Could Kyle Hann play SS?

[messageboardsuperhero]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEtbcHE1-SU&feature=youtu.be

I know this is just one play, but he's been playing a good shortstop on his summer league team. It seems like Hann could take a big step next year and play solid defense just about wherever we need him to on the infield. Plus, he's been ripping the cover off the ball so far this summer. You've got to be excited about the future of both our Canadians.

[Coach34]

It's going to be Hann, Britton, or Pirtle next year- Humphries in all likelihood won't be ready or will play 3rd...hell, he could even be moved to RF possibly

[Todd4State]

Absolutely Hann could play shortstop next year. I honestly had no idea he could make a play like that though!

It has to be hard to go from Canada to Starkville not to mention going from playing Canadian HS baseball to SEC baseball.

[WeWonItAll(Most)]

I honestly can't see Humpheys playing shortstop for us. He definitely has the arm, but he's not as quick as a shortstop should be in my mind. I'd love for him to prove me wrong on that though, cause like I said, he has a cannon.

ETA: that was supposed to be a reply to Coach34. Not a random rant

[messageboardsuperhero]

Here's how I see the competition out of the returning guys and Humphreys (not sure about any of the other freshmen being immediate contributors), in no particular order:

2B- Pirtle, Hann, Britton, Humphreys
SS- Pirtle, Hann, Britton
3B- Hann, Detz, Britton, Humphreys

Obviously Pirtle has a spot locked up. I like Hann's versatility, and it's hard for me to imagine him not playing a pretty big role next year. I expect Britton to improve and be a factor too. Detz could play 3B or DH, but his bat must be in the lineup. Humphreys and the rest of the freshmen could be brought along slowly unless they just show out and are heads and shoulders above what we already have. I like the way the infield shapes up for next year. We've got a lot depth and a lot of really good options without relying too heavily on newcomers. There are no weak players in that group.

[Todd4State]

I honestly can't see Humpheys playing shortstop for us. He definitely has the arm, but he's not as quick as a shortstop should be in my mind. I'd love for him to prove me wrong on that though, cause like I said, he has a cannon.

ETA: that was supposed to be a reply to Coach34. Not a random rant


Having seen Humphries play, I agree. I think he ends up either at third base or the outfield for us. Unless he works his tail off like Adam Frazier on his range.

[Todd4State]

Here's how I see the competition out of the returning guys and Humphreys (not sure about any of the other freshmen being immediate contributors), in no particular order:

2B- Pirtle, Hann, Britton, Humphreys
SS- Pirtle, Hann, Britton
3B- Hann, Detz, Britton, Humphreys

Obviously Pirtle has a spot locked up. I like Hann's versatility, and it's hard for me to imagine him not playing a pretty big role next year. I expect Britton to improve and be a factor too. Detz could play 3B or DH, but his bat must be in the lineup. Humphreys and the rest of the freshmen could be brought along slowly unless they just show out and are heads and shoulders above what we already have. I like the way the infield shapes up for next year. We've got a lot depth and a lot of really good options without relying too heavily on newcomers. There are no weak players in that group.

In my opinion, we NEED Detz to DH. My sphincter tightened up pretty good at the end of the SR when he did that hop skip looking thing before he threw the ball across to Wes for the last out. If he doesn't make that play, every Ole Miss fan is talking about how Cohen is no better than Bianco rather than how their recruiting class in football was a bigger National story than us making the CWS finals. Thankfully he made the play.

[SnakePlissken]

I'd like to see this next year

1st - Rea
2nd - Pirtle
3rd - Detz
SS - Hahn
LF - Robson
CF - Bradford
RF - Humphries
C - ?
DH -?

[Todd4State]

My guess having seen Hann go all Ozzie Smith on everyone:

1B- Rea
2B- Pirtle
3B- Humphries
SS- Hann
LF- Robson
CF- CT
RF- Henderson
C- Cody Walker
DH- Detz

[messageboardsuperhero]

I could see this too:

1B- Rea
2B- Pirtle
3B- Hann
SS- Britton
LF- Robson
CF- Bradford
RF- Henderson
C- Garner
DH- Detz

Humphreys would play, but probably not be a full time starter. Vickerson, Armstrong, Humphreys, and maybe even Cody Brown could all potentially play a role in the outfield as well. Like I've said before, we lose a couple of really good player, but we have the quality and quantity to replace them. Plenty of strong options all over the fields. The lineup could go any number of ways and still be really solid top to bottom. The only individual guys we're truly relying on are proven and have plenty of experience.

[Todd4State]

I could see this too:

1B- Rea
2B- Pirtle
3B- Hann
SS- Britton
LF- Robson
CF- Bradford
RF- Henderson
C- Garner
DH- Detz

Humphreys would play, but probably not be a full time starter. Vickerson, Armstrong, Humphreys, and maybe even Cody Brown could all potentially play a role in the outfield as well. Like I've said before, we lose a couple of really good player, but we have the quality and quantity to replace them. Plenty of strong options all over the fields. The lineup could go any number of ways and still be really solid top to bottom. The only individual guys we're truly relying on are proven and have plenty of experience.

There will be a lot more competition for playing time this year compared to last year. The biggest issue is going to be power. We have some guys with power, but most of them are young. If I were Cohen, I would put a huge emphasis on stealing bases and base running in general because in our situation, that's the best way to overcome that. I like the talent that Humphries, Rooker, Collins, and Daniel Garner possess, but we also can't rely on them to hit 5-10 home runs as freshmen unfortunately.

[CadaverDawg]

How bad ass is it to already get a glimpse into the future with this team though, and to see just how incredible it could be. We have a ton of pitching commits for the next few years, plus we already have CT's role filled with Robson, Hann will be a middle infielder, Humphreys will be out there somewhere, Garner is looking legit now, we just got the commit from the big LH hitting first baseman, etc....

I can't wait to see what Cohen and Butch can do with legitimate talent after seeing what they have been doing with average to slightly above average talent. They have been developing average guys into pro prospects and it looks like that is sure to continue with more talent and less development required.

[War Machine Dawg]

We gonna have to PAY Butch soon to hold him here. Won't be long until some good baseball programs come knocking.

[CadaverDawg]

I wouldn't mind seeing a guy like Kendall Graveman come back as an assistant on the team if MLB doesn't pan out. That way we have one of Butch's own pitchers that he could groom in to a future pitching coach for us if Cohen stays for a while like I think he will.

[Todd4State]

How bad ass is it to already get a glimpse into the future with this team though, and to see just how incredible it could be. We have a ton of pitching commits for the next few years, plus we already have CT's role filled with Robson, Hann will be a middle infielder, Humphreys will be out there somewhere, Garner is looking legit now, we just got the commit from the big LH hitting first baseman, etc....

I can't wait to see what Cohen and Butch can do with legitimate talent after seeing what they have been doing with average to slightly above average talent. They have been developing average guys into pro prospects and it looks like that is sure to continue with more talent and less development required.

The past two years, we have had some really bad luck with injuries. Just having a healthy Woodruff would have made a huge difference in Omaha. Two years ago, if we aren't decimated with injuries throughout the team, we probably host a regional and then who knows what would have happened?

[blacklistedbully]

I wouldn't mind seeing a guy like Kendall Graveman come back as an assistant on the team if MLB doesn't pan out. That way we have one of Butch's own pitchers that he could groom in to a future pitching coach for us if Cohen stays for a while like I think he will.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Cohen bleeds maroon & white. This is his dream job, leading his alma-mater back to glory. I just don't see him wanting any other job more, and MSU is way, way more than a paycheck to him. He loves his Bulldogs just as much as we do, maybe more. And I love him for that!

[maroonmania]

In my opinion, we NEED Detz to DH. My sphincter tightened up pretty good at the end of the SR when he did that hop skip looking thing before he threw the ball across to Wes for the last out. If he doesn't make that play, every Ole Miss fan is talking about how Cohen is no better than Bianco rather than how their recruiting class in football was a bigger National story than us making the CWS finals. Thankfully he made the play.

I for one was just thankful it wasn't Sam Frost having to make that pressure throw or we would definitely have been playing a 3rd game in the SR. However, that being said, I fully agree that it would really be nice if we could come up with a better defensive option than Detz at 3rd and let him just DH. He can make the basic plays but he has very limited range and only an average arm over there.

[engie]

We gonna have to PAY Butch soon to hold him here. Won't be long until some good baseball programs come knocking.

We are paying him... I believe he's one of the highest paid college baseball assistants in the country ever since we added the Associate HC tag to his title last year. Fact is, we probably pay him better than 95% of head coaches around the country...

We dodged the big bullets last year with Georgia and Auburn both having vacancies. I was very, very nervous about Auburn. Those were his 2 most recent coaching stops, and he was well-loved at both those places. Don't really see Butch leaving us for a low/mid-major program like Burroughs did. As many years as he's been doing it at a very high level in the SEC, you know he's had a bunch of those options before...

I think he stays at MSU until a power conference vacancy comes calling -- and there's really no guarantee that he'd leave then. It's the beauty of Cohen making him an associate HC(in reality -- not just in title). He's got full power/control over that side of our team with very little interference from Cohen -- and he gets all the credit for their success. For a guy that loves MSU like Butch does -- and a guy that probably realizes that Cohen is going to be here a long time -- it's possible that he's accepted that this is about as close to his dream job as he will ever come. He might not be the type that wants to be a HC. He was for one year in 97 at a small college in Alabama -- and he made a lateral move right back to his previous job as an assistant at Birmingham Southern the very next year. Not saying that's reality -- just showing a logical look at the other side of the coin.

I do think we will match and beat any offer he gets within reason -- and our baseball fanbase will do everything in their power to ensure that we never lose him over money...

[messageboardsuperhero]

We are paying him... I believe he's one of the highest paid college baseball assistants in the country ever since we added the Associate HC tag to his title last year. Fact is, we probably pay him better than 95% of head coaches around the country...

We dodged the big bullets last year with Georgia and Auburn both having vacancies. I was very, very nervous about Auburn. Those were his 2 most recent coaching stops, and he was well-loved at both those places. Don't really see Butch leaving us for a low/mid-major program like Burroughs did. As many years as he's been doing it at a very high level in the SEC, you know he's had a bunch of those options before...

I think he stays at MSU until a power conference vacancy comes calling -- and there's really no guarantee that he'd leave then. It's the beauty of Cohen making him an associate HC(in reality -- not just in title). He's got full power/control over that side of our team with very little interference from Cohen -- and he gets all the credit for their success. For a guy that loves MSU like Butch does -- and a guy that probably realizes that Cohen is going to be here a long time -- it's possible that he's accepted that this is about as close to his dream job as he will ever come. He might not be the type that wants to be a HC. He was for one year in 97 at a small college in Alabama -- and he made a lateral move right back to his previous job as an assistant at Birmingham Southern the very next year. Not saying that's reality -- just showing a logical look at the other side of the coin.

I do think we will match and beat any offer he gets within reason -- and our baseball fanbase will do everything in their power to ensure that we never lose him over money...

This is my thinking too. After the UGA and AU jobs were off the table, I came to the realization that, unless a great opportunity comes along AND Butch has HC aspirations, he's probably not going anywhere soon. I used to think it was a great opportunity OR HC aspirations thing, but now I think it would take both for him to leave. He has almost an ideal position: Butch has full control over a Championship caliber pitching staff that he built himself, gets full credit and is loved by the fans, gets to live close to his hometown, makes a pretty fat paycheck, etc. etc.

Unless the stars line up absolutely perfect or he just gets bored and wants a new challenge, I can't see him going anywhere soon.

[Todd4State]

We are paying him... I believe he's one of the highest paid college baseball assistants in the country ever since we added the Associate HC tag to his title last year. Fact is, we probably pay him better than 95% of head coaches around the country...

We dodged the big bullets last year with Georgia and Auburn both having vacancies. I was very, very nervous about Auburn. Those were his 2 most recent coaching stops, and he was well-loved at both those places. Don't really see Butch leaving us for a low/mid-major program like Burroughs did. As many years as he's been doing it at a very high level in the SEC, you know he's had a bunch of those options before...

I think he stays at MSU until a power conference vacancy comes calling -- and there's really no guarantee that he'd leave then. It's the beauty of Cohen making him an associate HC(in reality -- not just in title). He's got full power/control over that side of our team with very little interference from Cohen -- and he gets all the credit for their success. For a guy that loves MSU like Butch does -- and a guy that probably realizes that Cohen is going to be here a long time -- it's possible that he's accepted that this is about as close to his dream job as he will ever come. He might not be the type that wants to be a HC. He was for one year in 97 at a small college in Alabama -- and he made a lateral move right back to his previous job as an assistant at Birmingham Southern the very next year. Not saying that's reality -- just showing a logical look at the other side of the coin.

I do think we will match and beat any offer he gets within reason -- and our baseball fanbase will do everything in their power to ensure that we never lose him over money...

Butch is from Amory and as you said, being at MSU is his dream job. Everything else you said as far as pay is correct as well. Also, his family is in the area and he is closer to them now than he ever has been before.

Cohen and Butch work very well together. Sort of like Tony LaRussa and Dave Duncan. They both have the same goal of winning a National Title at MSU and they have different personalities that play off of each other well. Cohen has always had a good pitching coach even when he was at Kentucky- he had Gary Henderson there, so if Butch left, I think he would try to make a similar hire- like go after Derek Johnson with the Cubs who used to be at Vanderbilt or Karl Kuhn at Virginia.

And speaking of pay- this is probably needless to say- but I suspect both Cohen and Butch are about to get another pay raise.

[601Dawg]

Todd any particular reason you are so high on the JUCO catcher Cody Walker? His juco stats weren't very eye catching. I've been hearing nothing but good things on Daniel Gardner, what gives Walker the edge?

[Goat Holder]

Sure he can. He'll make a big jump this year. Hann and Britton both could play SS or 3B.

Obviously Cohen is going to give everyone chances, including the incoming freshmen and JUCOs. But I still think that the only real competition in the field is going to be at catcher, barring some crazy coming out party by maybe Vickerson or Humphreys.

[maroonmania]

Sure he can. He'll make a big jump this year. Hann and Britton both could play SS or 3B.

Obviously Cohen is going to give everyone chances, including the incoming freshmen and JUCOs. But I still think that the only real competition in the field is going to be at catcher, barring some crazy coming out party by maybe Vickerson or Humphreys.

The one thing in my mind that continues to bother me about Britton is that IF he has really improved that much with the glove and with the bat then I don't understand why he couldn't get at least some playing time at 3rd base this year given the problems we had over there with Detz's fielding and Frost's throwing. Hann I can understand because he was just a true freshman adjusting to a new level of play.

[CadaverDawg]

How does this look....

Detz DH
Bradford CF
Pirtle 2B
Rea 1B
Garner C
Britton/Humphries 3B
Hann SS
Henderson RF
Robson LF

Friday - Woodruff
Saturday - Lindgren
Sunday - Young

Midweek - Hudson/Fitts

[maroonmania]

How does this look....

Detz DH
Bradford CF
Pirtle 2B
Rea 1B
Garner C
Britton/Humphries 3B
Hann SS
Henderson RF
Robson LF

Friday - Woodruff
Saturday - Lindgren
Sunday - Young

Midweek - Hudson/Fitts

Personally I think Lindgren and Woodruff have a lot to prove this Fall to get the Fri/Sat slots in the pitching rotation. How Woodruff comes back from surgery is an unknown and the Staff lost so much confidence in Lindgren that we never saw him again after the SEC tournament semifinal game. However, given that Graveman and Pollo are gone it appears our ENTIRE weekend rotation is anyone's guess at this point.

[Goat Holder]

Simply put, because better, older hitters were available (Detz/Porter/Norris/Frost). Now he's a year older, and over that atrocious freshman season he had where we were forced to play him because we had no one else. Plus, I thought he was always pretty good with the glove, even then. Our infield defense is most definitely going to upgrade next season.

Remember, he was as big of a recruit as really anyone we've had in those classes. We need to keep that in mind when we anoint incoming freshmen as starters based on HS hype/stats.

[Goat Holder]

How the pitchers develop is anyone's guess but I am still predicting the only real big battle will be at catcher among 4 guys (Collins/Garner/Randolph/Walker).

[ShotgunDawg]

It's going to be Hann, Britton, or Pirtle next year- Humphries in all likelihood won't be ready or will play 3rd...hell, he could even be moved to RF possibly

Humphries will play 3rd. I've heard comparison to Evan Longoria. He would have likely gone in the top 2 rounds of the draft had he not been hurt most of the year with Tommy John

[messageboardsuperhero]

Humphries will play 3rd. I've heard comparison to Evan Longoria. He would have likely gone in the top 2 rounds of the draft had he not been hurt most of the year with Tommy John

Humphreys at third, Hann and Pirtle as middle IF, and Big Wes at first... That's a pretty damn good infield. With the speed we have in the outfield and the pitching staff we will have next year, scoring runs on us next season will not be easy.

And Todd, I agree that we need to find a little more power. Wes is the only consistent HR threat in the lineup, but we do have guys like Pirtle, Hann, Humpreys, and the catchers who can hit some out. Luckily for us, in this age of college baseball, you don't have to hit very many HRs to score runs. We do need to make up for the loss in power with baserunning and handling the bats well, and we do have a lot of guys who can execute at the plate so I'm not too concerned about our offense next season. Everyone in the lineup can hit .280 or above, and with the exception of 2012, Cohen has always found ways to score runs... Hell, even in 2012, with half the starting lineup hurt and the inexperience problems, we did score enough to win plenty of games. And I don't think anyone disputes that the offense next year will be better than the offense that year, if we can stay away from the injuries that plagued us in 2012.

[maroonmania]

Humphries will play 3rd. I've heard comparison to Evan Longoria. He would have likely gone in the top 2 rounds of the draft had he not been hurt most of the year with Tommy John

Well as long as the comparisons are to Evan Longoria and not Eva Longoria then its all good. :)

[Todd4State]

Todd any particular reason you are so high on the JUCO catcher Cody Walker? His juco stats weren't very eye catching. I've been hearing nothing but good things on Daniel Gardner, what gives Walker the edge?

It's more my personal guess as to who I think will start based on what Cohen has done in the past rather than me being high on his ability. But I think he starts because of experience more than anything. Cohen has shown that he doesn't mind putting a catcher out there that isn't exactly the best hitter in the world if he handles the pitching staff well. I don't totally disagree with that stance, although in a perfect world you would have a guy like Ed Easley out there.

I think Garner has a much higher upside and ceiling than Walker- as does Gavin Collins for that matter as well. I will say that one of the few things I did not understand last year was not playing Garner at least some knowing we had two senior catchers. Especially since he could be drafted after his third year at MSU. And even moreso after Slauter got hurt.

If Garner beats out Walker as the starting catcher, that's a very good thing for us. That means they feel like he can handle the pitching staff and hit as well.

[Todd4State]

The one thing in my mind that continues to bother me about Britton is that IF he has really improved that much with the glove and with the bat then I don't understand why he couldn't get at least some playing time at 3rd base this year given the problems we had over there with Detz's fielding and Frost's throwing. Hann I can understand because he was just a true freshman adjusting to a new level of play.

Two reasons:

1. We already had two left handed hitting options in Detz and Frost playing third base. Britton would not have been an offensive upgrade over either. Britton is more of a middle infielder- he would have been just as out of position as the others.

2. His offense in practice at least didn't start to pick up until late in the year.

[Todd4State]

Personally I think Lindgren and Woodruff have a lot to prove this Fall to get the Fri/Sat slots in the pitching rotation. How Woodruff comes back from surgery is an unknown and the Staff lost so much confidence in Lindgren that we never saw him again after the SEC tournament semifinal game. However, given that Graveman and Pollo are gone it appears our ENTIRE weekend rotation is anyone's guess at this point.

I understand your concerns. Using my medical background I can say this-I feel very confident that Woodruff will recover 100%. We're very lucky we caught that fracture. There's a gruesome video of pitchers breaking their arms throwing a baseball on youtube. NONE have ever recovered. Jay Powell was one of the guys who had his career end that way. But since we caught it before his arm broke in half- which is where things were headed before we caught it- he should be OK.

Lindgren I also understand but so far he has looked good in his Cape Cod League outings. It's still a question mark, but I think he will be fine.

Even if they don't work out, we have Paul Young coming in, who I think is going to be a weekend starter anyway. Young was drafted in the 21st round by the Indians and had offers from LSU, Florida State, and Ole Miss. We have Trevor Fitts who I think will take a big step forward next year, and we also have Dakota Hudson coming in as well. All of those guys will be candidates to start regardless. We just have to find three that can do it.

Basically, four out of our five candidates were drafted by MLB at some point in their amateur career. Our starting pitching should be a big strength next year.

[Todd4State]

Humphreys at third, Hann and Pirtle as middle IF, and Big Wes at first... That's a pretty damn good infield. With the speed we have in the outfield and the pitching staff we will have next year, scoring runs on us next season will not be easy.

And Todd, I agree that we need to find a little more power. Wes is the only consistent HR threat in the lineup, but we do have guys like Pirtle, Hann, Humpreys, and the catchers who can hit some out. Luckily for us, in this age of college baseball, you don't have to hit very many HRs to score runs. We do need to make up for the loss in power with baserunning and handling the bats well, and we do have a lot of guys who can execute at the plate so I'm not too concerned about our offense next season. Everyone in the lineup can hit .280 or above, and with the exception of 2012, Cohen has always found ways to score runs... Hell, even in 2012, with half the starting lineup hurt and the inexperience problems, we did score enough to win plenty of games. And I don't think anyone disputes that the offense next year will be better than the offense that year, if we can stay away from the injuries that plagued us in 2012.

I totally agree about the offense. We may not have as much power, but I would not be surprised if we are just as good or even better on offense. We are just going to have to score runs a different way than we did in 2013. I think improving our starting pitching will help too. We had to let Lindgren, Pollo and Fitts give up a couple of runs before pulling them- and as a result we were behind a lot of the time. Of course we were good enough to overcome it most of the time.

[maroonmania]

Basically, four out of our five candidates were drafted by MLB at some point in their amateur career. Our starting pitching should be a big strength next year.

All of what you say is true and hopefully pitching will be a strength again next year for us with much more reliable STARTING pitching mixed in. But I will say that I don't know that saying we have pitchers that have been drafted is always that big of a plus (see Evan Mitchell and Devin Jones).

[Todd4State]

All of what you say is true and hopefully pitching will be a strength again next year for us with much more reliable STARTING pitching mixed in. But I will say that I don't know that saying we have pitchers that have been drafted is always that big of a plus (see Evan Mitchell and Devin Jones).

Evan actually wasn't drafted out of high school. Devin was drafted out of high school, but he was drafted very late and it was simply because he could throw hard. Also, I think Devin had the misfortune of being on some MSU teams that were in transition and the attitude of those teams in general wasn't always where it needed to be and I think that affected him negatively as a player. Devin was also drafted before the slot system, and honestly, I don't think he would have been drafted out of high school under the current system.

If things go the way I think they will- we will start a 5th round pick, a 12th round pick, and a 21st round pick. We could have three starters that can throw pretty consistently in the 90's with their fastball, and I don't know if that has ever happened at MSU.

[WeWillScrewItUp]

Hann is playing some good ball this summer. Does anyone know how good the competition is in the league he is in. He stole home today. http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RHHLY0jHjCM&feature=youtu.be&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DRHHLY0jHjCM%26feature%3 Dyoutu.be

[Todd4State]

Hann is playing some good ball this summer. Does anyone know how good the competition is in the league he is in. He stole home today. http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RHHLY0jHjCM&feature=youtu.be&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DRHHLY0jHjCM%26feature%3 Dyoutu.be

It's a league for freshmen. It's not the highest level of competition in the world, but that's not that big of a deal. The important thing is he is getting at bats, playing in the field and he is playing well. Even though it's not the Cape Cod League, he will benefit from this experience and I wouldn't be surprised one bit if he ends up in the Cape next year if he has the year that I think he might have.

[messageboardsuperhero]

It's not the highest competition level, but it's better than plenty of other leagues. Like Todd said, the competition isn't the most important thing for Hann this summer; he saw plenty of good pitching this year. Hann needs at-bats and live game reps, and this confidence boost will be the best thing that he can gain going into next year.