Todd4State
02-18-2016, 12:48 AM
Here are my thoughts. I start with closer because that's my favorite position.
Closer- We're going to see a committee of closers because Houston's arm doesn't bounce back quickly from day to day. That's why he will probably start in the minors and I see him having a similar pro career arc as Holder. Houston will be one of the closers. Humphreys will be one- and yes he had a bad last outing but that happens to everyone- even Mariano Rivera blew the World Series once. It's all about how you come back the next time and I think Humphreys will be fine. The third one could be Ryan Rigby, Paul Young, or Jacob Billingsley. Young has looked better and better each time out and that's good to see coming off of Tommy John. Rigby is going to be one of the best lower arm angle guys in the league. The coaches love Billingsley although he has gotten hit some in the scrimmages. He's a high 80's guy with a really good curveball that's tough on right hand hitters. We don't really have an obvious LH guy but I really like Ethan Small and Kale Breaux in that role and Tatum will see some time there as well. Keegan James might be a wild card for the bullpen as well because his fastball is in the low 90's already.
Rotation- Hudson and Sexton have spots locked up. Too much has been made about Hudson's walks and not enough has been made about how he has gotten better each time out. Sexton has been the best of any starter we have had. He could take over as the ace at some point. The third spot is between Daniel Brown, Vance Tatum, Ethan Small, and Noah Hughes. Brown has it for now- and rightfully so. I wouldn't be surprised if Small earns it later on though. We just have to see how he does. I like Tatum at midweek because of our schedule and I'd rather have a veteran going up against some of those teams than a freshman. Small could change my mind if he is ready. Hughes has looked good in the scrimmages- but he needs time to develop. He has a bright future as well.
Catcher- We're a LOT better here than we were last year. Elih Marrero is going to start at least until Jack Kruger's arm is 100%. He's not your typical freshman having grown with a MLB catcher in his house. He's going to be a little more advanced in calling games and he has shown that so far. Only question I have is how quickly can he adjust to SEC pitching? Kruger is the best hitter among the catchers and I'm still not sure how he is defensively because he hasn't been 100%. Playing at Oregon should help him out some. Lovelady is an elite defender but he can't hit. Collins might catch some although he is better at third base.
Infield- Lowe should be the first baseman and he is going to surprise some experts. He's another JUCO guy that played at a D-I school- Mercer. Cole Gordan played well, but he just isn't quite where Lowe is. Hunter Stovall and Luke Alexander are going to play a LOT. Fans are going to love Stovall and Alexander is MLB caliber defensively right now. Again, how quickly can they adjust to SEC pitching? I can't see Holland contributing much because of injuries. Gridley is a good player and he is going to have to compete to stay in the lineup. Collins is our best third baseman right now. I expect him to be much better as a hitter now that he is 100%. Playing third should help keep him healthy plus he is actually better defensively there than he is at catcher. Luke Reynolds showed that he could hit but he has struggled defensively. I expect him to be a DH/PH guy and he could be good in that role. I'd move him to the OF if it were me.
Outfield- Rooker has taken a step forward and I'm expecting a big year from him. Robson is one of the best lead off guys and bunters in the SEC. He needs to hit some more doubles and triples though. We'll see how Reid Humphreys does at the plate- but it does sound like he is a better overall player at least defensively. He needs to hit some bombs for us whether he hits for average or not. Cody Brown is just a baseball player. He always finds his way into the lineup and he performs no matter what. He's just now becoming an upper classman too. Cody can run, he can hit for average, and he makes plays in the field. Michael Smith is a guy that can fly and he can defend as well as anyone. He hit well in the scrimmages too- so we'll see him some. Jake Mangum came into a situation where there were a ton of upper classmen outfielders and all he did is play his ass off and make it known that he should be in the discussion for playing time as well.
DH- I expect Kruger to be the main guy until he gets healthy. After that as you can see there are a ton of guys.
Special Teams- Like I said, I think Luke Reynolds could be a really good weapon off the bench for us as the top pinch hitter. Cole Gordan is a guy we could use as a pinch hitter if we need a home run. As far as pinch runners go- Michael Smith would be my top guy there. Especially since I know he can also be a good defensive replacement in the field too. Mangum is pretty fast as well. Again, lots of options.
The schedule is without question the most difficult we have had since Cohen has been here. I think we will take our lumps from time to time simply because of that. But we also have a lot more margin for error and the good news is pitching is now a strength for us. So, I expect us to win our share of games too. If we win four out of the six against the PAC 12 teams, we should be pretty optimistic. I like the way our team has been built though- we have some power arms and a few drop down guys and we have a good mix of power and speed. That said, we could be top heavy as a lineup because we may be playing three freshmen at a time and you just never know what you are going to get out of them. We should be better defensively as well- as long as we don't play Collins at catcher and Reynolds at third a lot. One thing freshmen can adjust to more quickly sometimes is defense and I think Marrero and Alexander are more advanced than most freshmen in that department. As far as hitting the young guys are going to have to learn how to make adjustments on the fly and the quicker they do that the better they are going to be.
It should be a fun year!
Hail State!
Closer- We're going to see a committee of closers because Houston's arm doesn't bounce back quickly from day to day. That's why he will probably start in the minors and I see him having a similar pro career arc as Holder. Houston will be one of the closers. Humphreys will be one- and yes he had a bad last outing but that happens to everyone- even Mariano Rivera blew the World Series once. It's all about how you come back the next time and I think Humphreys will be fine. The third one could be Ryan Rigby, Paul Young, or Jacob Billingsley. Young has looked better and better each time out and that's good to see coming off of Tommy John. Rigby is going to be one of the best lower arm angle guys in the league. The coaches love Billingsley although he has gotten hit some in the scrimmages. He's a high 80's guy with a really good curveball that's tough on right hand hitters. We don't really have an obvious LH guy but I really like Ethan Small and Kale Breaux in that role and Tatum will see some time there as well. Keegan James might be a wild card for the bullpen as well because his fastball is in the low 90's already.
Rotation- Hudson and Sexton have spots locked up. Too much has been made about Hudson's walks and not enough has been made about how he has gotten better each time out. Sexton has been the best of any starter we have had. He could take over as the ace at some point. The third spot is between Daniel Brown, Vance Tatum, Ethan Small, and Noah Hughes. Brown has it for now- and rightfully so. I wouldn't be surprised if Small earns it later on though. We just have to see how he does. I like Tatum at midweek because of our schedule and I'd rather have a veteran going up against some of those teams than a freshman. Small could change my mind if he is ready. Hughes has looked good in the scrimmages- but he needs time to develop. He has a bright future as well.
Catcher- We're a LOT better here than we were last year. Elih Marrero is going to start at least until Jack Kruger's arm is 100%. He's not your typical freshman having grown with a MLB catcher in his house. He's going to be a little more advanced in calling games and he has shown that so far. Only question I have is how quickly can he adjust to SEC pitching? Kruger is the best hitter among the catchers and I'm still not sure how he is defensively because he hasn't been 100%. Playing at Oregon should help him out some. Lovelady is an elite defender but he can't hit. Collins might catch some although he is better at third base.
Infield- Lowe should be the first baseman and he is going to surprise some experts. He's another JUCO guy that played at a D-I school- Mercer. Cole Gordan played well, but he just isn't quite where Lowe is. Hunter Stovall and Luke Alexander are going to play a LOT. Fans are going to love Stovall and Alexander is MLB caliber defensively right now. Again, how quickly can they adjust to SEC pitching? I can't see Holland contributing much because of injuries. Gridley is a good player and he is going to have to compete to stay in the lineup. Collins is our best third baseman right now. I expect him to be much better as a hitter now that he is 100%. Playing third should help keep him healthy plus he is actually better defensively there than he is at catcher. Luke Reynolds showed that he could hit but he has struggled defensively. I expect him to be a DH/PH guy and he could be good in that role. I'd move him to the OF if it were me.
Outfield- Rooker has taken a step forward and I'm expecting a big year from him. Robson is one of the best lead off guys and bunters in the SEC. He needs to hit some more doubles and triples though. We'll see how Reid Humphreys does at the plate- but it does sound like he is a better overall player at least defensively. He needs to hit some bombs for us whether he hits for average or not. Cody Brown is just a baseball player. He always finds his way into the lineup and he performs no matter what. He's just now becoming an upper classman too. Cody can run, he can hit for average, and he makes plays in the field. Michael Smith is a guy that can fly and he can defend as well as anyone. He hit well in the scrimmages too- so we'll see him some. Jake Mangum came into a situation where there were a ton of upper classmen outfielders and all he did is play his ass off and make it known that he should be in the discussion for playing time as well.
DH- I expect Kruger to be the main guy until he gets healthy. After that as you can see there are a ton of guys.
Special Teams- Like I said, I think Luke Reynolds could be a really good weapon off the bench for us as the top pinch hitter. Cole Gordan is a guy we could use as a pinch hitter if we need a home run. As far as pinch runners go- Michael Smith would be my top guy there. Especially since I know he can also be a good defensive replacement in the field too. Mangum is pretty fast as well. Again, lots of options.
The schedule is without question the most difficult we have had since Cohen has been here. I think we will take our lumps from time to time simply because of that. But we also have a lot more margin for error and the good news is pitching is now a strength for us. So, I expect us to win our share of games too. If we win four out of the six against the PAC 12 teams, we should be pretty optimistic. I like the way our team has been built though- we have some power arms and a few drop down guys and we have a good mix of power and speed. That said, we could be top heavy as a lineup because we may be playing three freshmen at a time and you just never know what you are going to get out of them. We should be better defensively as well- as long as we don't play Collins at catcher and Reynolds at third a lot. One thing freshmen can adjust to more quickly sometimes is defense and I think Marrero and Alexander are more advanced than most freshmen in that department. As far as hitting the young guys are going to have to learn how to make adjustments on the fly and the quicker they do that the better they are going to be.
It should be a fun year!
Hail State!