Fristoe

[CadaverDawg]

Do we need to start Harding or someone else and try Fristoe out of the pen? He hasn't looked very good lately, and in my opinion it's mostly to do with him living up in the zone. In this league if you're leaving balls belt high, you're going to have trouble. He is struggling with command, and when he is commanding, like I said it's high strikes and it's getting belted. Can't believe MacLeod and Fristoe are giving us so little as starters....reminds me of the Trevor Fitts "1 time through" year. Except twice per weekend

[ShotgunDawg]

He's hit the normal freshman wall & that's fine.

I'd move Bednar to Friday, McLeod to Sat, & let Harding start on Sunday with Fristoe in long relief. By bringing Fristoe in for multi inning relief, you give him a better chance of having success due to knowing he's only going 2-3 innings & can blow it out with his best stuff without having to pace himself. That should raise his confidence & help him get back on the right track.

Scouting reports are extremely detailed at this point in the year, so things get tough. The hitters make adjustments & you have to as well.

[Todd4State]

He's a freshman and I think he is hitting a wall to some degree because he hasn't developed a third pitch yet which has essentially made him an opener at this point in his career.

I don't know. On one hand Fristoe is getting valuable experience that will help him and us down the road. On the other he isn't able to through the 4th inning and he gives up a ton of runs.

What's best for the team might be to start Harding honestly. Although the thing about Harding is he is probably a five inning guy himself.

[Todd4State]

He's hit the normal freshman wall & that's fine.

I'd move Bednar to Friday, McLeod to Sat, & let Harding start on Sunday with Fristoe in long relief. By bringing Fristoe in for multi inning relief, you give him a better chance of having success due to knowing he's only going 2-3 innings & can blow it out with his best stuff without having to pace himself. That should raise his confidence & help him get back on the right track.

Scouting reports are extremely detailed at this point in the year, so things get tough. The hitters make adjustments & you have to as well.

That's the other thing that makes me hesitant about moving Fristoe out of Sunday is I don't know how that might affect him mentally.

[ShotgunDawg]

That's the other thing that makes me hesitant about moving Fristoe out of Sunday is I don't know how that might affect him mentally.

He'll be fine. He's a bull in a China shop. Mentally, he's probably more cut out for being a reliever than starter. He's got some Landon Sims in him

[ZedFedder]

Even Leiter has hit a wall. Florida lit him up today. Fristoe is going to be really good for us. I think even this year he will be super important in the postseason. Right now, though, got to go wit Harding. It was nice to see him hit 90-92 on his fastball.

[HoopsDawg]

Harding should have been our Sunday starter all year. Mac, Bednar, and Harding.

[Hambone]

If you wanna replace Fristoe then you should probably look at replacing McCloud as well……

Neither are sharp right now

[Saltydog]

Yes. Fristoe to the pen and Harding to game 3. I've been saying it for a month now. Harding just knows how to pitch and has three legit pitches. Fristoe has more talent and has way more upside but right now HH should be starting.

[Cowbell]

I actually like starting Fristoe just to see where he is at each day. We just need to pull him faster. Some days he will be pulled fast and some days we might not even need to bring Harding in until the 5th. Then we don't need other relievers early in the game. I would hate to start Harding and he only go 4. That leaves a lot of innings that we have to fill up with leftover relievers from Friday and Saturday.

[CadaverDawg]

I always thought Brandon Smith did well as a starter pre-injury. Would using him as a Sunday starter be an option, or is he not there yet?

Then you could go...

Friday: Mac/Fristoe piggyback
Saturday: Bednar
Sunday: Smith/Harding piggyback

I feel like Mac/Fristoe could get us 6+ combined. Same with Smith/Harding. Get 6 from Bednar and then you have 9 innings left from a combination of...

Tullar
Johnson
Simmons
Stinnett
Sims

Basically an inning each over the weekend. That seems doable

[CadaverDawg]

I actually like starting Fristoe just to see where he is at each day. We just need to pull him faster. Some days he will be pulled fast and some days we might not even need to bring Harding in until the 5th. Then we don't need other relievers early in the game. I would hate to start Harding and he only go 4. That leaves a lot of innings that we have to fill up with leftover relievers from Friday and Saturday.

Yeah that's true. Harding is one of our few matchup guys, so if we can avoid starting him, we can potentially utilize him more when we do get the longer occasional outing from Fristoe. That's another reason I kinda like Smith rather than Harding if we go with a starter other than Fristoe on Sunday

[Cowbell]

Yeah that's true. Harding is one of our few matchup guys, so if we can avoid starting him, we can potentially utilize him more when we do get the longer occasional outing from Fristoe. That's another reason I kinda like Smith rather than Harding if we go with a starter other than Fristoe on Sunday

Yes and same thoughts with Brandon smith. Lemon is using an unconventional approach and I understand. He has been really good with our situational pitching to get us out of jams, most of the time.

[Todd4State]

I always thought Brandon Smith did well as a starter pre-injury. Would using him as a Sunday starter be an option, or is he not there yet?

Then you could go...

Friday: Mac/Fristoe piggyback
Saturday: Bednar
Sunday: Smith/Harding piggyback

I feel like Mac/Fristoe could get us 6+ combined. Same with Smith/Harding. Get 6 from Bednar and then you have 9 innings left from a combination of...

Tullar
Johnson
Simmons
Stinnett
Sims

Basically an inning each over the weekend. That seems doable

Using Brandon Smith as a starter is not a bad idea but we won't do it because he is coming off of Tommy John and he was out against Vanderbilt with a shoulder injury. So it's probably not even on the table.

Personally I kind of like Carlisle Koestler as a starter. He's like a seventh year senior and has been there and done that. I think Koestler could be valuable in a regional but we'll see.

[MaroonFlounder]

Mac has struggled with the 2nd pass thru opposing lineups all year.

A few of those games he has worked through it. Some have blown up in his face. A couple of those outings he has gotten zone-squeezed big time by the hp ump.

[HoopsDawg]

Mac has struggled with the 2nd pass thru opposing lineups all year.

A few of those games he has worked through it. Some have blown up in his face. A couple of those outings he has gotten zone-squeezed big time by the hp ump.

Can't touch Mac on Friday's yet. Just need to have B. Smith ready to go. Good to see Tullar emerge as a matchup guy for us. Adds to our bullpen depth.