2 more to Tommy John

[Steakonastick]

Got confirmation that Blake smith and Breaux are done. Thanks mini me and your weighted drills. 6 pitchers in a year.

[Lumpy Chucklelips]

What's the deal with Rigby?

[Interpolation_Dawg_EX]

Damn, hate it for these guys.

[Big4Dawg]

can you make a list of all 6?

[smootness]

It's either the most insane string of bad luck for a pitching staff in organized baseball history, or it's the result of Wes Johnson's instruction. Those are the only 2 options.

[smootness]

can you make a list of all 6?

Ethan Small
Keegan James
Jared Padgett
Noah Hughes
Kale Breaux
Blake Smith

[Tbonewannabe]

I hope this year isn't like Cohen's first where we were so short on pitching we had to bring in the right fielder to pitch on a SEC weekend and he hadn't pitched in a game in 4 years. I can't remember the guy's name but it was against UM. We literally didn't have enough pitchers that could throw strikes.

[Tbonewannabe]

Ethan Small
Keegan James
Jared Padgett
Noah Hughes
Kale Breaux
Blake Smith

That is a lot of talented pitchers that we were counting on this year. We need some freshmen to step up like Pilk did last year.

[smootness]

That is a lot of talented pitchers that we were counting on this year. We need some freshmen to step up like Pilk did last year.

Yup. The thing that sucks is that the top 5 are all part of that same class that will be juniors next year, the year you were really counting on them to be go-to guys. Even those that are pitching by next year probably won't be back to where they were yet. So we really lose two years, and basically their entire careers.

Hiring Wes Johnson may prove to be one of the worst decisions we've ever made in any sport.

[HoopsDawg]

Brutal. Weighted balls have proven to increase velocity but they put a ton of stress on the arm. You have to really know what you are doing if you are going to implement weighted balls in your workouts. Probably not a good idea until you are 21 years old.

Going to need to go with Pilkington, Plumlee, and Self as our 3 starters. Use Cyr as a midweek guy. Maybe use Ashcraft as a 2 inning closer. Then get some of the other guys like Barton and Price ready for mid-long relief.

[msstate7]

17 pitchers pitched for us last season. 7 of the 17 graduated, got drafted, or left. 6 (the above list) need TJ surgery. 1 (rigby) hasn't pitched since game 2 and is likely injured. That leaves 3 pitchers (pilk, cyr, and billingsley) from last season and 2 of those were really bad vs Marist. We don't have, but 1 true middle of the lineup bat... this year is gonna be bad

[Political Hack]

Youth coaches have to get their kids away from "tall and fall" and back to "drop and drive." Use your legs. Take you arm along for the ride. Stupid how many arms are getting blown up with the understanding people have of pitching mechanics these days.

[Eric Nies Grind Time]

Kind of difficult to complain about the run scoring at this point of the season...but have at it.

[Cooterpoot]

What's the deal with Rigby?

Rigby's got a groin.

[HoopsDawg]

Kind of difficult to complain about the run scoring at this point of the season...but have at it.

We are scoring runs, that's true. But we better start getting something from the bottom 4 in the order if we want to compete for SEC wins. Need to give MacNamee and Vansau a chance to see what they can do.

[Anonymous]

Think about this before you consider letting your kids play traveling ball.

This generation that grew up playing year round baseball has been pretty decimated by elbow injuries.

[MzTerry]

17 pitchers pitched for us last season. 7 of the 17 graduated, got drafted, or left. 6 (the above list) need TJ surgery. 1 (rigby) hasn't pitched since game 2 and is likely injured. That leaves 3 pitchers (pilk, cyr, and billingsley) from last season and 2 of those were really bad vs Marist. We don't have, but 1 true middle of the lineup bat... this year is gonna be bad

Rigby has a groin injury - at least it's not TJ

[lamont]

Tommy John has kept us from being a Top 15 team

[maroonmania]

I guess the part I don't understand is why are we giving guys appearances in games (Smith and Breaux) and then BOOM, they need TJ surgery. Did it take them pitching in a live game to understand that they have an arm issue?

[msstate7]

I guess the part I don't understand is why are we giving guys appearances in games (Smith and Breaux) and then BOOM, they need TJ surgery. Did it take them pitching in a live game to understand that they have an arm issue?

Good question. Hadn't breaux been an abomination all offseason?

[Dawg61]

Think about this before you consider letting your kids play traveling ball.

This generation that grew up playing year round baseball has been pretty decimated by elbow injuries.

Kids can still play travel ball they just don't need to pitch in every league they are in. Nothing wrong with travel ball, it actually develops players better than just high school or local competition does imo. I played travel ball and I loved it.

[ShotgunDawg]

Could be a strength and conditioning problem as well. Oddest thing I've ever seen. Wes Johnson has been at 4 different schools and has never had any sort of issue like this. Again, I've never seen anything like this.

We better figure it out though or recruiting pitchers will prove to be difficult.

[msbulldog]

Could be a strength and conditioning problem as well. Oddest thing I've ever seen. Wes Johnson has been at 4 different schools and has never had any sort of issue like this. Again, I've never seen anything like this.

We better figure it out though or recruiting pitchers will prove to be difficult.

Hmmm makes you wonder when did he know he was going to Arkansas?

[ShotgunDawg]

Hmmm makes you wonder when did he know he was going to Arkansas?

Doubt it.

Look, blaming Wes is low hanging fruit here. It's the easy thing to do when his track record suggests otherwise.

[smootness]

Could be a strength and conditioning problem as well. Oddest thing I've ever seen. Wes Johnson has been at 4 different schools and has never had any sort of issue like this. Again, I've never seen anything like this.

We better figure it out though or recruiting pitchers will prove to be difficult.

He may not have had this many (I can't imagine any team ever has), but do we really know that he had an abnormally low # of TJ surgeries at other stops? Do we have any idea how many he had? A quick google search shows that he definitely did have some, though that doesn't really mean anything. Everybody has some.

But if his reputation is a guy who can increase velocity without seeing an abnormally high # of Tommy John surgeries, wouldn't the results of these guys be a knock in that? Maybe he got lucky for a while, and now it's biting us?

We just don't really have enough info, but this is really not a good sign, and I would be really worried as an Arkansas fan right now.

[BrunswickDawg]

Good question. Hadn't breaux been an abomination all offseason?

Sometimes its on the player. I went through a period of "dead arm" in high school. I did everything I could to stay competitive and not lose my spot. I changed my weight training, my stretching, my pre-game warm up, and even got desperate enough to change my throwing motion to try to get zip back on the ball and lessen the pain I had in my elbow. It created enough smoke and mirrors so I could make it thru the season and get to my month off before summer ball started. I was a middle infielder - I can't imagine the pressure on a pitcher to push thru the pain to keep your spot. Sometimes, that guy is going to push that injury until it pops instead of taking the time off to heal and avoid surgery.

[I seen it dawg]

17 pitchers pitched for us last season. 7 of the 17 graduated, got drafted, or left. 6 (the above list) need TJ surgery. 1 (rigby) hasn't pitched since game 2 and is likely injured. That leaves 3 pitchers (pilk, cyr, and billingsley) from last season and 2 of those were really bad vs Marist. We don't have, but 1 true middle of the lineup bat... this year is gonna be bad

And yet the game melt continues.

[msstate7]

And yet the game melt continues.

How many sec wins you predict? I say 11-13

[War Machine Dawg]

I ask aGAIN: Could we be the first team in SEC history to go from Worst to First to Worst? 4 of those 6 pitchers are devastating losses and the other 2 were going to be big pieces somehow.

[I seen it dawg]

How many sec wins you predict? I say 11-13

Somewhere between 9 and 23. Look I've known since the summer we were gonna be hard pressed to be top of sec this year. We've lost too much in the lineup (although I'm pleasantly surprised by the new pieces and think we are gonna be ok there) and the 4 pitching injuries before these 2 new ones. It's just too hard in this league to compete with that happening. That being said we are going to compete and while I think we will prob be somewhere around 12-14 wins this team is going to grow a lot and improve.

I just get tired of the certain posters raising all kinds of mortal hell about our baseball team when they can't see all the obstacles in place before we even started the season. Tons of talent but unproven. Injury ravaged pitching staff. New HC that didn't have a full summer and fall at school. I just don't get why some posters think that is a recipe for repeating as SEC champs. But keep screaming at players in the hope it will magically change I'm gonna enjoy this year and watching our talent grow and get better.

[I seen it dawg]

I ask aGAIN: Could we be the first team in SEC history to go from Worst to First to Worst? 4 of those 6 pitchers are devastating losses and the other 2 were going to be big pieces somehow.

We just might. But I love the roster of this team and our HC. I can already see the demeanor change of our team from last year to this year. We scrap in ABs, we run, we don't bunt unless appropriate, we let guys try to compete in actual games, we are aggressive, I love it. I can live with getting beat up a little because I believe in our staff and I believe these young guys are gonna fight and they are gonna get better every week.

All 6 pitching injuries were devastating. No other college team in the country will deal with that this yr. Combine that with our 2 starting studs drafted and it's a staff that is brand new. Hard to win at a high level. The pitching is gonna be what keeps us from having a really good year. And it's not because the kids suck it's because they haven't comepeted at this level before and there are growing pains. And some grow faster than others.

[Dawg61]

I ask aGAIN: Could we be the first team in SEC history to go from Worst to First to Worst? 4 of those 6 pitchers are devastating losses and the other 2 were going to be big pieces somehow.

Why do you keep asking a question you already know the answer to?

[msstate7]

Somewhere between 9 and 23. Look I've known since the summer we were gonna be hard pressed to be top of sec this year. We've lost too much in the lineup (although I'm pleasantly surprised by the new pieces and think we are gonna be ok there) and the 4 pitching injuries before these 2 new ones. It's just too hard in this league to compete with that happening. That being said we are going to compete and while I think we will prob be somewhere around 12-14 wins this team is going to grow a lot and improve.

I just get tired of the certain posters raising all kinds of mortal hell about our baseball team when they can't see all the obstacles in place before we even started the season. Tons of talent but unproven. Injury ravaged pitching staff. New HC that didn't have a full summer and fall at school. I just don't get why some posters think that is a recipe for repeating as SEC champs. But keep screaming at players in the hope it will magically change I'm gonna enjoy this year and watching our talent grow and get better.

I haven't screamed at players. I get mad at coaches for putting players in positions that I feel doesn't help the team win.

"Between 9 and 23..." straddling the fence, eh? There is absolutely, positively no way this team sees 23 sec wins. We won 21 last year

[msstate7]

Bullpen stats so far vs only 2 good opponents...

37.2 ip 29 er 24 bb 43 k 39 h

7.02 era
1.69 whip
K rate is good though

[BB30]

Youth coaches have to get their kids away from "tall and fall" and back to "drop and drive." Use your legs. Take you arm along for the ride. Stupid how many arms are getting blown up with the understanding people have of pitching mechanics these days.

Eh, you can't pigeon hole kids into certain mechanics. There are certain things that are better than others, but some can't generate what you call drop and drive and others cant go "tall and fall". Every individual is going to be slightly different and you have to see how their body works, how athletic they are, size of the kid etc. There are professionals that have god awful looking mechanics but happen to end up in the same place as a guy with "great mechanics" as far as when front foot hits and torque on arm peaks.

Some are naturally going to put more stress on the arm than others. I think overuse at a young age plays a much larger role than mechanical problems do.

[I seen it dawg]

I haven't screamed at players. I get mad at coaches for putting players in positions that I feel doesn't help the team win.

"Between 9 and 23..." straddling the fence, eh? There is absolutely, positively no way this team sees 23 sec wins. We won 21 last year

And unfortunately for you your knowledge is jackshit about what to do with players. So just plan on staying mad and I'll do my best to ignore it.

I guess you just read 2 sentences of my post.

[basedog]

Damn, two things, it's early, new coaches trying to figure out who can play and help so experimenting is important.

We lost a bunch of talent and now injuries to our pitching staff, hopefully our young pitchers and hitters will settle into a role that can help us win some games.

We are rebuilding for the future, no sense to panic in late February, I'm betting we will slowly get better, Canny is well respected by many many scouts and coaches across the country.

[msstate7]

And unfortunately for you your knowledge is jackshit about what to do with players. So just plan on staying mad and I'll do my best to ignore it.

I guess you just read 2 sentences of my post.

I just don't get how you rip mullen and the football team consistently, but God forbid someone question Can and the baseball team. Our baseball team led by Can is the closest thing to perfect since Jesus walked the earth

[Leeshouldveflanked]

As a parent of a competitive Baseball Player... i will tell you what one of these sports medicine people told me.....every kid has a certain amount of pitches in their arm...they can use them up when they are 12 and have problems when they get older or they can wait until 16-17 before they start pitching and be able to pitch a lot longer length of time with proper conditioning and coaching....
my son is 15, we have just now started to pitch some, and he is right there with some of these who have been pitching since kid pitch thru travel ball... i bet most of these guys have been pitching a long time....
That being said, I am not a fan of weighted balls at all....I would go the arm bands and resistance route...and would place heavy focus on lower body and torso...

[HoopsDawg]

As a parent of a competitive Baseball Player... i will tell you what one of these sports medicine people told me.....every kid has a certain amount of pitches in their arm...they can use them up when they are 12 and have problems when they get older or they can wait until 16-17 before they start pitching and be able to pitch a lot longer length of time with proper conditioning and coaching....
my son is 15, we have just now started to pitch some, and he is right there with some of these who have been pitching since kid pitch thru travel ball... i bet most of these guys have been pitching a long time....
That being said, I am not a fan of weighted balls at all....I would go the arm bands and resistance route...and would place heavy focus on lower body and torso...

Good advice. Leg strength + core strength can go a long way to arm health. Play travel ball, but only play March-June. Maybe play 2 or 3 tournaments in the fall, Sept-October. That's 6 months of baseball and 6 months off. Play other sports in the off-season. Take 3-4 months of not throwing a baseball. And when you do pitch, no more than 80 on a weekend. Do all of that and the rest is up to man above.

[basedog]

I just don't get how you rip mullen and the football team consistently, but God forbid someone question Can and the baseball team. Our baseball team led by Can is the closest thing to perfect since Jesus walked the earth

I can answer for ISID, Canny has been on the job less than a few months, hasn't had time to recruit yet, still learning who is who, injuries have plagued this pitching staff.

Give the Coach a chance without bitching so much in February, geez.

[msstate7]

I can answer for ISID, Canny has been on the job less than a few months, hasn't had time to recruit yet, still learning who is who, injuries have plagued this pitching staff.

Give the Coach a chance without bitching so much in February, geez.
To me it's the opposite. Mullen is our best FB coach ever. He deserves the benefit of the doubt much more than a new coach.

BTW, I'm very much in Can's corner... doesn't mean I have to agree with everything he does. When I'm wrong about things, I'm quick to post I was wrong... I own what I say

[maroonmania]

Somewhere between 9 and 23. Look I've known since the summer we were gonna be hard pressed to be top of sec this year. We've lost too much in the lineup (although I'm pleasantly surprised by the new pieces and think we are gonna be ok there) and the 4 pitching injuries before these 2 new ones. It's just too hard in this league to compete with that happening. That being said we are going to compete and while I think we will prob be somewhere around 12-14 wins this team is going to grow a lot and improve.

I just get tired of the certain posters raising all kinds of mortal hell about our baseball team when they can't see all the obstacles in place before we even started the season. Tons of talent but unproven. Injury ravaged pitching staff. New HC that didn't have a full summer and fall at school. I just don't get why some posters think that is a recipe for repeating as SEC champs. But keep screaming at players in the hope it will magically change I'm gonna enjoy this year and watching our talent grow and get better.

I'm already prepared for it. We may not be last but we are looking at being in bottom third of the SEC at this point. Just amazes me how much trouble we have consistently fielding a Top 20 baseball team with all of the emphasis we put on it. Have to hand it to Bianco, they may not always achieve what we do but they don't fall back into mediocrity either. At this point I will be pleasantly surprised if we make a regional even as a 2 or 3 seed.

[basedog]

To me it's the opposite. Mullen is our best FB coach ever. He deserves the benefit of the doubt much more than a new coach.

BTW, I'm very much in Can's corner... doesn't mean I have to agree with everything he does. When I'm wrong about things, I'm quick to post I was wrong... I own what I say

Canny will be very good over time, you and others need to be patient, this is a very young team without much experience on the mound.

We talking about February!!!

[basedog]

Canny will be very good over time, you and others need to be patient, this is a very young team without much experience on the mound.

We talking about February!!!

Btw 7, do you realize we have only 3 regulars from last year in the lineup, Grid, Rooker and Jake, the rest played part time such as Brown & Stovall. No starting Sec pitcher either. Go figure.

[msstate7]

Canny will be very good over time, you and others need to be patient, this is a very young team without much experience on the mound.

We talking about February!!!

I hope he is very good. Not sure what you're basing the prediction on though. The can hire is similar to sirmon. You got 2 ex-pro players in their sports, considered rising stars, both considered big time recruiters, and both jumped up to positions they've never held. I hope can works out better than sirmon

[basedog]

I hope he is very good. Not sure what you're basing the prediction on though. The can hire is similar to sirmon. You got 2 ex-pro players in their sports, considered rising stars, both considered big time recruiters, and both jumped up to positions they've never held. I hope can works out better than sirmon

You should talk to Lsu baseball fans, Canny is well respected by the experts. He has been in Starkville less than 4 months.

[msstate7]

Btw 7, do you realize we have only 3 regulars from last year in the lineup, Grid, Rooker and Jake, the rest played part time such as Brown & Stovall. No starting Sec pitcher either. Go figure.

Pilk started in the sec last year. Marrero, Stovall, Alexander, and brown all started in 20 or more games last year

[basedog]

Pitching has cost this teams losses, not hitting, defense or lineups. With Pitching we wouldn't be having this questioning of Canny.

[Tbonewannabe]

I hope he is very good. Not sure what you're basing the prediction on though. The can hire is similar to sirmon. You got 2 ex-pro players in their sports, considered rising stars, both considered big time recruiters, and both jumped up to positions they've never held. I hope can works out better than sirmon

Would be similar if Sirmon had been hired in July without getting to coach his players prior to August.

[Todd4State]

I hope he is very good. Not sure what you're basing the prediction on though. The can hire is similar to sirmon. You got 2 ex-pro players in their sports, considered rising stars, both considered big time recruiters, and both jumped up to positions they've never held. I hope can works out better than sirmon

Bad analogy between Cann and Sirmon. Cann at LSU was the equivalent of an OC/DC at LSU.

[basedog]

Pilk started in the sec last year. Marrero, Stovall, Alexander, and brown all started in 20 or more games last year

Known of those guys were stars last year, mostly role players, we lost way more than what those guys contributed.

Pitching is our problem, with any we would be unbeaten.

[basedog]

Bad analogy between Cann and Sirmon. Cann at LSU was the equivalent of an OC/DC at LSU.

Maybe you can make 7 understand, no way can I help him. All I know is what Lsu thought of Canny and the Pro's with his ability to recognize talent, teach hitting and recruit at Lsu.

[msstate7]

Bad analogy between Cann and Sirmon. Cann at LSU was the equivalent of an OC/DC at LSU.

Maybe so, but PM won before Cann and he'll win without him, so it's hard to credit lsu's success to Cann.

[Todd4State]

Again- this is not happening because of Wes and his weighted balls. It's happening because of overuse in travel ball. There is a reason why MLB is looking at ways to limit pitching at the youth level and also why there isn't a crusade against weighted balls.

[msstate7]

Maybe you can make 7 understand, no way can I help him. All I know is what Lsu thought of Canny and the Pro's with his ability to recognize talent, teach hitting and recruit at Lsu.

I've gotten in an argument where it looks like I'm saying Can won't be successful and that's hardly my position. I think he can and will be successful... I'm just saying he's not above criticism.

[Todd4State]

Maybe so, but PM won before Cann and he'll win without him, so it's hard to credit lsu's success to Cann.

Well they fired their hitting coach who I think was Javi Sanchez and then when they hired Cann their offensive numbers went through the roof and they almost immediately improved. Not only that but all of their fans and players hated to see Cann go whereas with Sirmon I could care less if the door hit him on his way out.

Not only that but LSU fans were royally pissed at Manieri over the offense and many wanted him gone. That changed after Cann got there. You could possibly argue that Cann saved Manieri's job and at the very least got him off of the hot seat.

[Todd4State]

I've gotten in an argument where it looks like I'm saying Can won't be successful and that's hardly my position. I think he can and will be successful... I'm just saying he's not above criticism.

You can criticize but there are factors that have to be acknowledged that sometimes explain his reasoning. Our three losses this year:

Lost to top 20 Texas Tech and almost came back on them. Not a bad loss.
Lost to Morehead State because we had a guy that we didn't know was hurt fell apart.
Lost to Marist and you can criticize not bringing in Self but we also didn't have Rigby available and I can't blame him for wanting to try to save Self some.

[msstate7]

Again- this is not happening because of Wes and his weighted balls. It's happening because of overuse in travel ball. There is a reason why MLB is looking at ways to limit pitching at the youth level and also why there isn't a crusade against weighted balls.

Ironically I was ripped unmercifully here last season for my constant criticism of Wes Johnson. I was never impressed with him and said as much

[I seen it dawg]

I just don't get how you rip mullen and the football team consistently, but God forbid someone question Can and the baseball team. Our baseball team led by Can is the closest thing to perfect since Jesus walked the earth

First Mullen has a body of work that has parts that can be ripped. Baseball has played 9 ****ing games under Cannizzarro. 9!!!! And I certainly never said they were perfect or will be. You are getting close to be worse than the will james poster.

[msstate7]

Delete

[lamont]

Pilk started in the sec last year. Marrero, Stovall, Alexander, and brown all started in 20 or more games last year

Alexander got 63 AB's last year and then got hurt and didnt play summer ball
Cody had 83 AB's
Stovall 87 AB's
Lovelady had 2 AB's
Gordon had 18

Thats not many in 63 games

Pilkington should be ready to play- but right now- we have 3 pitchers that pitched last year- with Rigby having an injury problem currently.

Getting on a guy that got the job 2 months ago is lunacy right now

[I seen it dawg]

Maybe I'm a "mental midget" like you call our football players

I'd be insulting mental midgets

[msstate7]

I'd be insulting mental midgets

Lol

[Homedawg]

Somewhere between 9 and 23. Look I've known since the summer we were gonna be hard pressed to be top of sec this year. We've lost too much in the lineup (although I'm pleasantly surprised by the new pieces and think we are gonna be ok there) and the 4 pitching injuries before these 2 new ones. It's just too hard in this league to compete with that happening. That being said we are going to compete and while I think we will prob be somewhere around 12-14 wins this team is going to grow a lot and improve.

I just get tired of the certain posters raising all kinds of mortal hell about our baseball team when they can't see all the obstacles in place before we even started the season. Tons of talent but unproven. Injury ravaged pitching staff. New HC that didn't have a full summer and fall at school. I just don't get why some posters think that is a recipe for repeating as SEC champs. But keep screaming at players in the hope it will magically change I'm gonna enjoy this year and watching our talent grow and get better.

This^ when you start the year w a 32 man roster and lose 2 more before you are 2 weeks in its devastating. And the components we lost to tj would have gotten a huge chunk of innings. Yes injuries occur to everyone. But not this much. Canny is going to be fine. Just deal w the lumps this year and move on. Nothing he or anybody can do except go to work and play as hard as we can every game out.

[HSVDawg]

That is a lot of talented pitchers that we were counting on this year. We need some freshmen to step up like Pilk did last year.

Lets not forget that 4 of those 6 were gone before we even took the field opening weekend, and losing them hurt way worse than the two recent ones. That is why its laughable that anyone thought this team was a safe bet for the regionals or to even finish over .500. We never were close to having the arms even before the two latest injuries.

[smootness]

Again- this is not happening because of Wes and his weighted balls. It's happening because of overuse in travel ball. There is a reason why MLB is looking at ways to limit pitching at the youth level and also why there isn't a crusade against weighted balls.

Both can be true.

Perhaps when dealing with a group of guys who have pitched a ton in travel ball, it's not the best approach to then have them throw max effort constantly in college?

[The Federalist Engineer]

Ok Decision Scientists what is the play with approximately 20% of the roster is unavailable for a multi-season period. Somehow I get the impression we have at least 1 more pitcher not pitching anywhere near demonstrated capabilities.

Given the quality of these players, they probably use up more than 20% of the 11.7 scholarships. I seem to remember Breaux was a full scholarship

Are we stuck with 6 Woodruffs for the next 2/3 seasons? Woodruff is now ok and heading to MLB, but we basically got nothing for MSU

[msstate7]

Ok Decision Scientists what is the play with approximately 20% of the roster is unavailable for a multi-season period. Somehow I get the impression we have at least 1 more pitcher not pitching anywhere near demonstrated capabilities.

Given the quality of these players, they probably use up more than 20% of the 11.7 scholarships. I seem to remember Breaux was a full scholarship

Are we stuck with 6 Woodruffs for the next 2/3 seasons? Woodruff is now ok and heading to MLB, but we basically got nothing for MSU

To me it's a no-brainer... you gotta replace at least 3 of the TJ guys. It's what 18 month recovery? You can't hold spots for that many injured guys

[Todd4State]

Both can be true.

Perhaps when dealing with a group of guys who have pitched a ton in travel ball, it's not the best approach to then have them throw max effort constantly in college?

The whole point of getting stronger is so that you can get higher velocity without throwing max effort. Several MLB teams are doing the same program that Wes was doing for us. If his style was OK for them and he hasn't had a lot of Tommy John injuries other places you can't pin it on Wes.

[HSVDawg]

Ok Decision Scientists what is the play with approximately 20% of the roster is unavailable for a multi-season period. Somehow I get the impression we have at least 1 more pitcher not pitching anywhere near demonstrated capabilities.

Given the quality of these players, they probably use up more than 20% of the 11.7 scholarships. I seem to remember Breaux was a full scholarship

Are we stuck with 6 Woodruffs for the next 2/3 seasons? Woodruff is now ok and heading to MLB, but we basically got nothing for MSU

Process who you can, maybe send some down to JUCO next year to rehab for a season and hope they come back. Absolutely can't carry that much dead weight on the roster for longer than a season though. Honestly, I'd write them all off and go ahead and start recruiting their replacements now. The longer we wait to do that, the longer this rebuild is going to be. There is a pretty high likelihood that none of the 6 will contribute in a meaningful way at MSU....at least not until their senior years if it ever happens.

[Political Hack]

Eh, you can't pigeon hole kids into certain mechanics. There are certain things that are better than others, but some can't generate what you call drop and drive and others cant go "tall and fall". Every individual is going to be slightly different and you have to see how their body works, how athletic they are, size of the kid etc. There are professionals that have god awful looking mechanics but happen to end up in the same place as a guy with "great mechanics" as far as when front foot hits and torque on arm peaks.

Some are naturally going to put more stress on the arm than others. I think overuse at a young age plays a much larger role than mechanical problems do.

I agree about pitch counts for sure, but I disagree about mechanics. Teaching a kid to use their legs first is always going to help save their arm. Once they get to a higher level, you might want to change their mechanics to get the most out of them, but at a young age you do everything you can to take pressure off their arms and shoulder.

[Homedawg]

Ok Decision Scientists what is the play with approximately 20% of the roster is unavailable for a multi-season period. Somehow I get the impression we have at least 1 more pitcher not pitching anywhere near demonstrated capabilities.

Given the quality of these players, they probably use up more than 20% of the 11.7 scholarships. I seem to remember Breaux was a full scholarship

Are we stuck with 6 Woodruffs for the next 2/3 seasons? Woodruff is now ok and heading to MLB, but we basically got nothing for MSU

We don't have anyone on a fully scholarship. And to add, what they come on rarely ever stays the same. Some go up, some go down, yearly.