Agree, I would be happy if I never saw CT take the mound again. Especially with the crop of pitchers we just brought in. There is no need, plus, as you said he just hasn't been overly impressive.
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I agree with this as well. I think Rooker ends up in the outfield eventually because he can run even though he is 6'5". Another possibility is Trent Simpson who is on the football team. I'm not sure if he will play baseball or not- we'll know for sure in the spring. To me, Simpson is our best first base prospect that is a freshman.
Other thoughts: Britton has turned his play up a notch, those 4 MIF Heck, Pirtle and Hann is a really good group. Detz and Humphreys at third, Rea at first, I don't worry about small injuries like I used to. This team is pretty talented at each spot just need to keep going in the November signing period.
Also- we have talked some in the offseason about replacing Renfroe's power. I can see Rea hitting 15 home runs if he is healthy- but I think the guy that can replace Rea's power from last year could be Daniel Garner. And that is only going to take pressure off of Reid Humphries, which should in theory lead to better production out of him.
There are so many benefits to having competition. What happens in recruiting is you get people that aren't afraid to compete. And then once they get to campus, they push each other to perform at a high level. You also end up with a bunch of people that want to beat the other teams ass- and isn't afraid to knock down LSU's hitters just because they are LSU.
I bet they pitch CT every weekend 3 plus innings to see what he can do. Treat him more like a pitcher this fall and see what happens.
I love this about Cohen. He realizes the postseason games in June are more important in college baseball than the games in March, so he messes with the lineup for about half of SEC play until he absolutely knows we have guys in their best roles for the stretch run. That's why we tend to struggle some offensively early, but always improve by the end of the year. I don't think it's any coincidence that we have always played our best baseball at the end of the year under Cohen; it's by design.
The middle of our infield is really deep. That's another reason why I wouldn't mind seeing Humphreys in the outfield. We could DH Detz, put Hann at third (he's good there too), and still have Britton, Heck, and Pirtle in the middle. Again, it seems like we have so many great options and flexibility all over the field.
Yeah CT got hit pretty hard today.
3 IP... 5 H (3 doubles, 2 singles)... one walk.... one K.
58% of balls in play were line drives.
After seeing Garner this weekend, if he plays regularly, there's no reason why he shouldn't hit 5-10 bombs this year.
Humphreys has a lot of power, but it's mostly gap power for right now. That could change by spring though.
Also, has anyone else noticed how well Armstrong hit the ball this weekend? He looks much more confident now than he did last year.
I'm so fired up for MSU baseball. Especially after the frustration this football team is causing. I am typically all about football, but as of right now, I'm ready for our 5-7'season to complete and bring on the baseball. Hell I'm even looking forward to basketball...at least relentless effort is actually used in Ray and Cohen's programs.
It's THIS^^ mentality that I wish our football team would adopt. Even if you end up losing, at least show the big boys you aren't afraid to punch their asses in the mouth. Now we are a big boy again in baseball, and we have that attitude to partly thank for it. Love Cohen and our team's mindset
Since we made that run in Omaha this year, I can't say that was the highlight of my year for the baseball team- but it's definitely top five. The funny part about it was watching our team laugh at LSU while they were acting like a bunch of girls. At that point- I knew our team was going to be OK the rest of the year.
Its early in the fall and I do not know what kind of player Jake Vickerson is/will be, but he is making a case as someone earlier said for a spot and the leadoff spot.
So far in 10 plate appearances he has drawn 4 walks to go along with 2 hits, one being a double off of a LH Bradford. Apparently he has some wheels too.
He leads all hitters so far this fall with 4.50 pitches/plate appearance. Team average is 3.56. Sounds like a leadoff candidate to me
***Again very small sample size off of mostly scrubs we've been pitching***