Baseball Media Day Thread

[messageboardsuperhero]

I thought it might be a good idea to consolidate all the baseball posts from todays media thing in one thread, so we don't take up the entire front page in the middle of football season and disrupt the football discussion.

What is everyone looking forward to hearing about today? I can't wait to hear about the development of our starters, specifically Woodruff, Lindgren, Young, Fitts, and Hudson. That was a weak spot last year, but I think it could be a strength in 2014.

[Jacksondevildog]

I heard that young has had some elbow problems this fall but has been gradually throwing more. Should be fine I hear.

[Lefthandersrule]

I think the rising juniors with one more year of college level pitching will show dramatic improvement. I heard the same about Young but it's always best to treat with care especially in the fall.

[messageboardsuperhero]

I hope Young's issue isn't the same as Woodruff's was last year. He's pretty new to pitching, so some elbow soreness might be normal. I just hope it doesn't linger for Young like it did for Woodruff in 2013 until we shut him down.

[messageboardsuperhero]

I think the rising juniors with one more year of college level pitching will show dramatic improvement. I heard the same about Young but it's always best to treat with care especially in the fall.

Year three seems to be the breakout year for a lot of pitchers in our system. Graveman, Stratton, Reed, etc.

[MsStateBaseball]

They all want to play pro ball, junior year is contract year. I would love for Woodruff to have a great year and be a first rounder.

[engie]

Cohen said in the interview today that Lindgren has made a huge jump, and I believe I heard him mention something about him throwing 97. Need to rewatch the interview to be sure...

[messageboardsuperhero]

Cohen said in the interview today that Lindgren has made a huge jump, and I believe I heard him mention something about him throwing 97. Need to rewatch the interview to be sure...

I saw this too. That might have only been how hard he was throwing the ball in one of their drills, but it's still a very impressive improvement. He had a phenomenal summer in the Cape, so he should be looking pretty good for a weekend spot. Will James might not be too far off on Lindgren.

If we could get Lindgren and Woodruff to pitch like many are saying they will, our staff is going to be one of the best in school history. We should be able to find another starter out of Young, Fitts, or Hudson, and of course the bullpen will be great again with two returning All-Americans and a bunch of other good pitchers.

[MsStateBaseball]

By May we will be pretty good. The young hitters will come around by then. Really the best 35 man roster ever. Lots of pro potential on the 35.

[Will James]

Cohen said in the interview today that Lindgren has made a huge jump, and I believe I heard him mention something about him throwing 97. Need to rewatch the interview to be sure...

Somebody around here has been saying he's a sure-fire 1st rounder for six months

FIP gonna FIP

SIERA gonna SIERA

[WeWonItAll(Most)]

Did I see where we have to make 8 cuts? Does anyone have a general idea of who they're gonna be?

[AlSwearengen]

Didn't someone say that Butch has told someone that the starting pitching would be a big surprise to everyone? We took it to mean that the starters not be who we expect.

[MsStateBaseball]

By my math, bc I have been keeping up w rosters for 25 years, we will actually cut 4 and redshirt 4. My best educated guess. Again, 1st year walk ons can be redshirted. I don't know for sure don't hold me to it. I don't talk names of cut players on twitter bc I have many parents follow me. Cohen gets paid big bucks to do that.

[messageboardsuperhero]

I've also seen Cohen say on multiple occasions how we will have to find a way to get Reid Humphreys's bat in the lineup. That says a lot about how college ready he is. I hate to say it, but Humphreys getting Tommy John was probably the best thing that could have happened to us.

[MsStateBaseball]

I expect Detz and Humphries to play a lot of 3B and DH together. Humphries to bat a lot as a freshman.

[Todd4State]

If Young can't go, then we will have to go with Fitts or Dakota Hudson. Lindgren was throwing 94 in high school. A left hander throwing 97 is probably a first rounder. As far as someone we might not expect in the rotation- I suspect Butch was talking about Bracewell. I think Ben could start- but I think he is more useful to us as a relief pitcher. Just my opinion- Ben got the start in the final game of the regional and was solid.

Reid Humphries will play. He has always been a Bulldog through and through- I think it would have taken a LOT of money to get him away from us. It's really a matter of finding a place for him to play- and he has been working out at third base. The outfield isn't out of the question either though. If Detz is going to play third, he's going to have to improve his defense and his arm strength a good bit. Perhaps knowing where he will play will help him out with that- last year we had him working a lot at first base. Personally, until he proves that he can be adequate at third defensively, I would prefer that he stay at DH and focus on his hitting and getting on base.

I think Brent Rooker and Joey Swinarski might surprise some people as freshmen as well.

[Will James]

Somewhere in the archives I've said how Lingo will be better than Stratton's JR year. He can be a MLB all star. Strikes guys out. Doesn't walk many. And gets ground balls, TONS of ground balls.

Definitely can push for SEC an National pitcher awards.

[Todd4State]

Somewhere in the archives I've said how Lingo will be better than Stratton's JR year. He can be a MLB all star. Strikes guys out. Doesn't walk many. And gets ground balls, TONS of ground balls.

Definitely can push for SEC an National pitcher awards.

I agree with much of that. We've seen glimpses of his talent- like against Auburn. To me his problem has been staying healthy- he's had some weird injuries and at times last year he would miss with his location. But instead of walks, it was resulting in hard hit balls and then in turn runs. Will he be better than Stratton? I don't know- but he could be close. Woodruff has that kind of potential too. Let's not forget that Woodruff out pitched Tyler Beede in the SEC Tournament Championship Game as a freshman. Beede will be a first round pick this year.

[War Machine Dawg]

Reid Humphries will play. He has always been a Bulldog through and through- I think it would have taken a LOT of money to get him away from us. It's really a matter of finding a place for him to play- and he has been working out at third base. The outfield isn't out of the question either though. If Detz is going to play third, he's going to have to improve his defense and his arm strength a good bit. Perhaps knowing where he will play will help him out with that- last year we had him working a lot at first base. Personally, until he proves that he can be adequate at third defensively, I would prefer that he stay at DH and focus on his hitting and getting on base.

I think Brent Rooker and Joey Swinarski might surprise some people as freshmen as well.

I'm going to be royally pissed if Detz is at 3B aGAIN. His D is absolutely awful. His arm wasn't that bad, but he has NO range whatsoever. He either needs to be DH or in LF if he has to be a position player. There's no excuse for Reid Humphries or someone else not being able to play 3B this season.

Definitely interested to see what Swinarski can do. He'll steal some ABs for sure, if he displays some power.

[Todd4State]

I'm going to be royally pissed if Detz is at 3B aGAIN. His D is absolutely awful. His arm wasn't that bad, but he has NO range whatsoever. He either needs to be DH or in LF if he has to be a position player. There's no excuse for Reid Humphries or someone else not being able to play 3B this season.

Definitely interested to see what Swinarski can do. He'll steal some ABs for sure, if he displays some power.

You're right about his range. It especially hurt him on bunts. His arm strength isn't what you expect from a third baseman. There was a reason he played second base in junior college. In the Super Regional, I nearly dropped a load in my pants when they hit the ball to him for the final out. The weird looking crow hop he took didn't help me either.

[Will James]

Lindgren had the same ground ball percentage as Graveman this year.

Lindgren had the second highest strikeout percentage of our qualified pitchers this year.

His "luck" stats were off the charts bad. They pretty much couldn't get any worse.

LOB%
Team - 67%
Lingo - 56% - lowest among qualifiers.

Pitcher BABIP
Team - .287
Lingo - .340 - highest among qualifiers


http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=ggFArD4tffk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=M8XEZlfwCT4

[Lefthandersrule]

Really going to be a deep team this year. We've got to stay healthy, remember Wes was injured early in the season last year I can only imagine what his numbers would have been if he would have batted against some of those non conference opponents! lingo was nicked up for most of the season but is healthy now. Woody being healthy is going to be huge for us this year. We need to get Young and Ben healthy. Should be a great year to be a Dawgs fan!