Predict the 2026 Baseball lineup and rotation

This is the most excited I've been for baseball in a long time. The lineup is absolutely loaded, and the pitching staff should be pretty deep.

Lineup
1. Aidan Teel - CF.....I think this is can be written in with Sharpie. Perfect leadoff guy.

2. Ace Reese - 3B.....Another one you can Sharpie in. Need him to keep raking while improving 3B defense. I'd bat him 2nd bc he'll get more ABs and it opens up the lineup some.

3. Noah Sullivan - DH/1B.....BOC said in an interview that Sully had made real strides at 1B, so I wouldn't be surprised if he played some there.

4. Blake Bevis - 1B/LF..... Big time bat that people are sleeping on. He smashed in the fall.

5. Frei/Wyers - 2B.....Frei's bat is too good to keep out of the lineup. Problem is, he can't really play anywhere. Might seem him platoon some and factor in at 1B, LF, or DH. Wyers played 3B in the fall while Ace recovered from his surgery. The glove is there, it's just a matter of if the bat can adjust to the competition jump.

6. Kevin Milewski - C....I have concerns with his defense, but I think there's no question that the bat is there. Andrew Raymond will get some PT.

7. James Nunnallee - RF.....The most underrated pick up from the portal last year. Gonna be an draft guy in '27.

8. Parker vs. RHP/Chance vs. LHP - LF.....This might start as just Chance in LF to begin the year, but as the freshman gets more experience, I think he'll be too good to keep out of the lineup.

9. Ryder Woodson - SS.....The staff is really high on him. If he struggles then Wyers can slide in and handle it. Woodson has more upside though.


Pitching
Friday: Tomas Valincius.....#8 transfer in the country last year according to 64analytics. Big time LH arm. Write it in Sharpie.

Saturday: Ryan McPherson.....Would be the Friday guy for 95% of the country. Another Sharpie write-in.

Sunday: Foster/Kirk.....Here's the only battle I foresee. Two talented LH arms. Will come down to which one commands more. The other will be an important impact reliever.

Closer: Ben Davis....D1 Baseball reported he's expected to be the guy. I'd prefer a little more swing and miss, but he'll be solid and throw strikes.

Impact reliever #1: Kirk/Foster.....whoever loses the Sunday job.
Impact reliever #2: Tyler Pitzer.....dude was stout last summer. Could see him end up as the closer.
Middle-inning and match up relievers: Sweeney, Burns, Stone, Miller, Booth, Logar, Bauer, Billingsley, Schnoor, Spencer, Gleason

Midweek: no idea.... could be any of those middle inning relievers. Hell, could be Noah Sullivan. Could be a "by committee" approach. Our bats are good enough that it really shouldn't matter.

I'm pumped. Bring on February.

If Ryder Woodson is hitting 9th for us it just shows how insane our lineup is. Same with Chance hitting 8th. That's a .300 hitter. I would flip Ryder and Frei/Wyers in this lineup. Keep Chance where he is. I could see Nunnalee or Chance hitting 9th as well.

I think we will essentially platoon Frei and Bevis most likely. Bevis plays first with Sullivan at DH and then when Frei is in he DH's and Noah moves to first.

Sunday is between Foster and Stone. It sounds like Foster has the edge and therefore Stone will likely start midweek.

I'm surprised about Davis being the closer too. I personally like Pitzker in that role better. We'll see how it plays out. Burns will pitch a lot. He could be a darkhorse for the closer role and maybe even start midweek.

Our top 7 pitchers right now are

Volinicus
McPherson
Foster
Stone
Davis
Pitzker
Burns

I think Maddux Webb will pitch a lot too.

Guys like Bauer, Kirk, Miller, Parker Rhodes- they're probably in the next group.

Maybe one or two of these needs to be redshirted. With this much talent, sitting the bench could cause them to enter the portal next year....when we'll really need them. Coach O has got his work cut out juggling all this talent. Pitching, to me is still more unknown than our hitting. If we can put that puzzle together before we play #1 ranked UCLA in Arlington, we'll give the Bruins more than they want. In fact, I might adjust our rotation to make sure we throw our best vs UCLA.

Foster has the stuff to be the Sunday guy; let?s see how his command progresses. Maybe Duke Stone. I think Kirk is well down the list.

As Todd said, Davis is a little surprising as closer; I?d prefer someone with high spin that is effective up in the zone. Maybe if Davis has or can develop a wipe out slider he might be able to channel a little bit of JT Ginn pre-injury; he already has a power sinker like Ginn had but Ginn?s slider was what set him apart. Pitzer has that devastating breaking ball that will get a lot of swing and miss, assuming he can have elite control of it.

34 has to bat in the top part of the line-up vs RHP's. Dude hit over .400 vs them. A Frei/Bevis platoon could def make sense.

Want to force someone into the portal? RS them. Get them some AB's this year and let them know you are counting on them to take a job in 27

I think we could geek out for a 60 page thread about field positions but in-summary, I see great competition here. In low profile guys:

Utility - Mershon is going to push people. C or OF ready. Blue Chip Recruit.
Catcher - Raymond is a Left Handed hitting catcher, rare but comes with 171 ABs of experience and was streaky good at this previous school.
Utility- Vystas Valincius- Senior RH hitter and brother of the Ace. Was a blue chip recruit and 500 ABs of collegiate experience and hit +350 at Illinois in 2024, sized for power, but hits for average. Probably has 2 years of eligibility if he wants it.
Utility - Chone James - hit 370 as a UVA freshman and was platoon/starting by season-end. Plays many field positions.
1B - Reed Stallman- the 238 hitting guy from Campbell was batting cleanup in the Fall games. He was a productive leader in the box scores. Has 400 collegiate ABs.

I can't remember the last time since 1989 that MSU had these many starter quality players at nearly every position. Experienced too, not just super star freshmen.

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Originally Posted by The Federalist Engineer

I think we could geek out for a 60 page thread about field positions but in-summary, I see great competition here. In low profile guys:

Utility - Mershon is going to push people. C or OF ready. Blue Chip Recruit.
Catcher - Raymond is a Left Handed hitting catcher, rare but comes with 171 ABs of experience and was streaky good at this previous school.
Utility- Vystas Valincius- Senior RH hitter and brother of the Ace. Was a blue chip recruit and 500 ABs of collegiate experience and hit +350 at Illinois in 2024, sized for power, but hits for average. Probably has 2 years of eligibility if he wants it.
Utility - Chone Davis - hit 370 as a UVA freshman and was platoon/starting by season-end. Plays many field positions.
1B - Reed Stallman- the 238 hitting guy from Campbell was batting cleanup in the Fall games. He was a productive leader in the box scores. Has 400 collegiate ABs.

I can't remember the last time since 1989 that MSU had these many starter quality players at nearly every position. Experienced too, not just super star freshmen.

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I know we looked at Mershon as a catcher pre scrimmage but I do not expect him to play catcher for us. Most likely he will be an outfielder. I could see a scenario in 2027 where maybe we play him at first base but corner outfield is by far the most likely.

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Originally Posted by Coach34

34 has to bat in the top part of the line-up vs RHP's. Dude hit over .400 vs them. A Frei/Bevis platoon could def make sense.

Want to force someone into the portal? RS them. Get them some AB's this year and let them know you are counting on them to take a job in 27

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Yeah. I don't think we will redshirt anyone. You might get away with doing that to a legacy like Gleason or a JUCO guy from Mississippi that's just happy to be on the team but those would be the only exceptions.

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Originally Posted by AlSwearengen

Foster has the stuff to be the Sunday guy; let?s see how his command progresses. Maybe Duke Stone. I think Kirk is well down the list.

As Todd said, Davis is a little surprising as closer; I?d prefer someone with high spin that is effective up in the zone. Maybe if Davis has or can develop a wipe out slider he might be able to channel a little bit of JT Ginn pre-injury; he already has a power sinker like Ginn had but Ginn?s slider was what set him apart. Pitzer has that devastating breaking ball that will get a lot of swing and miss, assuming he can have elite control of it.

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I will say that Davis was way better in relief than he was as a starter. I don't remember him really closing any games out for us. He didn't seem to have that Landon Sims swag that you want a closer to have.

James is going to see some time at second. Might be opening day starter.

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Originally Posted by Homedawg

James is going to see some time at second. Might be opening day starter.

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I could see that. He hit .370+ last year and is a really good player.

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Originally Posted by Todd4State

I will say that Davis was way better in relief than he was as a starter. I don't remember him really closing any games out for us. He didn't seem to have that Landon Sims swag that you want a closer to have.

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He has good velocity and that sinker is a wipeout if he can stay ahead and use it. The nice part is that we have options and they have all been in the fire.

So.....We gon be pretty good? I need to know if I should start harassing Kendal Rogers if we're hosting or not!***

go head and get a BnB in Omaha........

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Originally Posted by Coursesuper

He has good velocity and that sinker is a wipeout if he can stay ahead and use it. The nice part is that we have options and they have all been in the fire.

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Davis was really good down the stretch. You also have to believe he will be even better in Y2 in the program.

We have 5-6 guys that could realistically start on the weekend. That right there shows the arm talent. Now you're telling me we have a freshman throwing 100 that is ahead of schedule and may be able to give us 15 innings this season. I cant drive to Dallas fast enough at the end of Feb

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Originally Posted by BeardoMSU

So.....We gon be pretty good? I need to know if I should start harassing Kendal Rogers if we're hosting or not!***

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D1 already says MSU should host. SEC schedule is brutal, however. Be prepared to lose some SEC games.

BOC has the pitching depth to avoid midweek surprises. In 2025- Alabama and Ole Miss hosted with 16-14 records.

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Originally Posted by The Federalist Engineer

D1 already says MSU should host. SEC schedule is brutal, however. Be prepared to lose some SEC games.

BOC has the pitching depth to avoid midweek surprises. In 2025- Alabama and Ole Miss hosted with 16-14 records.

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As good as we are- we could still get to 18 or 19. But 18 wins vs that schedule will be bigtime and get us a Regional and probably Top 8-10 seed

My knowledge of baseball lacks compared to hoops and football but I assume if we can get to 18-12 that should allow us to host and win the regional should be a good goal for O?Connors first year

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Originally Posted by PGHBulldogBG

My knowledge of baseball lacks compared to hoops and football but I assume if we can get to 18-12 that should allow us to host and win the regional should be a good goal for O?Connors first year

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This team's goal is a Super- as it should be every season. Luck and avoiding injuries is what gets you to Omaha. We are a Top 10 team minus injuries

If we get to 18 we are a top 8 wo question unless we have just shit the bed in preseason.

We are currently +2800 to win it all. It's worth a $100 flyer for $2800

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Originally Posted by BeardoMSU

So.....We gon be pretty good? I need to know if I should start harassing Kendal Rogers if we're hosting or not!***

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I think we will be pretty good. Our schedule is a typical SEC schedule- it's not easy but it's never going to be. But right off the bat- I can't see Tennessee being as good as they were with Vitello. South Carolina and Texas A&M have coaches on the hot seat. I feel like we can go toe to toe with anyone in the league. There are a few series we should feel pretty good about right off the bat.

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Originally Posted by The Federalist Engineer

D1 already says MSU should host. SEC schedule is brutal, however. Be prepared to lose some SEC games.

BOC has the pitching depth to avoid midweek surprises. In 2025- Alabama and Ole Miss hosted with 16-14 records.

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I think BOC will make better decisions and manage the team much better than Lemonis did. Pre-SEC play against people like Hofstra and Delaware is the time to tinker and get guys at bats. Lemonis would stay with too many guys too long and then we had holes by the time SEC play rolled around and by the time he adjusted we would have lost a crucial series or two. We can't afford that.

And things like Troy last year- we put in Schnoor and Black in for their first action of the year against a solid Troy team and it blew up in our face. Losses like that are the difference between hosting and not hosting. Especially when you have 2-3 a year.

I also fully expect our fundamentals to be much improved under BOC compared to Lemonis. Bad fundamentals cost us several games under Lemonis and yes I understand "that's baseball" happens and sometimes you have a bad game as a team in baseball but under Lemonis it happened way too much.

I do think our pitching is improved but that sounds like it was a NIL issue and maybe hoping that Justin Parker could pull off a Dave Duncan. However it works out I hope we have some clearly defined roles for our pitching staff. It was just kind of messy the past two years. So, I think it's encouraging that we're naming someone the closer early because that means that BOC at least maybe intends to identify those roles.

The difference in 2026 is the insane depth of quality pitching prospects.

Not everyone is going to pan-out and not everyone is going to be good in March. Some dudes are going to be better or great in May and June.

MSU has Team USA guys like Valincius and McPherson (2 dudes)

Also have premium cape talent like Foster, Pitzer, Duke Stone, and Dane Burns (4)

Also a top-150 draft pick that stayed home: Ben Davis (1)

Also have 3 proven arms with +100 innings of collegiate D1 performance Logar, Webb, and Sullivan (3). Sully may not even pitch but he was the best midweek guy last year, 18 sharp innings with 1.96 ERA and 17Ks only 3 walks.

A national top-100 recruit and Gatorade NJ POY, William Kirk

This factors nothing from quality freshmen like Bauer, Beliveau, Rhodes, or Miller

Also, the crow that I will eat, maybe 6ft 7in Brendan Sweeney (+8 ERA in So Carolina) is going to pull a Tyson Hardin or Chad Girodo to really shove in 2026. PG and D1 called him dominant in the fall.

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Originally Posted by Todd4State

I think we will be pretty good. Our schedule is a typical SEC schedule- it's not easy but it's never going to be. But right off the bat- I can't see Tennessee being as good as they were with Vitello. South Carolina and Texas A&M have coaches on the hot seat. I feel like we can go toe to toe with anyone in the league. There are a few series we should feel pretty good about right off the bat.

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Nm

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Originally Posted by The Federalist Engineer

The difference in 2026 is the insane depth of quality pitching prospects.

Not everyone is going to pan-out and not everyone is going to be good in March. Some dudes are going to be better or great in May and June.

MSU has Team USA guys like Valincius and McPherson (2 dudes)

Also have premium cape talent like Foster, Pitzer, Duke Stone, and Dane Burns (4)

Also a top-150 draft pick that stayed home: Ben Davis (1)

Also have 3 proven arms with +100 innings of collegiate D1 performance Logar, Webb, and Sullivan (3). Sully may not even pitch but he was the best midweek guy last year, 18 sharp innings with 1.96 ERA and 17Ks only 3 walks.

A national top-100 recruit and Gatorade NJ POY, William Kirk

This factors nothing from quality freshmen like Bauer, Beliveau, Rhodes, or Miller

Also, the crow that I will eat, maybe 6ft 7in Brendan Sweeney (+8 ERA in So Carolina) is going to pull a Tyson Hardin or Chad Girodo to really shove in 2026. PG and D1 called him dominant in the fall.

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I'll say this about Sweeney- I wouldn't pay too much attention to his ERA last year. Manieri did some guys pretty dirty last year.

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Originally Posted by Coach34

We are currently +2800 to win it all. It's worth a $100 flyer for $2800

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Serious question here, because I'm not a gambler. If I want to throw down some money on MSU to win it all, where would I do that? Can you do it at a casino in Mississippi, or do you do it online?

Had dinner with old diamond dawg all American pitcher last night. He’s seen a lot of them this fall. He said he has no real idea who the starting 9 will be but we have more depth than pretty much any other team in our league. He loves the older pitchers and said we can mix and match for almost any situation. Said all the freshmen have a ways to go yet. He is very impressed by some of the things this staff has done that y’all might never see, he relaid a story of the head coach having to call a signee about an incident that garnered some attention and had to remind him that he now represents the M over S and if anything like this occurred again he would no longer have a place at MSU. The little things are never going to get overlooked by this staff. That will pay more dividends than any other single thing we can do.

I dont know if one of the casinos will have college baseball futures but online sites do. I use Draftkings for convenience so I dont have to go downtown to bet. FanDuel and Ceasars are out there. Kalshi is legal in every state but I havent checked it out yet

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Originally Posted by Coursesuper

Had dinner with old diamond dawg all American pitcher last night. He’s seen a lot of them this fall. He said he has no real idea who the starting 9 will be but we have more depth than pretty much any other team in our league. He loves the older pitchers and said we can mix and match for almost any situation. .

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Yeah- I can almost guarantee we will have a line-up vs RHPs and then a different one vs LHP's. Probably sub 3-4 guys in/out depending what arm we face

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Originally Posted by Coach34

Yeah- I can almost guarantee we will have a line-up vs RHPs and then a different one vs LHP's. Probably sub 3-4 guys in/out depending what arm we face

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C- Milewski R Raymond L Mershon R
1B- Sullivan R Stallman L Revis R Valincius R
2B- Wyers R Sanders L James R
LF- Chance R Frei S Valincius R Mershon R
RF- Nunnallee L Revis R Parker L Frei S

With these hitting options, a designated pinch runner could be a clutch weapon. If I were a student today, I would present myself to BOC as his Pinch Runner. Would have my HS coach (black gentlemen) tell BOC that I was the fastest non-black person in the history of Mississippi (did not ask how he knew) and how I used to feast on stealing bases on fat-boy righties and lanky lefties. Today, Brenen Thompson would be my guy, if he wants to play baseball in the spring.