Todd4State
02-06-2018, 10:18 PM
They're hoping that Self will be ready for opening day- but no guarantee at this point. One way or the other I think (my guess) that he will be back by the Houston tournament at the latest and based on what I know I'm guessing he will most likely be ready for the USM series. That said, I expect MSU to be careful with him and use him more as a short reliever instead of a multi-inning guy like last year. I think Self and Blake Smith will likely be the closers at least initially. As Self heals up I think he will be THE closer and Smith may slot in as the set-up guy and still could close a good bit to give Self some rest if necessary.
Cole Gordon I think will surprise a lot of our fans on the mound- and while he is a candidate for the Sunday job I think he is better out of the bullpen. Zach Neff and Jared Leibelt are two new pitchers that our fans are going to see pitching a lot this year.
I think the rotation is going to be Pilkington, Small, and Billingsley. I'm expecting Keegan James to start midweek for us. At least initially. Denver McQuary is still wild but he could get the nod at midweek.
Catcher is probably going to be Marshall Gilbert starting and Skelton as the back-up- but I'm expecting them to split the job.
The infield is set- Josh Hatcher at first, Stovall at second, Tanner Allen at third, and LA at SS. Hatcher and Allen are both freshmen- but both were drafted last year.
The outfield is also set- MacNamee in RF, Mangum in CF, and Rowdy Jordan in LF. Vansau will DH. Jordan played summer baseball in a college league and did really well. He could surprise people. If someone struggles we may see Jordan Anderson play and start but right now I think he will be a guy we use off of the bench for now. Jordan Westburg can play a lot of positions and he can be used in a lot of roles if we need to move the infield around some.
This is going to be a good team- draftable players at most positions except for maybe a couple of guys. A lot of guys with either Team USA or Cape Cod experience and a few guys that have been drafted either last year as a sophomore or out of high school. Our early season schedule is tough because we are on the road a lot- but we get some of the better teams in the West in Starkville- Arkansas, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M while the toughest West road team we play is Auburn. LSU could have a down year and Alabama is rebuilding. We also have Florida and Vandy in Starkville and winnable series on the road against Kentucky and Mizzou.
My minimal expectation for this team is another SR and possible Omaha trip.
Cole Gordon I think will surprise a lot of our fans on the mound- and while he is a candidate for the Sunday job I think he is better out of the bullpen. Zach Neff and Jared Leibelt are two new pitchers that our fans are going to see pitching a lot this year.
I think the rotation is going to be Pilkington, Small, and Billingsley. I'm expecting Keegan James to start midweek for us. At least initially. Denver McQuary is still wild but he could get the nod at midweek.
Catcher is probably going to be Marshall Gilbert starting and Skelton as the back-up- but I'm expecting them to split the job.
The infield is set- Josh Hatcher at first, Stovall at second, Tanner Allen at third, and LA at SS. Hatcher and Allen are both freshmen- but both were drafted last year.
The outfield is also set- MacNamee in RF, Mangum in CF, and Rowdy Jordan in LF. Vansau will DH. Jordan played summer baseball in a college league and did really well. He could surprise people. If someone struggles we may see Jordan Anderson play and start but right now I think he will be a guy we use off of the bench for now. Jordan Westburg can play a lot of positions and he can be used in a lot of roles if we need to move the infield around some.
This is going to be a good team- draftable players at most positions except for maybe a couple of guys. A lot of guys with either Team USA or Cape Cod experience and a few guys that have been drafted either last year as a sophomore or out of high school. Our early season schedule is tough because we are on the road a lot- but we get some of the better teams in the West in Starkville- Arkansas, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M while the toughest West road team we play is Auburn. LSU could have a down year and Alabama is rebuilding. We also have Florida and Vandy in Starkville and winnable series on the road against Kentucky and Mizzou.
My minimal expectation for this team is another SR and possible Omaha trip.