2019 MSU baseball

[Madisonmd]

Talked with current player this weekend. He feels like we are going to be really good. His dad says pitching is outstanding. Feels like Ginn may be Saturday starter and hit. He says Ginn can play any position on the field and has done just that outside of catcher. Thinks SS will be Westburg fwiw. Thinks 2B will be Fr from coast, landon jordan ?

[ShotgunDawg]

I like Westburg as a hitter but I think that's going to be a problem at SS.

We simply don't have a defensive answer at SS

Best thing we can do is go all in on shift analytics & attempt to get the middle infield in the right spot more often

[Coursesuper]

Talked with current player this weekend. He feels like we are going to be really good. His dad says pitching is outstanding. Feels like Ginn may be Saturday starter and hit. He says Ginn can play any position on the field and has done just that outside of catcher. Thinks SS will be Westburg fwiw. Thinks 2B will be Fr from coast, landon jordan ?

Landon can play! He played with my son since they were in middle school. Landon's dad said that he had been working at third for most of fall.

[Harrydawg]

I like Westburg as a hitter but I think that's going to be a problem at SS.

We simply don't have a defensive answer at SS

Best thing we can do is go all in on shift analytics & attempt to get the middle infield in the right spot more often

You are going to be pleasantly surprised.......Westburg can cover some ground at short. He?s long......

[ShotgunDawg]

You are going to be pleasantly surprised.......Westburg can cover some ground at short. He?s long......

I hope I am. Just seems a little stiff in the lower half with some heaviness to his feet to be extremely effective there.

If he can make the routine plays & is sure handed, hopefully we can do a good job with getting him in a good position.

"long" is not really a characteristic that helps at SS

[BrunswickDawg]

I hope I am. Just seems a little stiff in the lower half with some heaviness to his feet to be extremely effective there.

If he can make the routine plays & is sure handed, hopefully we can do a good job with getting him in a good position.

"long" is not really a characteristic that helps at SS

You just described Cal Ripken, Jr

[ShotgunDawg]

You just described Cal Ripken, Jr

Haha. Hopefully

More Paul DeJong.

Hopefully, Westburg's defense is off-set by his power & the power of the other player we were able to get in the lineup due to playing Westy at SS

[Madisonmd]

Haha. Hopefully

More Paul DeJong.

Hopefully, Westburg's defense is off-set by his power & the power of the other player we were able to get in the lineup due to playing Westy at SS

Enjoying the discussion, thx!

[KOdawg1]

I like Westburg as a hitter but I think that's going to be a problem at SS.

We simply don't have a defensive answer at SS

Best thing we can do is go all in on shift analytics & attempt to get the middle infield in the right spot more often

Hopefully whoever is in charge of this does better than we did last year. It seems like Alexander was constantly out of position.

[HoopsDawg]

Talked with current player this weekend. He feels like we are going to be really good. His dad says pitching is outstanding. Feels like Ginn may be Saturday starter and hit. He says Ginn can play any position on the field and has done just that outside of catcher. Thinks SS will be Westburg fwiw. Thinks 2B will be Fr from coast, landon jordan ?

Coaches feel that Jordan is better at 3B than 2B. I think Jordan will DH and play some 3B. Foscue may be the 2B, it depends on Halter.

[msstate7]

Hopefully whoever is in charge of this does better than we did last year. It seems like Alexander was constantly out of position.

I'd think shift preparation is extremely hard in college... lack of resources to follow opponents like mlb and can you trust college pitchers to hit their spots

[ShotgunDawg]

I'd think shift preparation is extremely hard in college... lack of resources to follow opponents like mlb and can you trust college pitchers to hit their spots

Completely agree, but that's also why it's an opportunity that can be exploited if someone can figure it out.

With the SEC Network & people literally charting BP, my guess is that you can get a decent read on it.

[KOdawg1]

I'd think shift preparation is extremely hard in college... lack of resources to follow opponents like mlb and can you trust college pitchers to hit their spots

Probably so. I just know every time a slow grounder up the middle was hit that most SS's should get to, Alexander wasn't even close because he was basically playing 3B

[BuckyIsAB****]

How good is Gunner Halter, the JUCO transfer

[ShotgunDawg]

How good is Gunner Halter, the JUCO transfer

Will end up being a 91-95 mph reliever if he wants to play

[BuckyIsAB****]

Will end up being a 91-95 mph reliever if he wants to play

His JUCO stats hitting were pretty good, he cant hit??

[HoopsDawg]

His JUCO stats hitting were pretty good, he cant hit??

He struggled at the plate in the fall, but he's in the mix for the 2B job.

[CooterDavenport]

Shotgun's checking out the stiffness in Westburg's lower half

[K9 Avenger]

Shotgun's checking out the stiffness in Westburg's lower half

LMAO!!!!

[ShotgunDawg]

His JUCO stats hitting were pretty good, he cant hit??

No. He can't hit

Was drafted by Toronto as a pitcher

[ShotgunDawg]

Shotgun's checking out the stiffness in Westburg's lower half

LOL. That's good

[Pedrioa is King]

I’ve heard from several people that we will be very good. Like 2016 good. Stay healthy and get hot late.

[confucius say]

Weekend rotation?
Small, Ginn, plumlee?

[BuckyIsAB****]

Weekend rotation?
Small, Ginn, plumlee?

I've heard Self could be moved to a starting role

[ShotgunDawg]

I've heard Self could be moved to a starting role

Yikes. That would be a disaster. Nothing against the kid, but we are in deep trouble if he needs to start.

The Canadian kid will hopefully win a weekend job.

[ShotgunDawg]

Weekend rotation?
Small, Ginn, plumlee?

Canadian kid has 1st round stuff if he can harness it.

[HoopsDawg]

Weekend rotation?
Small, Ginn, plumlee?

Small, Ginn, Keegan James

[Madisonmd]

I think James is definitely in line foe weekend spot. Had good fall

[AlSwearengen]

I thought they decided after fall that it would likely be James. He was looking pretty nasty at the end of last season.

[Pedrioa is King]

Christian MacLeod is the next big pitcher. Look for him to be Tuesday starter.

[Cowbell]

Thanks for the info all. As good a post topic as Ive seen on here in a while.

[BuckyIsAB****]

Canadian kid has 1st round stuff if he can harness it.

What canadian kid? Self is good idk why you worried

[BuckyIsAB****]

How has Ginn looked in the fall? I havent really kept up with it

[msstate7]

Has self added a pitch? He was pretty much 1 pitch... doubt that plays as a starter

[bulldogcountry1]

I’ve heard from several people that we will be very good. Like 2016 good. Stay healthy and get hot late.

I'm pretty optimistic, but not having our MIF settled is not ideal. Did anyone really win an IF position coming out of fall?

[Pit Bull]

Weekend rotation?
Small, Ginn, plumlee?

Your first two are weekend locks. Who the other weekender will be could be possibly several. I contend the midweek starters are very important as well as they can determine whether we get a bid or not come season's end. We don't need to lose more than 2-3 midweek games. Any more than that, and it might put us on the bubble.

[ShotgunDawg]

What canadian kid? Self is good idk why you worried

Self is good when he only sees hitters 1 time, but doesn't have the arsenal, arm slot, or command navigate through a lineup twice.

[AlSwearengen]

What canadian kid? Self is good idk why you worried

The Canadian kid is Cerantola (sp?). He supposedly has everything but polish and command. If he had that, he probably wouldn’t be in college. Sounds similar to Zach Houston when he was coming out of high school. Huge amount of potential but needed time.

[ShotgunDawg]

Has self added a pitch? He was pretty much 1 pitch... doubt that plays as a starter

This and unless you throw a CB, starters need 3 pitches

[Pedrioa is King]

I think James has a cutter. SO a lot toward end of summer. Cerantola has a nasty curve ball. He needs reps, expect him to only get better. Biggest get was Foxall who has improved our pitchers.

[Todd4State]

I think we can make it back to Omaha again. But having so many freshmen pitchers and the fact that Self has had injuries worries me. Cerentola, MacCleoud, and even Ginn for that matter are going to be good weekend rotation types but they also have zero experience and I don't know that I feel good saying that all three are going to be better than a typical freshman or that would be a reasonable expectation in their freshman year. I do think that Ginn will be fine based on what I have heard. Cerentola- maybe. If he is ahead of the freshman curve that will help us out immensely because it means our midweek guy is probably Keegan James. Who we could then flex out of the bullpen some in the postseason. I think Cole Gordon will close. He appears to have put it together now and getting him back is huge. I'm not sure how much Spencer Price will help coming off of injury. I'm expecting him to be like Blake Smith last year where he is fine for awhile but may hit a wall. You may hear about Colby White because he throws hard- but he also has to work on his command. Small is a legit ace though and that helps.

Catcher is a big question mark right now. Skelton? Gilbert? Hayden Jones? Luke Hancock missed most of the fall so I doubt he is close to being ready.

I've heard Tanner Allen will be at first. He should be good there and he will hit well. Halter I had heard had the edge at second base. I'm expecting him to go through the JUCO adjustment period for at least half the season. Third base could be Foscue or Landon Jordan. I think either one will be fine there. Westburg is probably the SS. I think he will bust out at some point- potentially even like Rooker did. But will it be this year? If the MIF struggles do we move Rowdey to SS or 2B, Allen to LF, and then go with Josh Hatcher at first?

The outfield should be strong with MacNamee, Mangum, and Rowdey. Mangum is the best CF in MSU history and probably will set some school and SEC records this year if he has a typical season. Will MacNamee struggle early like he has the past two years? Rowdey struggled during the summer so I wouldn't be surprised if he regresses at the plate some. And then where will Ginn play in the field? He struggled at the plate early in the fall but improved later in the fall. We'll see how he does this year and see if he is Stephen Head or Brandon Woodruff.

Not playing a ton of games on the road and having a full time coaching staff in place will help immensely. I think that alone will offset some of the question marks. Foxhall is a better pitching coach at this point than Henderson was last year. Definitely appreciate what Henderson did for us last year. Cheesebrough should help the catchers a lot and keeping Gautreau will help the hitters.

[WSOPdawg]

I think James has a cutter. SO a lot toward end of summer. Cerantola has a nasty curve ball. He needs reps, expect him to only get better. Biggest get was Foxall who has improved our pitchers.

Would be YUGEEEE if Foxhall can get Small to develop into a 7- or 8-inning SPer (instead of 4- or 5-innings per start), which would minimize how much we tax our bullpen on Friday nights in the SEC.



I've heard Tanner Allen will be at first. He should be good there and he will hit well. Halter I had heard had the edge at second base. I'm expecting him to go through the JUCO adjustment period for at least half the season. Third base could be Foscue or Landon Jordan. I think either one will be fine there. Westburg is probably the SS. I think he will bust out at some point- potentially even like Rooker did. But will it be this year? If the MIF struggles do we move Rowdey to SS or 2B, Allen to LF, and then go with Josh Hatcher at first?

And then where will Ginn play in the field?



I'm curious as to how well Ginn "flashes the leather" in that I've heard he's grown up playing all over the infield. When not pitching, could Ginn be given a look on the left side of the infield?I

[msstate7]

Reading in this thread that self could be a starter got me thinking... Kevin cash's idea of an "opener" was originally cohen's in 2013. The theory behind it is a little different... cash wants to get his real starter deeper by letting him start vs the bottom of the lineup and Cohen just wanted to go with the pen. Still though, I wanna credit Cohen with the idea though haha

[HoopsDawg]

Would be YUGEEEE if Foxhall can get Small to develop into a 7- or 8-inning SPer (instead of 4- or 5-innings per start), which would minimize how much we tax our bullpen on Friday nights in the SEC.



I'm curious as to how well Ginn "flashes the leather" in that I've heard he's grown up playing all over the infield. When not pitching, could Ginn be given a look on the left side of the infield?I

Gotta protect his million dollar arm so if he's in the field, I would look for him at 2B. I would think early on Halter will get the nod at 2B with Foscue at 3B. Landon Jordan DH vs righties and Ginn DH vs lefties and then go from there.

[Saltydog]

He won't be in the starting rotation.