Starter tomorrow?

[CJDAWG85]

Anyone know?

[Jacksondevildog]

Per Cohen

[DudyDawg]

Like Tatum more from then pen if possible, but if no young guy can settle into the role we could do a lot worse than starting him

[preachermatt83]

Tatum should be a weekend starter. Anyone who disagrees has the right to do so but I'd love to hear a decent explanation. He is the one pitcher that we have that could start on weekends for anybody. Teams are hitting .091 off of him. That's sick

[smootness]

If Tatum pitches well tomorrow, then I think he, Brown, and Sexton have locked up weekend starting spots until something changes.

Sexton was beyond phenomenal today against a really good lineup.

[Jacksondevildog]

Tatum should be a weekend starter. Anyone who disagrees has the right to do so but I'd love to hear a decent explanation. He is the one pitcher that we have that could start on weekends for anybody. Teams are hitting .091 off of him. That's sick

I don't disagree with you, but I would like a larger sample size against better competition.

[DudyDawg]

Tatum should be a weekend starter. Anyone who disagrees has the right to do so but I'd love to hear a decent explanation. He is the one pitcher that we have that could start on weekends for anybody. Teams are hitting .091 off of him. That's sick

Because I would rather use him like Lingo and Girodo. Laster/brown are two who will pitch six, and they won't amaze you, then you look up and there's a 0 in the sixth. If Sexton can be a 3rd starter like he was today, I would love it. Tatum pitching twice a weekend in short relief could make our pen deadly

[smootness]

Because I would rather use him like Lingo and Girodo. Laster/brown are two who will pitch six, and they won't amaze you, then you look up and there's a 0 in the sixth. If Sexton can be a 3rd starter like he was today, I would love it. Tatum pitching twice a weekend in short relief could make our pen deadly

I would be ok with this as well.

Tatum, Hudson, Mitchell, Brown, and Fitts coming out of the bullpen is just stupid. In a good way.

[preachermatt83]

Because I would rather use him like Lingo and Girodo. Laster/brown are two who will pitch six, and they won't amaze you, then you look up and there's a 0 in the sixth. If Sexton can be a 3rd starter like he was today, I would love it. Tatum pitching twice a weekend in short relief could make our pen deadly

yea, couldn't fuss about that either..

[Todd4State]

IMO after today, Sexton earned a rotation spot. So, I think it should be Preston, Sexton, and Tatum. And really it should be Hudson, Sexton and Tatum except that Hudson has to build his stamina up. Tatum can go the longest at this point. I think Sexton is a five inning guy at this point- but we have the bullpen to support him so it's not a big deal. Hudson has the best stuff of all of them but his back injury set him back. It was good to see him get two IP today. Preston is a good pitcher and you have to like and pull for someone that goes from walk-on to Friday night starter- but he gives up too many hits to be a true ace IMO. He's also a 6 IP guy too.

For those wanting a Lindgren- you don't really totally find someone else like that very easily. That said, I think Daniel Brown is going to fill that role as a guy that can eat innings even though his stuff isn't as good as Lindgren's. Having Ross back in the bullpen lessens the impact of losing Lindgren a good bit as well and also makes it easier on a guy like Daniel Brown. Just like you don't really replace Holder but Fitts has done a great job with that so far. The thing I don't like about Laster is the same thing I don't like about Preston- he gives up too much contact. I like him as a long relief guy. I like Zac Houston, but he may have to step up a little bit because of all of the lefties in the pen. Getting Gentry back will help with getting RH hitters out if he's healthy. Logan Elliott is a guy that really needs to step it up a little bit for us.

But in a perfect world, I'd like to have a guy like Preston pitching midweek. Not because he's bad- but because he can get the job done against the tough teams like Ole Miss in Jackson and because we have lights out starting pitching.

Paul Young has looked good in bullpen sessions- and we could see him as early as tomorrow depending on the game situation or as late as a couple of weeks from now.

Personally, I think we may have made a mistake going into this season trying to piece together a staff like we did last year when we really didn't have to. I can understand from the standpoint of you had Hudson who was hurt and Sexton and Tatum hadn't really started much though plus they didn't know where Paul Young was going to be.

[DudyDawg]

I suppose it's personal preference, but I would rather Laster start and let us have Tatum in the pen. I think him on Friday pitching 2-3 innings or less before Fitts closes and being available Sunday (ross as the go to Saturdays) would be something not many teams have. There's just something about Laster i like a lot as a starter. Whether Alcorn or LSU he won't change. Contact, some walks, but gets his outs when he needs them. Maybe I'm too high on him but I would love him to lock a weekend spot down

[preachermatt83]

I suppose it's personal preference, but I would rather Laster start and let us have Tatum in the pen. I think him on Friday pitching 2-3 innings or less before Fitts closes and being available Sunday (ross as the go to Saturdays) would be something not many teams have. There's just something about Laster i like a lot as a starter. Whether Alcorn or LSU he won't change. Contact, some walks, but gets his outs when he needs them. Maybe I'm too high on him but I would love him to lock a weekend spot down

I just think if it had been an LSU or Arizona rather than Samford today then, with what he had today, he would have never made it through the second inning.

[Todd4State]

I suppose it's personal preference, but I would rather Laster start and let us have Tatum in the pen. I think him on Friday pitching 2-3 innings or less before Fitts closes and being available Sunday (ross as the go to Saturdays) would be something not many teams have. There's just something about Laster i like a lot as a starter. Whether Alcorn or LSU he won't change. Contact, some walks, but gets his outs when he needs them. Maybe I'm too high on him but I would love him to lock a weekend spot down

The fact that Butch and Cohen went with Sexton who was very unproven over Laster speaks volumes to me. Laster lives dangerously and that usually means getting burned at some point.

[chef dixon]

Our fans expect every starting pitcher to go 8 innings, give up 2 hits, and strike out 16 or else you just aren't cut out for a starting spot.

[smootness]

Our fans expect every starting pitcher to go 8 innings, give up 2 hits, and strike out 16 or else you just aren't cut out for a starting spot.

?

First, yes, I do think the idea in most people's minds of a SP is someone who has the ability to go 8 or 9 IP. That doesn't mean everyone expects a starter to always give you that many, or even usually. But yes, most SPs can go that long on occasion. We haven't had many over the last few years, though.

Second, no, I don't think anyone is expecting our starters to go out and shut the other team down every game. This is not people complaining that we don't have any SPs, or trashing anybody. This is about people looking at our options and discussing which might be the best options to start.

Because we do have guys on the roster capable of going deep into games effectively, with swing-and-miss stuff, some (like me) believe those guys have the potential to be even better starters than the guys we've had over the last year plus. That doesn't mean it's what Thompson and Cohen will do, and it doesn't mean those guys will put it all together. But if you have one starter capable of going 7 and striking out 8-12 while throwing strikes and shutting teams down, it's natural to want those guys to reach their potential and do that rather than having a guy who may go 5 or 6 and pitch more to contact.

Preston Brown and Lucas Laster have been great for us, and if they end up in our starting rotation, I will be totally fine with that. They have proven they can get the job done. At the same time, I do think we have a few guys with even more potential than they do; they're not sure things and have lower floors, but they also have ceilings that are considerably higher. If those guys reach their ceiling, then Mississippi State becomes a better baseball team. If not, we have guys who can get it done and give us a very, very good team anyway.

[KB21]

IMO after today, Sexton earned a rotation spot. So, I think it should be Preston, Sexton, and Tatum. And really it should be Hudson, Sexton and Tatum except that Hudson has to build his stamina up. Tatum can go the longest at this point. I think Sexton is a five inning guy at this point- but we have the bullpen to support him so it's not a big deal. Hudson has the best stuff of all of them but his back injury set him back. It was good to see him get two IP today. Preston is a good pitcher and you have to like and pull for someone that goes from walk-on to Friday night starter- but he gives up too many hits to be a true ace IMO. He's also a 6 IP guy too.

For those wanting a Lindgren- you don't really totally find someone else like that very easily. That said, I think Daniel Brown is going to fill that role as a guy that can eat innings even though his stuff isn't as good as Lindgren's. Having Ross back in the bullpen lessens the impact of losing Lindgren a good bit as well and also makes it easier on a guy like Daniel Brown. Just like you don't really replace Holder but Fitts has done a great job with that so far. The thing I don't like about Laster is the same thing I don't like about Preston- he gives up too much contact. I like him as a long relief guy. I like Zac Houston, but he may have to step up a little bit because of all of the lefties in the pen. Getting Gentry back will help with getting RH hitters out if he's healthy. Logan Elliott is a guy that really needs to step it up a little bit for us.

But in a perfect world, I'd like to have a guy like Preston pitching midweek. Not because he's bad- but because he can get the job done against the tough teams like Ole Miss in Jackson and because we have lights out starting pitching.

Paul Young has looked good in bullpen sessions- and we could see him as early as tomorrow depending on the game situation or as late as a couple of weeks from now.

Personally, I think we may have made a mistake going into this season trying to piece together a staff like we did last year when we really didn't have to. I can understand from the standpoint of you had Hudson who was hurt and Sexton and Tatum hadn't really started much though plus they didn't know where Paul Young was going to be.

I agree with you. I said at the end of last season that this team really needed at least 2 of the 3 (Austin, Dakota, and Vance) to step into a starting role on the weekend. Dakota has the best stuff on the staff. He could still work his way into the mix as he builds himself up. Chris Stratton started his breakout year in the pen.

[Todd4State]

Our fans expect every starting pitcher to go 8 innings, give up 2 hits, and strike out 16 or else you just aren't cut out for a starting spot.

Nope- I expect 6 IP with 2 runs or less. Essentially a quality start by MLB standards. How many we strike out isn't an issue with me. Hits allowed and BB's per 9 IP is an issue with me. Those are things that tend to come back to haunt pitchers- especially once we play better teams than Marshall and Cincinnati.

Preston has allowed 16 hits in 17 IP and teams are hitting .254 off of him. Laster has allowed 17 hits in 14+ IP and teams are hitting .283 off of him. And only Preston has faced a really quality opponent.

Compare that to Tatum- 3 hits in 10+ IP while allowing a .091 AVG, Sexton with his 8 hits in 13+ while allowing a .167 AVG and in a small sample size Hudson has allowed 3 hits in 4 IP (two in the same game) with teams hitting .214 off of him.

Every pitcher I mentioned has been pretty good as far as not walking batters, so there is no need to hash that out even though Sexton and Tatum are better in that category than Preston and Laster as well.

[smootness]

My ideal rotation come postseason play would look like this (if everyone is pitching well enough to merit these roles):

1 - Hudson
2 - Tatum
3 - Sexton
4 - Young
Primary RPs: Mitchell, Brown, Brown, McCord, Laster
CP: Fitts

To me, that is the ideal rotation where everyone is in their best possible spot. And Young could move into the rotation as well.


But the great thing is, I like our team even if it's this:
1 - Brown
2 - Mitchell
3 - Laster
4 - McCord
Primary RPs: Tatum, Hudson, Brown, Sexton, Young
CP: Fitts

[Todd4State]

I agree with you. I said at the end of last season that this team really needed at least 2 of the 3 (Austin, Dakota, and Vance) to step into a starting role on the weekend. Dakota has the best stuff on the staff. He could still work his way into the mix as he builds himself up. Chris Stratton started his breakout year in the pen.

True. And like I said before, Cohen had mentioned Hudson as a guy that they thought would be in the rotation in the fall- and then he gets hurt and it just set him back. This is really like his spring practice right now.

[Todd4State]

My ideal rotation come postseason play would look like this (if everyone is pitching well enough to merit these roles):

1 - Hudson
2 - Tatum
3 - Sexton
4 - Young
Primary RPs: Mitchell, Brown, Brown, McCord, Laster
CP: Fitts

To me, that is the ideal rotation where everyone is in their best possible spot. And Young could move into the rotation as well.


But the great thing is, I like our team even if it's this:
1 - Brown
2 - Mitchell
3 - Laster
4 - McCord
Primary RPs: Tatum, Hudson, Brown, Sexton, Young
CP: Fitts

I pretty much agree with you on this, except I would add Gentry and or Elliot because I personally like to have a sidearm/submarine guy that I trust because they can eat innings and get RH hitters out pretty well. But that's just one of my quirks.