Catching

[Homedawg]

For discussion not a riot.
I'm not saying highfill isn't our future. And maybe sooner rather than later. Moreso bc we are better at first when he catches. And I get they have run on Luke more, Mostly bc of more opportunities, combined with poor times to the plate and other factors. With all that said Hancock has 5 starts one pb. Highfill has 3 starts and 5 pb. Again just food for thought.

[Commercecomet24]

Homedawg gets it! Highfill has a high ceiling and is gonna be good but he's still to jittery and not settled enough back there, yet. SEC pitchers a little different than high school pitchers. He'll adjust with time but once again more to catching than just throwing, way more! Luke's a better receiver and blocks better right now, but as Homedawg said Luke at first makes our defense better too. Great post!

[StarkVegasSteve]

Agree with all points. Luke started the season back there because he was a better receiver. Otherwise it would've been Highfill. Highfill needs to be catching one to two games a weekend still so that we can get him acclimated and continue to refine his receiving skills behind the plate so that hopefully by April he's our full-time guy back there and we can move Hancock to weekdays and maybe one game a weekend here and there.

Luke needs to stay in the lineup though. His bat has been great so far this year.

[Homedawg]

Agree with all points. Luke started the season back there because he was a better receiver. Otherwise it would've been Highfill. Highfill needs to be catching one to two games a weekend still so that we can get him acclimated and continue to refine his receiving skills behind the plate so that hopefully by April he's our full-time guy back there and we can move Hancock to weekdays and maybe one game a weekend here and there.

Luke needs to stay in the lineup though. His bat has been great so far this year.
I think splitting time is what they are gonna do or close. But that's my opinion. Pros and cons want way we go. Give up offense here. Get defense there. Give up defense here take it there. It's a puzzle. Who is pitching is important. For the opposing team and for us....

[Commercecomet24]

I think splitting time is what they are gonna do or close. But that's my opinion. Pros and cons want way we go. Give up offense here. Get defense there. Give up defense here take it there. It's a puzzle. Who is pitching is important. For the opposing team and for us....

Agree on all.

[AlSwearengen]

Back when Highfill flipped to us, the story was that he had tons of upside but was a late bloomer and had alot of work to do and polishing up before he would be ready. He is probably further along at this point that I was expecting though. Hopefully we have plenty of low pressure opportunities to get him time behind the plate.

[Todd4State]

Didn't Luke throw some people out this weekend? Or am I making that up?

[Todd4State]

I think ideally you would want Highfill and Hancock to split the load. We may have to match it up based on how much a team runs too. Catching in this league as a freshman is really tough.

Highfill has hit pretty well but I like our lineup better offensively with this group:

C- Hancock
1B- Hines- he needs to work on his defense anyway
2B- Larry
3B- Alford
SS- Forsythe
LF- Jordan
CF- Ledbetter
RF- Clark
DH- Chance

[StarkVegasSteve]

Didn't Luke throw some people out this weekend? Or am I making that up?

He technically threw 1 out, although it was a terrible decision because he let the run score on the 2 out double steal. Teams are 17-19 on SB attempts on him this year.

[Commercecomet24]

They said on the broadcast today no sec team has thrown out more than 2 base runners so far this year. Everyone's getting run on because pitchers aren't interested in holding runners only on how hard they can throw. Holding runners is becoming a lost art.

[Lord McBuckethead]

Look, in SEC world, every single is going to be a double. Runners will take third if there is less than one out. Hancock hasn?t been close in 17 of 19 throws. Hasn?t sniffed the panties of throwing someone out.

[BrunswickDawg]

They said on the broadcast today no sec team has thrown out more than 2 base runners so far this year. Everyone's getting run on because pitchers aren't interested in holding runners only on how hard they can throw. Holding runners is becoming a lost art.

The pitch clock is giving any decent runner an advantage. Pitchers are focusing on that instead of runners and they are getting better leads and jumps. Catchers stand no chance. Steals are up across the board and as you said, no SEC team has more than 2 CS by catchers.

[Todd4State]

They said on the broadcast today no sec team has thrown out more than 2 base runners so far this year. Everyone's getting run on because pitchers aren't interested in holding runners only on how hard they can throw. Holding runners is becoming a lost art.

Interesting.

At some point the bio mechanical side of the game has to intersect with the fundamentals.

[Pancho]

the clock is ticking......gotta get the ball to the plate

[Cowbell]

They said on the broadcast today no sec team has thrown out more than 2 base runners so far this year. Everyone's getting run on because pitchers aren't interested in holding runners only on how hard they can throw. Holding runners is becoming a lost art.

Pitch clock working in favor of runners too

[Cowbell]

The pitch clock is giving any decent runner an advantage. Pitchers are focusing on that instead of runners and they are getting better leads and jumps. Catchers stand no chance. Steals are up across the board and as you said, no SEC team has more than 2 CS by catchers.

This is dead on. Pitchers need to throw over just to reset the clock

[Tbonewannabe]

This is dead on. Pitchers need to throw over just to reset the clock

But they only have 3 times to throw over also.

[Pancho]

what?

[Saltydog]

For discussion not a riot.
I'm not saying highfill isn't our future. And maybe sooner rather than later. Moreso bc we are better at first when he catches. And I get they have run on Luke more, Mostly bc of more opportunities, combined with poor times to the plate and other factors. With all that said Hancock has 5 starts one pb. Highfill has 3 starts and 5 pb. Again just food for thought.

Yep and it was a problem in the fall and in the preseason scrimmages as well.

[Lord McBuckethead]

But they only have 3 times to throw over also.

If that is the case, then they really only have 2 times to throw over. If a pitcher does throw over 3 times, the lead taken will get increased and make stealing even easier. We need a catcher with a snap pick off throw, but by the time that play happens, the runner is 2/3 of the way to 2nd.

[sandjunky]

But they only have 3 times to throw over also.
3x per game or AB?

[Commercecomet24]

The pitch clock is giving any decent runner an advantage. Pitchers are focusing on that instead of runners and they are getting better leads and jumps. Catchers stand no chance. Steals are up across the board and as you said, no SEC team has more than 2 CS by catchers.

I think this is a HUGE issue, everyone has the stupid pitch clock on the brain now and its not helping the game at any level! I looked at caught stealing across the country and stolen base percentages are astronomically high. No one is throwing our base runners with any consistency. I mean how many times how we been caught stealing this year? Once? You combine pitchers only focused on their velo and spin rate and not worrying about keeping runners close(slide step, varying deliveries, good pickoff moves,etc..) with the stupid pitch clock and teams are taking advantage. It's really leaving catchers no margin for error.

[StarkVegasSteve]

I think this is a HUGE issue, everyone has the stupid pitch clock on the brain now and its not helping the game at any level! I looked at caught stealing across the country and stolen base percentages are astronomically high. No one is throwing our base runners with any consistency. I mean how many times how we been caught stealing this year? Once? You combine pitchers only focused on their velo and spin rate and not worrying about keeping runners close(slide step, varying deliveries, good pickoff moves,etc..) with the stupid pitch clock and teams are taking advantage. It's really leaving catchers no margin for error.

Didn't realize how good our steal numbers were til I went and looked last night. We're 15-15. Ledbetter already has 7, Larry has 4, and Lane has 3. To put that into perspective we were 44-54 ALL of last year and 74-92 ALL of 2021. If we even stay close to our current pace we'll probably steal somewhere between 60-75 bases just in the regular season.

[Commercecomet24]

Didn't realize how good our steal numbers were til I went and looked last night. We're 15-15. Ledbetter already has 7, Larry has 4, and Lane has 3. To put that into perspective we were 44-54 ALL of last year and 74-92 ALL of 2021. If we even stay close to our current pace we'll probably steal somewhere between 60-75 bases just in the regular season.

I love the running game! I used to run teams ragged! When you get a reputation as a running team other teams infield, pitchers and catchers get jittery when you get runners on!

[Saltydog]

They said on the broadcast today no sec team has thrown out more than 2 base runners so far this year. Everyone's getting run on because pitchers aren't interested in holding runners only on how hard they can throw. Holding runners is becoming a lost art.


And yet another reason why the pitch clock isn't slowing the game down any. I think it's the exact opposite. You take the increased stealing and a tighter strike zone into account I could see the games being longer, not shorter. I'd like to see some stats.......

[Commercecomet24]

And yet another reason why the pitch clock isn't slowing the game down any. I think it's the exact opposite. You take the increased stealing and a tighter strike zone into account I could see the games being longer, not shorter. I'd like to see some stats.......

I 100% agree with this! College pitchers already struggle some with command but add the "hurry up and pitch" coupled with a minute strike zone=more baserunners=longer games and you're defeating the purpose of speeding up the games! I heard Charlie and Bart talking about this very thing this weekend. They should just leave the game alone! I hate Rob Manfred cause all his stupid ideas are trickling down to every level!

[BrunswickDawg]

I love the running game! I used to run teams ragged! When you get a reputation as a running team other teams infield, pitchers and catchers get jittery when you get runners on!

I'd be running like the early 80s Cards!! It's going to be interesting watching both college and MLB as they adjust to these clocks. I know advance stats say that stealing is pointless. However, if the odds of advancing a base or 2 are 100%, then you are stupid not to do it. The by product is that you will constantly put pitchers and defenses on edge. When they are on edge they make more mistakes (defensively and in pitch location)

[State82]

When you get a reputation as a running team other teams infield, pitchers and catchers get jittery when you get runners on!

Absolutely. It is another big part of the game that probably gets less attention than it should.

[DawgFromOxford]

And yet another reason why the pitch clock isn't slowing the game down any. I think it's the exact opposite. You take the increased stealing and a tighter strike zone into account I could see the games being longer, not shorter. I'd like to see some stats.......

I don't know if it translates the same to the college level but at least in the minor league and spring training it's working really well at speeding up the games.

"Over the first weekend of spring training games, the average game time was 2:38. That’s down 23 minutes from last year’s spring training average. When pitch clocks were tested in the minors last year, the average game time dropped by 25 minutes," https://espnswfl.com/2023/02/27/baseballs-new-pitch-clock-is-already-making-the-games-faster/

[Commercecomet24]

I'd be running like the early 80s Cards!! It's going to be interesting watching both college and MLB as they adjust to these clocks. I know advance stats say that stealing is pointless. However, if the odds of advancing a base or 2 are 100%, then you are stupid not to do it. The by product is that you will constantly put pitchers and defenses on edge. When they are on edge they make more mistakes (defensively and in pitch location)

Yes, THIS! In talking with coaches over the years they all hate teams that run all the time!

And its fun for the players and coaches!

[Thick]

Just FYI, but going into Sunday?s game no one had thrown out more then 2 base runners and we?re not last in the league.

[Commercecomet24]

Just FYI, but going into Sunday?s game no one had thrown out more then 2 base runners and we?re not last in the league.

Yep, its an epidemic in college baseball right now.

[Commercecomet24]

We haven't been great at holding/throwing out runners but the games when we have allowed 20+ baserunners make it look worse than it actually is. 25 baserunners against vmi in a game, 24 against asu friday night. Allowing that number of base runners is sure gonna increase the number of stolen base attemps. Don't walk a small village in a game and some of this will be taken care of.

[Tbonewannabe]

3x per game or AB?

I might have the new MLB stuff and college mixed up but I think it was 3 times per AB. The third time basically has to pick theme off or they get a free base. So the third attempt to pick off a runner at first and they are either going to be out or at 2nd.

[Todd4State]

I'd be running like the early 80s Cards!! It's going to be interesting watching both college and MLB as they adjust to these clocks. I know advance stats say that stealing is pointless. However, if the odds of advancing a base or 2 are 100%, then you are stupid not to do it. The by product is that you will constantly put pitchers and defenses on edge. When they are on edge they make more mistakes (defensively and in pitch location)

You can steal bases in MLB but you need to be able to do so at about a 65% success rate to be score more runs.

[Thick]

We haven't been great at holding/throwing out runners but the games when we have allowed 20+ baserunners make it look worse than it actually is. 25 baserunners against vmi in a game, 24 against asu friday night. Allowing that number of base runners is sure gonna increase the number of stolen base attemps. Don't walk a small village in a game and some of this will be taken care of.

Walks are indefensible, but are preventable.

[Pancho]

We have Jackson Owen from starkville high, now @ NEMCC committed at catcher. who else are we recruiting at that position. I doubt Owen will take innings from Highfill by next season.

[Todd4State]

Didn't realize how good our steal numbers were til I went and looked last night. We're 15-15. Ledbetter already has 7, Larry has 4, and Lane has 3. To put that into perspective we were 44-54 ALL of last year and 74-92 ALL of 2021. If we even stay close to our current pace we'll probably steal somewhere between 60-75 bases just in the regular season.

We changed our team's offense in the offseason for the better. We added speed and didn't really sacrifice much power in the process.

[Todd4State]

I 100% agree with this! College pitchers already struggle some with command but add the "hurry up and pitch" coupled with a minute strike zone=more baserunners=longer games and you're defeating the purpose of speeding up the games! I heard Charlie and Bart talking about this very thing this weekend. They should just leave the game alone! I hate Rob Manfred cause all his stupid ideas are trickling down to every level!


I'd be running like the early 80s Cards!! It's going to be interesting watching both college and MLB as they adjust to these clocks. I know advance stats say that stealing is pointless. However, if the odds of advancing a base or 2 are 100%, then you are stupid not to do it. The by product is that you will constantly put pitchers and defenses on edge. When they are on edge they make more mistakes (defensively and in pitch location)

That's why I like balance in a lineup. Because when you can put pressure on another team then when you're big power guys are at the plate they end up getting some fat pitches more often- makes it easier on them.

To me, there is nothing easier to defend than a bunch of power hitting station to station free swingers. All you have to do is throw it in the area code and let them get themselves out.

[Todd4State]

We have Jackson Owen from starkville high, now @ NEMCC committed at catcher. who else are we recruiting at that position. I doubt Owen will take innings from Highfill by next season.

We have Hubbard and Highfill and as you said Owen committed. Catcher is more of a need after next year's class but we'll be fine.

I wouldn't be shocked if we get Jacob Keys in the portal a few years down the road after Highfill graduates.

[the_real_MSU_is_us]

Interesting discussion.

If the rules make it easier to steal 2nd, the answer is to not put men on 1st. Those free walks will hurt more than ever this season.

Pound the zone and trust the defense. I also feel like we haven't stolen many bases this year, but with the Clark and Hines slides we've seen so far I'm not sure I want us to lol

[Commercecomet24]

Interesting discussion.

If the rules make it easier to steal 2nd, the answer is to not put men on 1st. Those free walks will hurt more than ever this season.

Pound the zone and trust the defense. I also feel like we haven't stolen many bases this year, but with the Clark and Hines slides we've seen so far I'm not sure I want us to lol

We're 15-15 in stolen bases. Not bad at all.

[Randolph Dupree]

I don't know if it translates the same to the college level but at least in the minor league and spring training it's working really well at speeding up the games.

"Over the first weekend of spring training games, the average game time was 2:38. That?s down 23 minutes from last year?s spring training average. When pitch clocks were tested in the minors last year, the average game time dropped by 25 minutes," https://espnswfl.com/2023/02/27/baseballs-new-pitch-clock-is-already-making-the-games-faster/

I hate the pitch clock, BUT don't disagree that there is a lot of time wasted while guys step out of the box and readjust everything for every pitch. There has to be a better way to regulate that than a pitch clock though. One thing that chaps me though is that we can watch football for 3 hours and nobody has an issue but a 3 hour baseball game is too long? MLB wants to get more eyes on baseball? End the stupid blackout and make more games accessible to people ($$).



Really great thread!

[Cooterpoot]

Don't walk batters and stolen bases are far less a concern. But I think Highfill is the everyday starting C soon. He's hitting it pretty well and that was the concern with him.
This baseball clock bullshit is a 17ing shame. Let's do everything we can to ruin the game.

[Offshore Dawg]

Solve part of the problem by not walking anybody!!

[KB21]

Don't walk batters and stolen bases are far less a concern. But I think Highfill is the everyday starting C soon. He's hitting it pretty well and that was the concern with him.
This baseball clock bullshit is a 17ing shame. Let's do everything we can to ruin the game.

I think Ross is the better pitch framer already. I like Luke, but he's not getting some of the borderline pitches called a strike due to his framing technique. Logan Tanner knew how to frame the borderline pitches and fool the umpire.

[PMDawg]

It's already been said, but 90% of our problem is walking opposing batters. Cut our walk rates down to something manageable, and we're actually a pretty good team. Walks make errors hurt more, they give an opportunity to steal, they make pitch counts go up so we use more pitchers, off target pitches cause passed balls, the list goes on and on. Cut the walks, and we're instantly a much better team.