiff competition for the three veterans. I don't think a rotation spot is guaranteed for Fitts, Ross, or Laster- although all three will pitch and have a big role for us next year in some form or fashion.

[smootness]

I can pretty much guarantee you that Hudson will begin next year starting games. I can also guarantee the same for Woodruff if he comes back.

But they also both started games early this year and proved they weren't ready for it.