baseball tweets....

[MsStateBaseball]

Judging what I read: pitching is ahead of hitting right now, Woodruff looked good, Fitts & Bracewell too, Lindgren fanned 3 in one inning, Paul Young pitched- he just needs reps, too many hitters looking at strike three.

[engie]

Would love to know where Young was on the radar gun. Curious if he's got all of his velocity back...

[TheRef]

Would love to know where Young was on the radar gun. Curious if he's got all of his velocity back...

They said 92-95

[bully99]

Ended in 1 all tie(7inn)' just from what I saw on Twitter. Pitching dominated.Ross Mitchell also pitched.Zack Randolph was 2 _4 according to box

[engie]

That's damn close then.

Awesome. If he's 100%, I'm tempted to get really, really woolly about our pitching staff. Wish Omaha was a more condensed format -- where pitching depth was more of a requirement.

[bully99]

Engie, they still have to cut 5 or 6 players. Any idea who.

[Five-tool Poster]

Judging what I read: pitching is ahead of hitting right now, Woodruff looked good, Fitts & Bracewell too, Lindgren fanned 3 in one inning, Paul Young pitched- he just needs reps, too many hitters looking at strike three.

You failed to mention Preston Brown, who had the best outing of the day.

[messageboardsuperhero]

You failed to mention Preston Brown, who had the best outing of the day.

P. Brown was also very good in the summer and in fall ball- he'll help us this year on the mound.

[Todd4State]

Engie, they still have to cut 5 or 6 players. Any idea who.

Not engie, but if Rooker and Ingram redshirt as it has been rumored, that's two right there. Levi Mintz will probably be redshirted as well. I suspect the other 2-3 will be pitchers, but that's just a guess.

[Todd4State]

P. Brown was also very good in the summer and in fall ball- he'll help us this year on the mound.

He just has to throw a curveball when the coaches tell him to. Last year, he crossed up Butch and LSU hit an eventual game winning home run off of him. I bet he learned his lesson though- plus, he had to wear the pink back-pack of shame.

[bully99]

Todd,from what I've seen, there is about 40 or 41 on the roster and the people who cover the team say you have to be at a solid 35 before the season. Kyle Niblett? Tweeted the other day the roster would be released on February 12 or 13'

[Todd4State]

Todd,from what I've seen, there is about 40 or 41 on the roster and the people who cover the team say you have to be at a solid 35 before the season. Kyle Niblett? Tweeted the other day the roster would be released on February 12 or 13'

That is correct, and it gets confusing.

You have to have a roster of no more than 35 active players. You can have more than that are considered on the team, but only 35 can be active. Players that are redshirting and are walking on don't have to be counted on the 35 man active list. A player that is redshirting that is on scholarship has to be on the 35 man active list.

Using my intuition here- and this is just a guess- the players that are going to redshirt will likely be considered walk-ons for at least this year. Now, they can still get athletic scholarship money later on in their career.

And yes, there is always the possibility that a few players may choose to leave on their own accord or whatever. But it always goes up until the last minute because you want to give everyone every possible chance to prove themselves. And also, you want to see if there are any injuries- for example, a couple of years ago when Bracewell was out for the year, he was not put on the active roster because we knew he wasn't going to be able to play that year.

[mcain31]

Todd, can you post how you feel the depth chart will shake out?

[MsStateBaseball]

I have projected depth chart on my blog.

Any walk on that was redshirted last year is on the chopping block. Once that is done current walk on's will redshirt, Billingsley and Mintz for sure are RS BC they were interviewed and said there were walking on. Rooker and Ingram I don't know if they are walk on. The two JC pitchers not Paul Young, haven't been doing well according to what I read so they might be cut or RS.

[Todd4State]

C- 1A Cody Walker
1B- Daniel Garner
1C- Zach Randolph
1D- Gavin Collins

Cather is totally up for grabs. We're going to see all four and whomever handles the staff the best along with playing the best defense will start. If Garner isn't catching, he could DH/PH.

1B- 1. Rea
2. Detz
3. Garner
4A. Ingram
4B. Rooker

This is Rea's job unless he gets hurt again. Detz has experience there, but I wouldn't be surprised if they went with Garner, Humphries, or Gavin Collins in the event of an injury. If Rea has an injury, there is also an outside chance that they go with Rooker or Ingram if they are on the roster.

2B 1. Pirtle
2. Hann
3. Heck
4. Britton

Solid group to choose from. One of those will also be the starting SS. Hann and Heck would be no doubt starters on a lot of teams.

3B- 1A. Reid Humphries
1B. Detz
2. Hann
3. Britton
4. Collins

I know that a lot of people say that Detz will be the third baseman, but I feel as the year goes along, Humphries defense there will eventually land him the job. If Detz is going to start there, he has to improve defensively. Having an entire season to work on the position will help. Hann is short for the position, but he has the arm. Britton only plays here if he loses the SS job and we have injuries. Collins might be our third baseman of the future with Chase Vallot hopefully joining next year.

SS- 1. Britton
2. Heck
2B- Hann
3. Pirtle

I think Bitton takes a step forward. If he doesn't, he may lose or platoon with Heck who is a very good defender. We'll see if he can hit SEC pitching. If those two don't work out, I think Hann could do the job. Hann also might be a super utility guy for us- and that's a luxury in college baseball and especially with a guy as talented as Hann.

LF- 1. Robson
2. Demarcus
3. Swinarski

Most of our outfielders can play all three positions because we have a lot of CF types. We need that at Dudy-Noble. I'm going to be a little bit lazy and just make sure that everyone gets listed at least once for the outfield positions. I expect Swinarski to get a limited amount of at bats. He's talented though.

CF- 1. CT
2. Jake Vickerson
3. Robson
4. Cody Brown
5. Derrick Armstrong

CT is a senior, and he will pitch some. He just needs to stay healthy. Vickerson is very good and I wouldn't be surprised at all if he starts a lot this year. Cody Brown is a good defensive replacement/PH/PR type of guy. He stole some home runs in some scrimmages. Armstrong is a solid role player and will see some action in spot starts and also as a PH/PR.

RF- 1. Demarcus
2. Reid Humphries
3. Gavin Collins
4. Brent Rooker

Demarcus is a fourth year junior and he has made progress every year. He's a solid player who just needs to refine his game a little bit. Humphries may end up here if he hits like I think he will and also if Detz shows that he can handle third base. I think Rooker eventually ends up in the outfield because he can run really well for someone that is 6'5".

DH- 1. Detz
2. Garner
3. Humphries

Of course, anyone can DH, and certainly you typically want a power hitter here. But Detz's bad has to be in the lineup no matter what. He's a good hitter and has a good eye. I would not be shocked if he led the SEC in batting average this year. Garner has good power, but I hope to see him at catcher. We may play Humphries here if Detz can handle third, but I think Humphries is too good defensively to not find him a spot in the field.

Rotation:

Fri- Woodruff
Sat.- Fitts/Lindgren
Sun.- Hudson, maybe Paul Young, maybe Bracewell

Tues- Hudson or Young, maybe Austin Sexton.

Woodruff is our ace. I think Lindgren will follow the path that Stratton did and start out in the bullpen and then eventually move into the rotation. I think Fitts will be really good because he had a very good summer. Hudson is pretty close to being ready right now, but my hope is that we use him out of the bullpen as a power arm like what Ole Miss did with Drew Pomeranz his freshman year. We're so blessed that Young didn't have to have surgery. He just needs how to learn to be a starting pitcher from a weekly routine standpoint, and then next year he will step into the SEC rotation. If he pitches midweek, he'll see some action against Ole Miss in the Governor's Cup, against a good USM team, and then in the SEC Tournament. Bracewell could start, but I like him better coming out of the bullpen. Sexton will probably get a couple of spot starts early and then go to the pen. CT could start, but I like him better as a CF and LOOGY.

Bullpen:

Holder is the closer and might set some SEC save records this year, Bracewell is experienced and can go multiple innings. Ross is an All-American. I've always like Will Cox and I think he could be another Caleb Reed type of guy with more upside. Myles Gentry will be solid and probably surprise some people. Preston Brown is a good middle relief guy. Like I said, I hope Hudson comes out of the pen as well. We'll see what happens with Lindgren- he may be just more comfortable coming out of the bullpen as opposed to starting. Whatever is best for him is best for us. John Marc Shelly will fight for time. The rest of the freshmen probably won't pitch much this year or will redshirt.

[Todd4State]

I have projected depth chart on my blog.

Any walk on that was redshirted last year is on the chopping block. Once that is done current walk on's will redshirt, Billingsley and Mintz for sure are RS BC they were interviewed and said there were walking on. Rooker and Ingram I don't know if they are walk on. The two JC pitchers not Paul Young, haven't been doing well according to what I read so they might be cut or RS.

That's probably the general group that they are looking at for the final spot. Rooker, Ingram, Billingsley, Mintz, Ben Hudspeth, and Lucas Laster.

Hudspeth was a good catcher in high school. If I were Cohen, I'd give him a look behind the plate as well.

[Thrill1]

I have on pretty solid authority at least seven red shirts are the following:

Ingram
Rooker
Mintz
Houston
Geyer
Swinarski
Irby

[bully99]

If Swinarski red shirts,would it have been better for him to stay and play his senior high school year.

[preachermatt83]

will cox will def be in the hunt for a starting roll

[Todd4State]

If Swinarski red shirts,would it have been better for him to stay and play his senior high school year.

In my personal two cents opinion- yes. To me, there is more value in playing your senior in high school rather than skipping it. Unless you are Bryce Harper.