Way too early look at '17 baseball

[msstate7]

I'll probably be wrong, but I'm gonna assume we get Kruger and rooker back.

C -- marrero
1b -- Kruger (hunch he ends up here)
2b -- Gridley/Stovall
SS -- Alexander
3b -- Bragg
LF -- rooker/Goldwater
Cf -- mangum
RF -- rooker/Goldwater

Starters -- pilk, ?, ?

I know I'm stepping out on a limb with Kruger coming back. If he does though, we could be a pretty good offensive team bc I expect big jumps from marrero, winner of 2b battle, and Alexander. I think rooker could be an sec player of the year candidate and notch 15+ Hr's. I don't even know where to start filling in guys on the pitching side

[Steakonastick]

C- marrero
1b- Gordon
2b- Gridley
Ss- Alexander
3b- Bragg
Lf- Goldwater
Cf- mangum
Rf- Rooker
Dh- kruger

Pitching- I'll guess Pillkington, cyr, and small

[Taog Redloh]

C - Marrero
1B - Gordon
2B - Gridley
SS - Alexander
3B - Stovall
LF - Kruger (is he coming back) or Brown Iis he coming back) or Blaylock
CF - Mangum
RF - Rooker
DH - JUCO

If Goldwater or Bragg can legitimately beat out any of those guys, more power to them. It's rare though, I think too many people see Lowe and think all JUCOs can have that impact.

SP - Padgett (my off-wall pick), Small, Pilkington, Cyr, James
RP - Rigby, Billingsley, Breaux, Hughes, Barlow
CL - Smith, Plumlee

[MarketingBully]

C - Marrero
1B - Gordon
2B - Gridley
SS - Alexander
3B - Stovall
LF - Kruger (is he coming back) or Brown Iis he coming back) or Blaylock
CF - Mangum
RF - Rooker
DH - JUCO

If Goldwater or Bragg can legitimately beat out any of those guys, more power to them. It's rare though, I think too many people see Lowe and think all JUCOs can have that impact.

SP - Padgett (my off-wall pick), Small, Pilkington, Cyr, James
RP - Rigby, Billingsley, Breaux, Hughes, Barlow
CL - Smith, Plumlee

I think Padgett makes a huge jump. Kid was a third round pick but told the Cubs he wasn't going to sign with them and they drafted him in the 20's. I think a full year with Johnson will do him good.

[MarketingBully]

So Padgett has a plus fastball (mid to low 90s) and a plus curveball and we didn't pitch him more? Those two pitches are enough as a freshman to do some damage. I definitely hope we give him an opportunity as a weekend starter next year and don't wait until his junior year. He is one of the freshman I am most excited about.

[msstate7]

So Padgett has a plus fastball (mid to low 90s) and a plus curveball and we didn't pitch him more? Those two pitches are enough as a freshman to do some damage. I definitely hope we give him an opportunity as a weekend starter next year and don't wait until his junior year. He is one of the freshman I am most excited about.

I'm looking forward to seeing if small can get it together. He has big time stuff, so he has a chance to be a major player next season

[basedog]

Marrero over Kruger? Kruger was great behind the plate. Gridley would be penciled at ss unless Alexander proves his better. I haven't seen that yet.

Are y'all sure Marrero is better than Kruger catching, Kruger had very few passed balls. What was Gridley's fielding %, just saying?

[I seen it dawg]

Gridley can't play SS in sec

[MarketingBully]

Marrero over Kruger? Kruger was great behind the plate. Gridley would be penciled at ss unless Alexander proves his better. I haven't seen that yet.

Are y'all sure Marrero is better than Kruger catching, Kruger had very few passed balls. What was Gridley's fielding %, just saying?

Kruger was better then Marrero a true freshman this year. Marrero has a much much higher ceiling then Kruger. My guess is Marrero makes a big jump from his freshman to sophomore years at catcher.

[Brando]

Marrero over Kruger? Kruger was great behind the plate. Gridley would be penciled at ss unless Alexander proves his better. I haven't seen that yet.

Are y'all sure Marrero is better than Kruger catching, Kruger had very few passed balls. What was Gridley's fielding %, just saying?

To me, there is no way Gridley will beat out Alexander. LA has better range and a better arm. Hell his bat is pretty good also.
Kruger is good behing the plate, but I think Elih is better and will be better in the long run. He needs to fix a few small thing when he hits, but he is still very very good. Elih struggled some this yr behind the plate and Kruger stepped in and played like a boss. I wish we could have left Elih back there and let him work through his freshman woes. He tore the ball up early in the yr and then got in a slump. He really never had the oppurtunity to break out of it. Alot of time Elih moves his feet too much when he is swinging. He needs to plant and drive the ball. I have a feeling he is gonna be a great player at State.
I really hope we dont loose Wes. I think he will be a force to be reckoned with at State. I really dont think we gave him enough credit. Cohen tells him when to pull a guy. Not Wes. I wish Cohen would give complete control over to him and worry about our hitters or hell, even hire a hitting coach. I just really hope Strickland locks Wes up for the long haul. I know some of us really dont like Mingione, but I hope we dont loose him either. He is a hell of a recruiter and the guys love him.

[djaymsu5]

I look forward to seeing these young pitchers step up as well. What happened to Parker Ford? I know he had surgery or was supposed to. Is he not coming back or expecting to be a contributor next season? Also I reallyyyy hope Bragg comes in and makes it known that 3rd base is his next season. Also hope that Goldwater is as good as advertised. Those two coming in and if Kruger and Rook coming back could really be a solid club assuming those young pitchers step up. I don't really know where to put Kruger. I think Marrero needs to be the starting catcher and I don't really know what else he can do other than DH.

[djaymsu5]

To me, there is no way Gridley will beat out Alexander. LA has better range and a better arm. Hell his bat is pretty good also.
Kruger is good behing the plate, but I think Elih is better and will be better in the long run. He needs to fix a few small thing when he hits, but he is still very very good. Elih struggled some this yr behind the plate and Kruger stepped in and played like a boss. I wish we could have left Elih back there and let him work through his freshman woes. He tore the ball up early in the yr and then got in a slump. He really never had the oppurtunity to break out of it. Alot of time Elih moves his feet too much when he is swinging. He needs to plant and drive the ball. I have a feeling he is gonna be a great player at State.
I really hope we dont loose Wes. I think he will be a force to be reckoned with at State. I really dont think we gave him enough credit. Cohen tells him when to pull a guy. Not Wes. I wish Cohen would give complete control over to him and worry about our hitters or hell, even hire a hitting coach. I just really hope Strickland locks Wes up for the long haul. I know some of us really dont like Mingione, but I hope we dont loose him either. He is a hell of a recruiter and the guys love him.


Agree

[I seen it dawg]

Anointing Belmont as the everyday SS over a 2 year starter is a reach. Now I hope he makes huge strides at the plate and becomes starter quality but I'll believe it when I see it. Gridley is a proven commodity that can play SS in this league.

I hope Marerro makes a big jump this summer and hopefully Kruger can play another position. If not Elih may have to DH or just play part time. Krugers bat has to be in the lineup everyday and he has shown to be a really good catcher. Catcher is not gonna be a problem for us no matter what happens.

[msstate7]

Anointing Belmont as the everyday SS over a 2 year starter is a reach. Now I hope he makes huge strides at the plate and becomes starter quality but I'll believe it when I see it. Gridley is a proven commodity that can play SS in this league.

I hope Marerro makes a big jump this summer and hopefully Kruger can play another position. If not Elih may have to DH or just play part time. Krugers bat has to be in the lineup everyday and he has shown to be a really good catcher. Catcher is not gonna be a problem for us no matter what happens.

Alexander started this year as SS and played it better day 1 than Gridley ever has. If Alexander makes any jump offensively, he'll be our SS imo

[Brando]

Alexander started this year as SS and played it better day 1 than Gridley ever has. If Alexander makes any jump offensively, he'll be our SS imo

Exactly. Only reason Gridley is playing is LA got hurt and cant. It isnt like we are saying LA has never played SS and we expect him to come in amd take it from Gridley. LA is our starting SS who broke a bone in his hand. He tried to come back and play, but couldnt. Hell, I wouldnt be against trying Stovall out at SS and move Gridley to 2b. Stovall is going to be very very good for us also.

I agree Krugers bat has got to be in the line up. But that doesnt mean he has to catch. We need someone to DH. He started off the yr at DH and I believe, dont qoute me at this, but I believe he hit better as a DH than when he caught. Elih is our future plain and simple. He is going to be a beast. Just need to get him working with someone on his hitting to make him more consistant. He will get there though.

[Steakonastick]

Gridley is a gutsy sound player. But for our defense to be elite we need Alexander at short.

[I seen it dawg]

Alexander started this year as SS and played it better day 1 than Gridley ever has. If Alexander makes any jump offensively, he'll be our SS imo

But he has to hit higher than his weight. He isn't that much better that him hitting .200 is ok. And he has to prove it. Not what people say that he could play defense sec level when he was 4 or whatever it was.

[Coach34]

Alexander started this year as SS and played it better day 1 than Gridley ever has. If Alexander makes any jump offensively, he'll be our SS imo

Belmont is about to have surgery and miss Summer ball. He won't get the necessary AB's to improve enough to beat out Gridley. We're not going to replace a 2 year starter with a guy that can't hit .200

[CadaverDawg]

I think we'll see Alexander at SS, and either Gridley or Stovall at 2B, with the other possibly at 3B or used as a backup/PH. Kruger and Marrero will rotate at catcher & DH but both will always be in the lineup. May even see us try to find a secondary position for Kruger.

All that being said....I find it hard to guess a lineup when we had Mangum, Kruger, Lowe, Alexander, Stovall, Rigby, B Smith, etc have such an impact in year 1, and Collins playing 3B after being a catcher his whole career. Bottom line, Gridley, Stovall, Gordon, Alexander, and even Marrero still better improve...bc the way we're recruiting, there's no guaranteed spots for guys like that if more Freshmen & Juco's come in ready to play. Cohen learned this year that age doesn't matter...and that competition SHOULD make us better, but will make it hard to predict starters.

The only spots I see as being sewn up already, are Rooker in RF...Mangum in CF...and Kruger/Marrero catching/DH. I think if we're being honest, 3B, SS, 2B, 1B, LF, & rotation are all capable of being won or stolen at this point. You can't pencil a sub .300 guy in at any position a year in advance when you see how we're recruiting & what the first year players did this year.

[msstate7]

I think we'll see Alexander at SS, and either Gridley or Stovall at 2B, with the other possibly at 3B or used as a backup/PH. Kruger and Marrero will rotate at catcher & DH but both will always be in the lineup. May even see us try to find a secondary position for Kruger.

All that being said....I find it hard to guess a lineup when we had Mangum, Kruger, Lowe, Alexander, Stovall, Rigby, B Smith, etc have such an impact in year 1, and Collins playing 3B after being a catcher his whole career. Bottom line, Gridley, Stovall, Gordon, Alexander, and even Marrero still better improve...bc the way we're recruiting, there's no guaranteed spots for guys like that if more Freshmen & Juco's come in ready to play. Cohen learned this year that age doesn't matter...and that competition SHOULD make us better, but will make it hard to predict starters.

The only spots I see as being sewn up already, are Rooker in RF...Mangum in CF...and Kruger/Marrero catching/DH. I think if we're being honest, 3B, SS, 2B, 1B, LF, & rotation are all capable of being won or stolen at this point. You can't pencil a sub .300 guy in at any position a year in advance when you see how we're recruiting & what the first year players did this year.

Good post.

Oh and I warned you in the thread title this way too early

[CadaverDawg]

Good post.

Oh and I warned you in the thread title this way too early

Oh I know. I love the discussion, I'm just saying I personally have trouble guessing the starters after the way this season played out. Looks like our recruiting is going to lead to more youngsters playing bigger roles. It's amazing to think about our top 3 hitters being first year guys on a National Seed team

[msstate7]

Oh I know. I love the discussion, I'm just saying I personally have trouble guessing the starters after the way this season played out. Looks like our recruiting is going to lead to more youngsters playing bigger roles. It's amazing to think about our top 3 hitters being first year guys on a National Seed team

Well I'm a state fan, so I'm always looking ahead to next year haha

[CadaverDawg]

Well I'm a state fan, so I'm always looking ahead to next year haha

Ha, it's the MSU way

[basedog]

No way Kruger comes back as a DH.

[CadaverDawg]

No way Kruger comes back as a DH.

He's not coming back TO be a DH, but we will be able to give him a day off every weekend with Elih, so he will DH some. Unless he finds a new position. I personally think he's a good enough athlete to play a position and allow us to get him, Marerro and another good bat in the lineup via the DH. He is too good a catcher and athlete to be a full time DH. Way too smart of a player too to keep off the field

[basedog]

He's not coming back TO be a DH, but we will be able to give him a day off every weekend with Elih, so he will DH some. Unless he finds a new position. I personally think he's a good enough athlete to play a position and allow us to get him, Marerro and another good bat in the lineup via the DH. He is too good a catcher and athlete to be a full time DH. Way too smart of a player too to keep off the field

I agree, I hope we have another catcher who can hit. Marrero will be better but he was awful at the plate. Stovall from what have read may be the best athlete on the team. Gridley is another good athlete. I think he wil be a 300 plus hitter next year.