Zac Houston and Dakota Hudson

[DistrictDawg92]

If these two can continue to grow off of what they have shown recently, they could both be legit SEC starters next year. Both are 6'5" and consistently hit the low-mid 90's. Hopefully Sexton will continue to develop and we could move Preston into the pen as a long reliever, which is a very important role for us. However, I could see the rotation being Brown, Hudson, Sexton with Houston being our closer. I know Houston has the arm to be a starter, but Cohen and Thompson have shown they will gladly put a power arm in the pen as the closer, see Holder, who is a starter in the Yankees farm system. If we can find a lefty to fill the role of a Lindgren or Girodo, we must just have a nice little pitching staff next year. I realistically see 35-40 wins next year, everyone needs to slow their role on bashing Cohen and give him next year, which he has most definitely earned.

[Todd4State]

I agree that Houston could potentially be in the rotation, but I still think it's going to be Hudson, Sexton, and Tatum. Hopefully they don't go Dan Mullen on us and make Preston the Friday night guy. I think Houston will be our closer. I wouldn't rule out Kale Breaux as far as being in the rotation. He doesn't have the highest upside of our pitching prospects, but he's probably the closest to SEC ready in terms of being a starter. I'm not expecting Ethan Small to make it to school, but he would have a say in things as well.

[DistrictDawg92]

I agree that Houston could potentially be in the rotation, but I still think it's going to be Hudson, Sexton, and Tatum. Hopefully they don't go Dan Mullen on us and make Preston the Friday night guy. I think Houston will be our closer. I wouldn't rule out Kale Breaux as far as being in the rotation. He doesn't have the highest upside of our pitching prospects, but he's probably the closest to SEC ready in terms of being a starter. I'm not expecting Ethan Small to make it to school, but he would have a say in things as well.

agree with all this except for maybe Breaux being in the rotation. Yes I wouldn't rule it out but has Cohen ever had a Freshman in the starting rotation? I think he will start off as a matchup guy with the opportunity of being one of our top guys out of the pen. Houston may be our best pitcher next year, if he can come in during the 8th or 9th during every close game, which will allow him to not hold his stuff back at all, we might be looking at the next Holder.

[DistrictDawg92]

I agree that Houston could potentially be in the rotation, but I still think it's going to be Hudson, Sexton, and Tatum. Hopefully they don't go Dan Mullen on us and make Preston the Friday night guy. I think Houston will be our closer. I wouldn't rule out Kale Breaux as far as being in the rotation. He doesn't have the highest upside of our pitching prospects, but he's probably the closest to SEC ready in terms of being a starter. I'm not expecting Ethan Small to make it to school, but he would have a say in things as well.

Forgot about Tatum, don't really know where he lands next year. He needs to work on his consistency (same could be said for Sexton, Hudson and Houston), either way it will be an interesting Fall to watch. My outlook on next years team has changed over the past few weeks. I truly believe we will be a solid 2-seed with the chance of sliding into hosting if we can limit the non-conference losses to 2 or 3. The early non-conference 4-game series will be very important in determining our SEC rotation, but we have to be very careful with who we throw out there on the mound because we really can't afford too many non conference pitching "experiment" losses.

[Todd4State]

agree with all this except for maybe Breaux being in the rotation. Yes I wouldn't rule it out but has Cohen ever had a Freshman in the starting rotation? I think he will start off as a matchup guy with the opportunity of being one of our top guys out of the pen. Houston may be our best pitcher next year, if he can come in during the 8th or 9th during every close game, which will allow him to not hold his stuff back at all, we might be looking at the next Holder.

Not that I can remember, but we also haven't had anyone as far along as Breaux either. More than likely, the juniors will be the ones that get the nods. Cohen says that experience wins in the SEC- and he is right about that.

[messageboardsuperhero]

If there's one thing this season has reinforced in us-and me personally- it's the importance of dominat relievers coming in late in games. That's something we have lacked TREMENDOUSLY this year. Hopefully Houston can be that for us next year.

[Todd4State]

Forgot about Tatum, don't really know where he lands next year. He needs to work on his consistency (same could be said for Sexton, Hudson and Houston), either way it will be an interesting Fall to watch. My outlook on next years team has changed over the past few weeks. I truly believe we will be a solid 2-seed with the chance of sliding into hosting if we can limit the non-conference losses to 2 or 3. The early non-conference 4-game series will be very important in determining our SEC rotation, but we have to be very careful with who we throw out there on the mound because we really can't afford too many non conference pitching "experiment" losses.

Tatum needs to get in better shape first of all. Those three guys have some things that they need to work on- but they're minor things that make big differences. Sexton has to keep the ball in the yard better and not have that one inning where he leaves everything up. Hudson needs innings and he needs to stay healthy. Houston is pretty close- he just needs to take the next step to become elite. I hate to say it but we'll probably lose a game or two trying to figure out which one of the newcomers fits in the bullpen.

[DistrictDawg92]

Tatum needs to get in better shape first of all. Those three guys have some things that they need to work on- but they're minor things that make big differences. Sexton has to keep the ball in the yard better and not have that one inning where he leaves everything up. Hudson needs innings and he needs to stay healthy. Houston is pretty close- he just needs to take the next step to become elite. I hate to say it but we'll probably lose a game or two trying to figure out which one of the newcomers fits in the bullpen.

A recurring theme I have noticed with Tatum, Sexton, Hudson and Houston is that they can be rolling and then all the sudden hit a wall and the flood gates open. I don't know what causes this, whether it's stamina or head issues. Whatever it is that needs to be fixed and/or Cohen and Thompson need to be able to recognize when that wall has been hit and pull the plug immediately.

Also, what's up with Sexton being so home run prone? I'd be willing to bet that over half of his earned run's have come off the long ball, I really don't get it.

[Todd4State]

If there's one thing this season has reinforced in us-and me personally- it's the importance of dominat relievers coming in late in games. That's something we have lacked TREMENDOUSLY this year. Hopefully Houston can be that for us next year.

And we really need to the JUCO guy Ryan Rigby from EMCC to step up and contribute. I saw some video of him and the biggest thing I didn't like was his command. He was getting away with some stuff that he won't get away with in the SEC. I think Levi Mintz has good potential for next year, but I think he has hit a wall right now. That would be two sidearm/lower three quarter guys that could eat some innings for us if they make some progress. Logan Elliott has been a disappointment for me as well. I think Elliott, Myles Gentry, and Cole Barlow will compete for the submarine spot. It would be nice if one of them steps up as well.

We'll see who we get after the draft- but Ryan Cyr, Fenter, Padgett, and Ford are all power arm guys that we might legitimately get that can give an inning here and there. Breaux should contribute one way or the other- and then Trysten Barlow is another LHP that will be in the bullpen mix.

[Todd4State]

A recurring theme I have noticed with Tatum, Sexton, Hudson and Houston is that they can be rolling and then all the sudden hit a wall and the flood gates open. I don't know what causes this, whether it's stamina or head issues. Whatever it is that needs to be fixed and/or Cohen and Thompson need to be able to recognize when that wall has been hit and pull the plug immediately.

Also, what's up with Sexton being so home run prone? I'd be willing to bet that over half of his earned run's have come off the long ball, I really don't get it.

I think that wall is Butch leaving them in too long. It happened again today- don't wait until the bases are loaded and the go ahead run is at the plate to make a change. A guy like a Lindgren, Girodo, of heck even a Ross that can go 5-6-7 innings and be a shut down guy isn't the norm. The bad thing about it is a guy like Ross even could throw 2-3 great innings and do some good things- but that one bad inning is always going to linger in their mind. And everyone else's minds as well.

I don't know what Sexton's deal is- and it probably isn't just one thing. It probably comes down to lack of concentration more than anything. Sometimes it might be fatigue where his arm drops or he doesn't follow through and he leaves the ball up. Ahem..conditioning.

[pilldawg]

What about Paul Young?

[Todd4State]

What about Paul Young?

I don't expect him back next year. He has rumored to have been late to meetings and mouthed off about the time of meetings in front of the coaches. That said, Paul or Robbie said that it wasn't true. Maybe they are right and they'll give Young a chance because he is talented and maybe the coaches haven't decided 100% what to do. But I've had 3-4 people tell me that he is not coming back.

[DistrictDawg92]

What about Paul Young?

I think we can all give up on this one. He won't be on the team next year unless something drastically changes.

[CadaverDawg]

I agree that Houston could potentially be in the rotation, but I still think it's going to be Hudson, Sexton, and Tatum. Hopefully they don't go Dan Mullen on us and make Preston the Friday night guy. I think Houston will be our closer. I wouldn't rule out Kale Breaux as far as being in the rotation. He doesn't have the highest upside of our pitching prospects, but he's probably the closest to SEC ready in terms of being a starter. I'm not expecting Ethan Small to make it to school, but he would have a say in things as well.

Todd, just curious but why do you not want Brown in the rotation? I definitely didn't think he would ever amount to much after his freshman season, but he hasn't been that bad I don't think. He will be a veteran next year, with a ton of big starts under his belt. He seems like our most logical choice for Friday night as of right now....so what do you expect to change? Just others passing him by?

Also, I saw you say you aren't expecting much out of McCord next year. Why? The injury?

[It_Could_Happen]

Kyle Peterson tweeted that we could be really good next year and mentioned Hudson and Houston as possible starters.

[Irondawg]

The coaches were super high in McCord going into the season so I still think he's a dark horse

[coastdoglover]

It isn't going to matter unless we can come up with some timely hitting.

[maroonmania]

The coaches were super high in McCord going into the season so I still think he's a dark horse

I was actually going to ask about McCord in this thread and is why I say its very hard to depend on pitchers coming from high school that have yet to pitch at the upper college level. Coming into the season McCord was the toast of the town as a Top 200 HS prospect with folks saying he would, as a true freshman, surely be a midweek starter with a decent chance to claim a spot in the SEC rotation. Fast forward to now and he is off the radar, possibly with some kind of injury, and folks posting about our pitching for next year aren't even including him as a factor. I'm glad we are bringing in all of these new pitching candidates but until they prove at this level I won't get too excited about any of them. Other teams, like LSU and Vandy, seem to do fine throwing out true freshman pitchers to be key contributors but it never seems to work well for us. Holder was the last true freshman pitcher I can remember that was dominating for us but that was as a closer not a starter (at least I don't think he was redshirted).

[Todd4State]

Todd, just curious but why do you not want Brown in the rotation? I definitely didn't think he would ever amount to much after his freshman season, but he hasn't been that bad I don't think. He will be a veteran next year, with a ton of big starts under his belt. He seems like our most logical choice for Friday night as of right now....so what do you expect to change? Just others passing him by?

Also, I saw you say you aren't expecting much out of McCord next year. Why? The injury?

It's not that I don't want him in the rotation as much as it is the other guys are more talented. If our trend of pitchers stepping up big their junior year continues, I could definitely see Hudson, Sexton, and Tatum taking that step ahead and passing him. Hudson has a legit power arm and was drafted by the Rangers. Sexton is very good and probably would have been drafted had he not gotten hurt playing basketball before his senior year. Tatum was the top pitching prospect in Mississippi out of Southaven. Preston certainly could beat one of them out- we also may see Houston and then someone else of those three in the bullpen.

I like Preston, but he's just not an elite talent. He's a solid college pitcher- and I would love to have a fifth year senior like him pitching midweek games and basically dominating people like Memphis and USM and also knowing that he would give us an advantage in the Governor's Cup.

The reason I'm not expecting much out of McCord is the arm injury.

[maroonmania]

The reason I'm not expecting much out of McCord is the arm injury.

What exactly is the injury? Will he require surgery?

[CadaverDawg]

It's not that I don't want him in the rotation as much as it is the other guys are more talented. If our trend of pitchers stepping up big their junior year continues, I could definitely see Hudson, Sexton, and Tatum taking that step ahead and passing him. Hudson has a legit power arm and was drafted by the Rangers. Sexton is very good and probably would have been drafted had he not gotten hurt playing basketball before his senior year. Tatum was the top pitching prospect in Mississippi out of Southaven. Preston certainly could beat one of them out- we also may see Houston and then someone else of those three in the bullpen.

I like Preston, but he's just not an elite talent. He's a solid college pitcher- and I would love to have a fifth year senior like him pitching midweek games and basically dominating people like Memphis and USM and also knowing that he would give us an advantage in the Governor's Cup.

The reason I'm not expecting much out of McCord is the arm injury.

Gotcha.

It would definitely be good to have a guy like Brown midweek, so we wouldn't lose any rpi killers (hopefully).