MLB draft and our class

[GreenheadDawg]

Can one of the baseball guys give a breakdown on who we have coming in, who entered the draft, and who could make an impact early? No, I?m not giving up on this season but was just curious because I know we had 1 or 2 sign pro that we weren?t expecting.

[Todd4State]

It's very cut and dried this year. The only guy that we have drafted that is coming back is Tanner Allen. So, the suspense is already over.

There are some very good players in our class that could make an impact soon however.


Davis Rokose I think will compete for a rotation spot next year. Logan Tanner and Landon Sims have a good chance to contribute right away with the bullpen and Sims is a future weekend guy. KC Hunt and Will Bednar are also guys that could be darkhorses to contribute early and both are potential weekend starters in the future.


Tanner may also catch for us although I think his future is on the mound personally. Kamren James may compete for the third base job next year although I expect Halter or Landon Jordan to ultimately win it.

[Commercecomet24]

It's very cut and dried this year. The only guy that we have drafted that is coming back is Tanner Allen. So, the suspense is already over.

There are some very good players in our class that could make an impact soon however.


Davis Rokose I think will compete for a rotation spot next year. Logan Tanner and Landon Sims have a good chance to contribute right away with the bullpen and Sims is a future weekend guy. KC Hunt and Will Bednar are also guys that could be darkhorses to contribute early and both are potential weekend starters in the future.


Tanner may also catch for us although I think his future is on the mound personally. Kamren James may compete for the third base job next year although I expect Halter or Landon Jordan to ultimately win it.

Yeah Tanner gonna get a look at catcher too. May DH some too.

[GreenheadDawg]

Gotcha. We have a strong chance of being very good next year also. Will be tough to replace Small and Plumlee on the mound. I was mainly talking about our incoming class but I didn’t specify that.

[Todd4State]

Yeah Tanner gonna get a look at catcher too. May DH some too.

Do you think he has the bat to do hit as a freshman? We return a lot anyway so unless he crushes it in camp I mainly see him contributing out of the pen because that's where out losses are.

I think Hayden Jones and Luke Hancock probably start at catcher next year.

If it were me I would tell JT to just hit this summer and rest his pitching arm. I still think he has a chance to become a hitter for us before his MSU career is over potentially.

[Homedawg]

Gotcha. We have a strong chance of being very good next year also. Will be tough to replace Small and Plumlee on the mound. I was mainly talking about our incoming class but I didn’t specify that.

Great core of Westburg, foscue, Rowdey and alllen. That's a hell of a start. L Jordan w Hancock and h Jones makes it even better. Pitching wise some people have to step up.

[KOdawg1]

Landon Sims will be a good one.

We had a few guys who would've been drafted had they not already told MLB they were coming to college

[MarketingBully]

It's very cut and dried this year. The only guy that we have drafted that is coming back is Tanner Allen. So, the suspense is already over.

There are some very good players in our class that could make an impact soon however.


Davis Rokose I think will compete for a rotation spot next year. Logan Tanner and Landon Sims have a good chance to contribute right away with the bullpen and Sims is a future weekend guy. KC Hunt and Will Bednar are also guys that could be darkhorses to contribute early and both are potential weekend starters in the future.


Tanner may also catch for us although I think his future is on the mound personally. Kamren James may compete for the third base job next year although I expect Halter or Landon Jordan to ultimately win it.

So with our super sophs, is it possible that we’d have enough talent to mix with our big guys like Jordan, Westburg, Foscue, Allen, and Hatcher to make it back to Omaha and have a chance to win it? Let’s say Ginn makes a nice jump and becomes the ace we know he can be and Cerentola figures out the command piece and becomes a dynamite Saturday starter. That would only leave a Sunday starter we would need to fill. Is it possible we could have a better team next year ceiling wise? I mean imo all of the sophs we have could make huge jumps and be top 10 round guys. All of them could have the potential to hit 10+ homeruns. I guess what would come next is the consistency piece. If they can become consistent and carry through the whole year we could have a better team next year.

[MarketingBully]

Great core of Westburg, foscue, Rowdey and alllen. That's a hell of a start. L Jordan w Hancock and h Jones makes it even better. Pitching wise some people have to step up.

Have we ever had a group like that all be juniors at the same time? It’s been a long time. Those guys all have the potential to hit 10+ homeruns. Rowdy is a perfect leadoff guy and seems heir apparent in center.

[Homedawg]

Do you think he has the bat to do hit as a freshman? We return a lot anyway so unless he crushes it in camp I mainly see him contributing out of the pen because that's where out losses are.

I think Hayden Jones and Luke Hancock probably start at catcher next year.

If it were me I would tell JT to just hit this summer and rest his pitching arm. I still think he has a chance to become a hitter for us before his MSU career is over potentially.

Agree again about Hancock and jones - I'm not saying he can't hit. But I'd be shocked if he was a hitter for us. Too much potential in the bump and think that's where we use him.

[Todd4State]

Gotcha. We have a strong chance of being very good next year also. Will be tough to replace Small and Plumlee on the mound. I was mainly talking about our incoming class but I didn’t specify that.

Well that depends a lot on how Christian MacLeoud and Eric Cerentola develop. And Brandon Smith to a degree. Ginn obviously has a spot. I think Cerentola is close to being ready. MacLeoud was supposedly ahead of him before he became ill this spring. I've heard that the coaches want Smith to close but if one of those two aren't ready I'm sure that he would get a long look. Freshmen are always a question mark. I'd strongly consider using Cumbest as a dual position player and give him a look at closer. Can Self and Jack Eagan come back and become next year's version of Jared Leibelt? We have some JUCO pitchers like Houston Harding that may come in and surprise too.


Pitching is definitely our biggest question mark next year although I think we'll have more high end talent than we do now.

[Commercecomet24]

Do you think he has the bat to do hit as a freshman? We return a lot anyway so unless he crushes it in camp I mainly see him contributing out of the pen because that's where out losses are.

I think Hayden Jones and Luke Hancock probably start at catcher next year.

If it were me I would tell JT to just hit this summer and rest his pitching arm. I still think he has a chance to become a hitter for us before his MSU career is over potentially.

I think down the line but i doubt it as a freshman.

JTs plans for this summer is to workout and do arm care. Don't look for him to play any summer ball.

ETA Tanner was told he would get a chance at catcher and to hit but agree with you and Homedawg his future is on the mound

[Todd4State]

So with our super sophs, is it possible that we’d have enough talent to mix with our big guys like Jordan, Westburg, Foscue, Allen, and Hatcher to make it back to Omaha and have a chance to win it? Let’s say Ginn makes a nice jump and becomes the ace we know he can be and Cerentola figures out the command piece and becomes a dynamite Saturday starter. That would only leave a Sunday starter we would need to fill. Is it possible we could have a better team next year ceiling wise? I mean imo all of the sophs we have could make huge jumps and be top 10 round guys. All of them could have the potential to hit 10+ homeruns. I guess what would come next is the consistency piece. If they can become consistent and carry through the whole year we could have a better team next year.

If things come together it's very possible that we could be back in Omaha IF:

1. The pitchers take the next step.

2. Our defense HAS TO improve. See today as exhibit A.

3. We need Cumbest and Jordan Westburg to take the next step as well. If they do along with Foscue we will be VERY dangerous.

That said- it's concerning because we don't know if the pitchers will be developed or if they are on the Stratton and Dakota Hudson plan and won't be ready until our core next year is in pro ball (frustrating) plus we are going to miss Mangum and MacNamee's leadership BIG TIME next year. We won't really have any seniors like that next year and that hurts because of the leadership piece that they bring. Of course I don't think we can really replace those two any way. Especially Mangum.

[Todd4State]

I think down the line but i doubt it as a freshman.

JTs plans for this summer is to workout and do arm care. Don't look for him to play any summer ball.

That's probably for the best with JT. If he develops his body and gets stronger he will be more durable next year. And going forward.

[Homedawg]

Cerantola is a key to our year. Smith is gonna be good. Mccloud as Todd said, the staff really likes.

[KOdawg1]

So we're looking at:

C- Jones and Hancock
1B- Allen
2B- Landon Jordan/Foscue
SS- Westburg
3B- Foscue/Halter
CF- Rowdey
LF-?
RF- Hatcher/Cumbest
DH-?

Ginn
Cerantola
MacLeod/Smith

Of course, freshmen and new guys can challenge for spots. I think they might move Foscue back to 3B because I think Landon's bat will be too good to keep him out. Hopefully, he can improve enough defensively. If not, you can DH him I guess.

People who know more, feel free to make corrections to the lineup

[Todd4State]

Cerantola is a key to our year. Smith is gonna be good. Mccloud as Todd said, the staff really likes.

I agree 100% about Cerentola being the key. If he pitches like he did today and in the SEC Tournament we should be able to match up with any staff in the country.

[Todd4State]

So we're looking at:

C- Jones and Hancock
1B- Allen
2B- Landon Jordan/Foscue
SS- Westburg
3B- Foscue/Halter
CF- Rowdey
LF-?
RF- Hatcher/Cumbest
DH-?

Ginn
Cerantola
MacLeod/Smith

Of course, freshmen and new guys can challenge for spots. I think they might move Foscue back to 3B because I think Landon's bat will be too good to keep him out. Hopefully, he can improve enough defensively. If not, you can DH him I guess.

People who know more, feel free to make corrections to the lineup

I don't think we're going to move Foscue back. He has played better at second than he has at third and then both Landon Jordan and Gunner Halter have been better at third than they have at second base. I think we just need to stay with it and then rep the hell out of infield defense in the fall and spring next year. And then keeping guys where they are comfortable will help defensively next year as well.

[GreenheadDawg]

I really like Cerantola. Really hope he can find his command. If he can, then look out.

[KOdawg1]

I don't think we're going to move Foscue back. He has played better at second than he has at third and then both Landon Jordan and Gunner Halter have been better at third than they have at second base. I think we just need to stay with it and then rep the hell out of infield defense in the fall and spring next year. And then keeping guys where they are comfortable will help defensively next year as well.

What about the corner outfield spots?

[MarketingBully]

I honestly think Lemonis will get it done. My fear though is Cohen compared him to Ron Polk and he tutored under McDonnell. Two great and amazing coaches to be sure but not successful once they got to Omaha. Hopefully we will have that one team that will help him breakthrough and MSU as a whole breakthrough. I have no doubts that he will consistently get us to Omaha. Hopefully he will learn. It took John Savage a few trips to understand how to best utilize his pitching staff. Then you have some fluke coaches who just have a hot team and ride the wave and win a championship in one trip and they never go again. Baseball as you guys have said is a quirky and flukey sport. The best teams don’t always win it. In fact it would be our luck that we go through the losers bracket beat Vandy and get to the championship series just to lose to someone like Michigan.

[Todd4State]

What about the corner outfield spots?

Cumbest will almost certainly start in RF. He has a chance to be a first round pick himself. Probably the biggest athletic freak we have had since Hunter Renfroe. And he held his own as a freshman. Hatcher I'm guessing will start in LF although I wouldn't be surprised if we start Hatcher in right because our LF is a little bit bigger and Cumbest has more speed to cover the ground out there. Wherever they start I'm pretty sure it will be Hatcher and Cumbest.

[bulldogcountry1]

Was MacLeod ever healthy enough to play this season? If he was, he should have pitched. If a guy is halfway decent, he's going to get drafted after year 3. There's really no need to worry about burning a redshirt because the clock has already started. We really needed another arm down the stretch.

I would have preferred to give Cerantola a few more chances this year than keep trotting out Barlow.

[Mjoelner34]

Cerantola is a key to our year. Smith is gonna be good. Mccloud as Todd said, the staff really likes.

If Cerantola can put it together, he's gonna be a mofo! I was glad to see him come in today. There was minimal pressure on him when he came in and shut LSU down in the tourney. That game was definitely over by that time but he was impressive. Today, even though down 3 runs, he had to get an out with 2 runners on and do it on the biggest stage so there was a lot of pressure and he looked good. The first pitch he threw today was something. It darted away from the left handed batter 6" just as it got to the plate. It started off slightly outside so it was a ball but there's no way you'd get a bat on that thing if he'd started it over the middle.

[AlSwearengen]

It would be huge if Spencer Price can come back next year and pitch like he did pre TJ. He was a pretty good closer before getting hurt.

[Todd4State]

I honestly think Lemonis will get it done. My fear though is Cohen compared him to Ron Polk and he tutored under McDonnell. Two great and amazing coaches to be sure but not successful once they got to Omaha. Hopefully we will have that one team that will help him breakthrough and MSU as a whole breakthrough. I have no doubts that he will consistently get us to Omaha. Hopefully he will learn. It took John Savage a few trips to understand how to best utilize his pitching staff. Then you have some fluke coaches who just have a hot team and ride the wave and win a championship in one trip and they never go again. Baseball as you guys have said is a quirky and flukey sport. The best teams don’t always win it. In fact it would be our luck that we go through the losers bracket beat Vandy and get to the championship series just to lose to someone like Michigan.

We'll see how he manages our staff this go around but the way he is doing it we're going to need more pitching if he insists on not throwing guys on short rest at all costs.

The key ultimately is to keep going to Omaha. If we do we maximize the chances that we will win it all.

And to your point it took Skip Bertman five tries before he won his first title. This is Lemonis's first time as a head coach.

Also in the moment we need to remember that we are just now starting to get guys like JT Ginn to campus- and he's a Vanderbilt/Florida type talent that they usually have been getting to school for years. If he has success and goes high in the draft next year it could be pretty big for us. Especially with guys like Blaze Jordan committed and a possibility to come to school and a Vanderbilt/Florida/LSU type draft risk for MLB.

[Todd4State]

Was MacLeod ever healthy enough to play this season? If he was, he should have pitched. If a guy is halfway decent, he's going to get drafted after year 3. There's really no need to worry about burning a redshirt because the clock has already started. We really needed another arm down the stretch.

I would have preferred to give Cerantola a few more chances this year than keep trotting out Barlow.

Personally I would have used Cerentola against Southern after JT left the game. That was a perfect low risk opportunity and I bet he would have killed it.

I don't know about MacLeoud but I heard he was pretty weak. It would have also affected our roster some by putting him on it.

[The Federalist Engineer]

Gotcha. We have a strong chance of being very good next year also. Will be tough to replace Small and Plumlee on the mound. I was mainly talking about our incoming class but I didn’t specify that.

That's college baseball, until last year nobody was sure what Small would be after TJ. He became the LONE SURVIVOR of the cursed 2015 TJ crisis. I guess Keegan was a survivor, he was Mr Friday or Saturday until he went down just before the 2017 season

Due to the TJ crisis, Plumlee was probably recruited in a pinch and we got lucky with him and Price being so good. I recall that we got Plumlee, Price, and Mahoney as very late recruits. Price was a USM commitment we flipped and both came in as Sophomores causes we needed immediate help. This narrative could be argued.

But instead of having blue chips like Parker Ford, Jared Padgett, kale Beaux, Ethan Small, and Keegan James being a glorious class we ended up needing Cole, Mangum, Brant Blaylock, Plum, Freshman McQ and Price step up for a respectable 2017

What will happen is that someone else will rise up. We are due for some good luck actually, like Centrola, Ginn, Macleod, and Smith becoming 4 interchangeable aces.

The Soundtrack for my post should be this song:

https://youtu.be/w3qPMe_cCJk

[MarketingBully]

If Cerantola can put it together, he's gonna be a mofo! I was glad to see him come in today. There was minimal pressure on him when he came in and shut LSU down in the tourney. That game was definitely over by that time but he was impressive. Today, even though down 3 runs, he had to get an out with 2 runners on and do it on the biggest stage so there was a lot of pressure and he looked good. The first pitch he threw today was something. It darted away from the left handed batter 6" just as it got to the plate. It started off slightly outside so it was a ball but there's no way you'd get a bat on that thing if he'd started it over the middle.

Not only that but he struck out the guy who had 2 homers and 4 RBIs. Sometimes 97-98 will blow by the guy no matter if he’s a lefty or a righty batter especially with where Cerantola was putting it. He had a 96 mph heater he painted the inside black on the guy. He overmatched that Vandy player.

[Homedawg]

Personally I would have used Cerentola against Southern after JT left the game. That was a perfect low risk opportunity and I bet he would have killed it.

I don't know about MacLeoud but I heard he was pretty weak. It would have also affected our roster some by putting him on it.
Actually Macleoud already counted against the roster. He's on baseball aid. All of those count.

[Todd4State]

That's college baseball, until last year nobody was sure what Small would be after TJ. He became the LONE SURVIVOR of the cursed 2015 TJ crisis. I guess Keegan was a survivor, he was Mr Friday or Saturday until he went down just before the 2017 season

Due to the TJ crisis, Plumlee was probably recruited in a pinch and we got lucky with him and Price being so good. I recall that we got Plumlee, Price, and Mahoney as very late recruits. Price was a USM commitment we flipped and both came in as Sophomores causes we needed immediate help. This narrative could be argued.

But instead of having blue chips like Parker Ford, Jared Padgett, kale Beaux, Ethan Small, and Keegan James being a glorious class we ended up needing Cole, Mangum, Brant Blaylock, Plum, Freshman McQ and Price step up for a respectable 2017

What will happen is that someone else will rise up. We are due for some good luck actually, like Centrola, Ginn, Macleod, and Smith becoming 4 interchangeable aces.

The Soundtrack for my post should be this song:

https://youtu.be/w3qPMe_cCJk


We've been due for some good luck for awhile now.


Not only that but he struck out the guy who had 2 homers and 4 RBIs. Sometimes 97-98 will blow by the guy no matter if he’s a lefty or a righty batter especially with where Cerantola was putting it. He had a 96 mph heater he painted the inside black on the guy. He overmatched that Vandy player.


That's why I've liked him the whole time. Ginn and Cerentola can match up with anyone in the country talent wise.

[Todd4State]

Actually Macleoud already counted against the roster. He's on baseball aid. All of those count.

I was talking more about the travel roster. It would have caused us to make some decisions about whether it was worth it to take him on the road or not vs someone else.

[Homedawg]

I was talking more about the travel roster. It would have caused us to make some decisions about whether it was worth it to take him on the road or not vs someone else.

Gotcha... let's just hope he has a full recovery. As you said, we are due some luck.