Baseball next year

[KOdawg1]

Yes, we still have a lot of season left and a lot to play for this year, but I think next year is the year we make some noise.

Definite returning hitters:
Hines; probably plays 1B
Jordan; probably slides over to CF
Highfill; full time catcher
Mershon; will either be SS or 2B
Alford; 3B
Chance; probably LF

Possible returners:
Hujsak; could DH or play a corner OF spot
Downs; we'll see. Could transfer
Forsythe; I think it's best he moves on


Definite returning pitchers:
Jurrangelo; weekend starter
Loftin; probably a starter
Dohm; closer
Holcombe; he might be draft eligible so we'll see
Siary
Gibbs
Logan Forsythe
Yntema
Auger
Simmons
Tapper
(Some of these freshmen will likely hit the portal)

Possible returners:
Nixon; probably getting drafted
Cade; probably getting drafted


So we need a weekend starter in the portal. Can't miss on a Skenes this year. Get that, a LH bat or two, and with the freshman class coming in, we could be locked and loaded for a good year.

[ZedFedder]

Nothing is ?definite? with the portal.

The longer the season has gone on, the more I think 90% of our issues lie at the feet of Foxhall. Get rid of him after the season, go get the WF pitching coach, and you?re back to a top 15 ranking imo.

[StarkVegasSteve]

Get as many can't miss players as you can get and worry about everything else when they get to campus. Take the Arkansas basketball approach to the portal.

[KB21]

I had a dream last night that we got Brody Brecht to transfer in from Iowa.

[KB21]

https://twitter.com/mason_mcrae/status/1635385482250178560?s=46&t=boMwTsd5d1vappV0mJtn8g

[KB21]

https://twitter.com/11point7/status/1641861145584623626?s=46&t=boMwTsd5d1vappV0mJtn8g

[Homedawg]

Holcolmbe isn't draft eligible. Can't see Downs coming back. Hines is going to want assurance he gets to play first bc it effects his draft status. Mershon is penciled in at second.

[confucius say]

Holcolmbe isn't draft eligible. Can't see Downs coming back. Hines is going to want assurance he gets to play first bc it affects his draft status. Mershon is penciled in at second.

No chance Mershon plays ss? I mean i know he's not elite defensively, just interesting. Portal for ss?

[KB21]

There is a chance that we may be able to get Dylan Cupp to campus.

[Coach34]

SS has to be fixed by next season. 3 straight years with a below average player there is ridiculous

[KOdawg1]

No chance Mershon plays ss? I mean i know he's not elite defensively, just interesting. Portal for ss?

I think we have a stud freshman SS coming in next year. Cupp is his last name. If he makes it to school, I think he gets a shot. But portal is definitely an option

[Todd4State]

The biggest thing to me is getting a better pitching coach. With our talent in Loo, Loftin, and Holcombe- that's three former MLB.com top 200 draft prospects out of high school. With a coach that can tap their potential that could be a special rotation. Then Dohm will be back. That's a relief ace/closer right there. I suspect Gartman will be back and he could play the same role Houston Harding played in 2021 as midweek starter potential weekend long relief. We're getting a JUCO guy that has three different arm angles that destroyed the Cape last year. Not sure if we can get Nixon back or not. We're going to have to portal or NIL another relief pitcher or two which is doable. If there is an elite starter we should of course take them like Skenes. I'm sure Brecht is hearing from a lot of SEC teams through the back channels now that he is focused on baseball only. We lost Skenes because LSU got Wes Johnson and we kept Foxhall which makes getting an elite pitching coach huge.

Highfill has to work on defense some but is progressing very well. Owen will help but we may need another catcher out of the portal for depth.

We'll play Hines at first for his draft stock but he needs to work on his defense. Alford will likely start at third and needs to work on his defense as well. If we get Cupp he has a chance to start at SS. I suspect he will progress similarly to our freshmen this year. But you never can tell with freshmen. Mershon should start at either SS or 2B. Forsythe may end up in the portal but he will be in the mix in the MIF if he comes back. Vanderbilt wanted him pretty bad out of high school.

I'm not sure why some people think Aaron Downs will automatically transfer out unless he is unhappy and I don't realize it. We're losing Kellum and Ledbetter so he has an opportunity to find a spot. Dakota Jordan is special. I'd rather Bryce Chance be the DH because of his defense and I'm not sure about his upside defensively. We have some good outfield recruits coming in like Aidan Smith and Nolan Stevens who may win a spot. I'm sure we'll try to find another veteran OF in the portal though like we did with Ledbetter out of the mid major ranks.

[The Federalist Engineer]

Nothing is ?definite? with the portal.

The longer the season has gone on, the more I think 90% of our issues lie at the feet of Foxhall. Get rid of him after the season, go get the WF pitching coach, and you?re back to a top 15 ranking imo.

Seems so. Two catastrophe seasons require changes be made. I would wipe out the entire staff ex-Gotro, but Fox is a good start.

[The Federalist Engineer]

SS has to be fixed by next season. 3 straight years with a below average player there is ridiculous

Got some massive recruits for SS but if they are coming to school - got to portal up.

[Leeshouldveflanked]

No reason to not have a stud SS. Mershon looks to be more of a 2B. I don?t think Alford is the answer at 3B either. This year and last years roster has too much dead weight due to Lemonis loyalty. We need 2 OF?s as well.

[Todd4State]

Got some massive recruits for SS but if they are coming to school - got to portal up.

NIL allows us to offer a guy like Cupp more scholarship money on the front end while we give NIL to guys like Hunter Hines on the backend of their career.

[Todd4State]

Seems so. Two catastrophe seasons require changes be made. I would wipe out the entire staff ex-Gotro, but Fox is a good start.

Let's see how we finish this year. We're in a decent spot at the moment but we could finish on either a high or low note. Having Gartman out isn't super promising at the moment.

[ZedFedder]

What is the likelihood we could pull the Wake Forest pitching coach?

[Coach34]

What is the likelihood we could pull the Wake Forest pitching coach?

If we end up in a Regional- Fox is most likely our PC next season

[the_real_MSU_is_us]

If we end up in a Regional- Fox is most likely our PC next season

Surely not. Last year we finished dead last in the conference in ERA at 6.07. This season were actually WORSE (6.21) and 12th in the conference. Surely 2 straight years of his unit being awful is enough for admin to force Lemones hand

[basedog]

If we end up in a Regional- Fox is most likely our PC next season

IFFY, we go 0-2 he has to be gone, but we gotta ways to go to make Sec tourney. I think 0-2 in Sec tourney could be time as well.

Seeing Georgia beat Arkansas last night was good, IF they win one more then I don't see us getting above them in standings. They have been in a lot close games and lost, seem to be getting better, as we are.

[ZedFedder]

I don?t see Foxhall back, but I could be wrong.

[somebodyshotmypaw]

Definite returning pitchers:
Jurrangelo; weekend starter
Loftin; probably a starter
Dohm; closer
Holcombe; he might be draft eligible so we'll see
Siary
Gibbs
Logan Forsythe
Yntema
Auger
Simmons
Tapper
(Some of these freshmen will likely hit the portal)


How is a player definitely returning, yet likely hitting the portal?

[Homedawg]

I don?t see Foxhall back, but I could be wrong.

Just let the season play out. It's a tough road to save it. 15 more sec games will give a final verdict

[Goldendawg]

NIL allows us to offer a guy like Cupp more scholarship money on the front end while we give NIL to guys like Hunter Hines on the backend of their career.

Who decides how to distribute NIL $. If what I have read on here is true, some questionable expenditures were made for this year's roster.

[Todd4State]

Who decides how to distribute NIL $. If what I have read on here is true, some questionable expenditures were made for this year's roster.

That's probably more of a Charlie Winfield question.

I would guess the coaches have a major say in that. I'm sure they work in conjunction with Charlie on that.

[Coach34]

Surely not. Last year we finished dead last in the conference in ERA at 6.07. This season were actually WORSE (6.21) and 12th in the conference. Surely 2 straight years of his unit being awful is enough for admin to force Lemones hand

Lemonizik and Fox are friends and go way back. Our pitchers are unlikely doing something Lemonizik disagrees with. Now then, there could be blow back from pitcher's families and all kinds of other things going on. These last 15 SEC games will decide alot.

[SpaceBully]

Hope next year starts off better than this one did. Lemonis will be the coach next year. No way Selmon pulls the plug this year even if we perform a super flop and not even make Hoover. Now, next year, if we don't significantly change our trajectory, then Selmon will perform the Nestea Plunge for him. Selmon just hasn't been here long enough to get a feel for our baseball program.....he's getting it now, but it's not enough to fire the Lemon at this point. ONLY......unless Keenum has seen enough will there be a coaching change this year.