Todd4State
06-12-2016, 08:18 PM
Now that I am home I can go a little more in depth. We had a good season and I'm proud of this team. They went from dead last place and then went out an won the SEC and hosted a regional and earned a National Seed in the process. I think finishing in last place motivated our players to not let that happen again. Of course, losing a SR at home especially the way that we did hurts. But I think the positive to that is our team next year will use that to motivate them to Omaha. Unfortunately, I have found that baseball is like that where you have to lose first before you break through. I don't why that is- but it is. And to be honest I think the most difficult thing to do is come back after winning a championship because everyone is patting you on the back and at the same time all of your opponents are coming after you. We saw that in 2014.
I can't wait to see Dakota Hudson pitch for the Cardinals! Especially after having to watch Lance Lynn pitch for them recently and no idea why they dumped Shelby Miller over him. Anyway- I think one of our biggest question marks right now is the starting rotation. But I think it will be fine- may not be as good as Hudson and Sexton- but still very good. The reason I feel that way is because we have so many freshmen going to the Cape which is unusual for players after their freshman season. Breaux, Pilkington, Small, and Padgett all are further along at this point than Hudson, Sexton, and Houston- and I think we all would agree that those three turned out pretty well. But based on their performance in the Cape plus how quickly they develop their secondary pitches will determine how we are going to be. They will have some competition however. Keegan James and Ryan Cyr started some and they will have a say in the rotation. Also, Mitchell Miller who was an Under Armour All American and Douglas Ashcraft who was drafted in the 12th round but is likely to go to MSU will also be in the mix. As will Riley Self. So, all spots are open.
I do think the bullpen will be better next year. And I expect them to come back with a chip on their shoulder based on how they blew our last game. One big thing that we lacked was a legit established closer. Jacob Barton is a JUCO transfer who might emerge as one. Don't be surprised if Paul Young emerges next year in a big way. Blake Smith and Ryan Rigby should be even better- and they are already pretty good. I think Rigby takes a big step in the Cape and becomes elite for us. Jacob Billingsley will probably contribute even more and I think he had a good year and also should be even better. I like Denver McQuary who will be a freshman next year and then we have a pitcher we redshirted Trysten Barlow going to the Cape.
We should be DEEP at catcher next year. Kruger probably will come back. And I think Elih Marrero takes a huge step forward next year after playing for us a lot and then playing in the Cape. I think he takes over at catcher catching two out of three on the weekend and Kruger DHing the other two. Then we are getting Dustin Skelton was drafted by the Blue Jays. Josh Lovelady could be back as well.
The corner infield spots are also a big question mark. Rooker, Cole Gordon, and Chase Goldwater are all up for the first base job and I hope Rooker wins it because I think that is ultimately his best position defensively. Gordon quietly had some big hits for us though- like against Vanderbilt. Goldwater's K/BB ratio in JUCO worries me, but he is at least playing summer ball in California. Third base is an even bigger question mark and we really need Harrison Bragg to emerge there. Reed Smith is a freshman that I think will push him. If neither of them are ready- we're going to have to consider Luke Alexander who played third some this year and possibly even Hunter Stovall. I don't want LA at third because he is our best SS, but he also may be the only one with the skill set to play third and hit for us.
The middle infield is pretty deep. Stovall is very good and should only get better. I think he is as good as Holland is right now- so we should improve at second. Gridley is going to the Cape and we need him to hit .300 for us. I hope we can play him at second which I think is his best position but we know he can play SS which is nice. Luke Alexander is our best SS. He will have wrist surgery so we'll see how he comes back. I think he was starting to turn a corner and then he went down. The guy hit a home run with a broken wrist and he had a big hit against ULM in Biloxi with a broken wrist so much respect from me.
Our OF is also in pretty good shape. Jake Mangum is going to become a more complete player- which is scary. He has a legit chance to set school records for hits. He will take over CF which I think is his best position. I wouldn't be surprised if he starts to show some power at some point and I think he will master being a RH hitter next year. Cody Brown is a fifth year senior who has had some big hits for us including a couple of grand slams last year. He plays good defense and will be a veteran presence. One player no one is talking about is a JUCO transfer who played at Dallas Baptist as a freshman named Hunter Vanasau. Much like Kruger and Lowe who had D-1 experience I think he will transition to D-1 baseball more quickly. Rooker certainly has a spot if Gordon or Goldwater emerges at first. Chase Goldwater could certainly figure in the mix as well and he does have a very strong OF arm so if he can hit he could be RF for us. Marc Coffers is a guy that we got through the draft and he will be very good for us. Will Brooks is very raw but he has good power and he will need some time to develop as a hitter. Brant Blaylock redshirted for us and he is very athletic with a good arm and is going to play hard for us like Cody Brown but with a higher ceiling. Hagan Severence is another outfielder from Nashville that is more of a CF type who will develop over time.
You never know what will happen at this point of the year- but I feel pretty good. My guess is our starting pitching won't be as good- but we'll show a lot of promise and the bullpen will be one of the best in the SEC. Goldwater and Bragg won't be ready and we have to play LA or Reed Smith at third and third base is our weakest spot offensively. Rooker has a huge year and Vanasau surprises everyone, and Jake Mangum has another huge year. We won't win the SEC but we go to Omaha fueled by what happened in the SR this year. I'll also predict that Manieri will cry at some point at Dudy-Noble next year after a borderline pitch doesn't go their way or he tries to have someone in the LFL ejected for their grill smoking out one of their outfielders. If we play Florida we might have a fight at some point too.
And speaking of Florida.....
After their announcers pretty much made it sound like our guys were a bunch of walk-ons compared to the superiorly talented MLB farm team in Gainesville.....Gators drafted- 8. Bulldogs drafted- 11. Suck it Nick Belmonte.
I can't wait to see Dakota Hudson pitch for the Cardinals! Especially after having to watch Lance Lynn pitch for them recently and no idea why they dumped Shelby Miller over him. Anyway- I think one of our biggest question marks right now is the starting rotation. But I think it will be fine- may not be as good as Hudson and Sexton- but still very good. The reason I feel that way is because we have so many freshmen going to the Cape which is unusual for players after their freshman season. Breaux, Pilkington, Small, and Padgett all are further along at this point than Hudson, Sexton, and Houston- and I think we all would agree that those three turned out pretty well. But based on their performance in the Cape plus how quickly they develop their secondary pitches will determine how we are going to be. They will have some competition however. Keegan James and Ryan Cyr started some and they will have a say in the rotation. Also, Mitchell Miller who was an Under Armour All American and Douglas Ashcraft who was drafted in the 12th round but is likely to go to MSU will also be in the mix. As will Riley Self. So, all spots are open.
I do think the bullpen will be better next year. And I expect them to come back with a chip on their shoulder based on how they blew our last game. One big thing that we lacked was a legit established closer. Jacob Barton is a JUCO transfer who might emerge as one. Don't be surprised if Paul Young emerges next year in a big way. Blake Smith and Ryan Rigby should be even better- and they are already pretty good. I think Rigby takes a big step in the Cape and becomes elite for us. Jacob Billingsley will probably contribute even more and I think he had a good year and also should be even better. I like Denver McQuary who will be a freshman next year and then we have a pitcher we redshirted Trysten Barlow going to the Cape.
We should be DEEP at catcher next year. Kruger probably will come back. And I think Elih Marrero takes a huge step forward next year after playing for us a lot and then playing in the Cape. I think he takes over at catcher catching two out of three on the weekend and Kruger DHing the other two. Then we are getting Dustin Skelton was drafted by the Blue Jays. Josh Lovelady could be back as well.
The corner infield spots are also a big question mark. Rooker, Cole Gordon, and Chase Goldwater are all up for the first base job and I hope Rooker wins it because I think that is ultimately his best position defensively. Gordon quietly had some big hits for us though- like against Vanderbilt. Goldwater's K/BB ratio in JUCO worries me, but he is at least playing summer ball in California. Third base is an even bigger question mark and we really need Harrison Bragg to emerge there. Reed Smith is a freshman that I think will push him. If neither of them are ready- we're going to have to consider Luke Alexander who played third some this year and possibly even Hunter Stovall. I don't want LA at third because he is our best SS, but he also may be the only one with the skill set to play third and hit for us.
The middle infield is pretty deep. Stovall is very good and should only get better. I think he is as good as Holland is right now- so we should improve at second. Gridley is going to the Cape and we need him to hit .300 for us. I hope we can play him at second which I think is his best position but we know he can play SS which is nice. Luke Alexander is our best SS. He will have wrist surgery so we'll see how he comes back. I think he was starting to turn a corner and then he went down. The guy hit a home run with a broken wrist and he had a big hit against ULM in Biloxi with a broken wrist so much respect from me.
Our OF is also in pretty good shape. Jake Mangum is going to become a more complete player- which is scary. He has a legit chance to set school records for hits. He will take over CF which I think is his best position. I wouldn't be surprised if he starts to show some power at some point and I think he will master being a RH hitter next year. Cody Brown is a fifth year senior who has had some big hits for us including a couple of grand slams last year. He plays good defense and will be a veteran presence. One player no one is talking about is a JUCO transfer who played at Dallas Baptist as a freshman named Hunter Vanasau. Much like Kruger and Lowe who had D-1 experience I think he will transition to D-1 baseball more quickly. Rooker certainly has a spot if Gordon or Goldwater emerges at first. Chase Goldwater could certainly figure in the mix as well and he does have a very strong OF arm so if he can hit he could be RF for us. Marc Coffers is a guy that we got through the draft and he will be very good for us. Will Brooks is very raw but he has good power and he will need some time to develop as a hitter. Brant Blaylock redshirted for us and he is very athletic with a good arm and is going to play hard for us like Cody Brown but with a higher ceiling. Hagan Severence is another outfielder from Nashville that is more of a CF type who will develop over time.
You never know what will happen at this point of the year- but I feel pretty good. My guess is our starting pitching won't be as good- but we'll show a lot of promise and the bullpen will be one of the best in the SEC. Goldwater and Bragg won't be ready and we have to play LA or Reed Smith at third and third base is our weakest spot offensively. Rooker has a huge year and Vanasau surprises everyone, and Jake Mangum has another huge year. We won't win the SEC but we go to Omaha fueled by what happened in the SR this year. I'll also predict that Manieri will cry at some point at Dudy-Noble next year after a borderline pitch doesn't go their way or he tries to have someone in the LFL ejected for their grill smoking out one of their outfielders. If we play Florida we might have a fight at some point too.
And speaking of Florida.....
After their announcers pretty much made it sound like our guys were a bunch of walk-ons compared to the superiorly talented MLB farm team in Gainesville.....Gators drafted- 8. Bulldogs drafted- 11. Suck it Nick Belmonte.