Trent Waddell, new BB commit

[Noxdog]

EMCC. LH. Hit 278, 6 hr's, per PJ. Any info on him, particularly what this means with current/new players.

[Coach34]

EMCC. LH. Hit 278, 6 hr's, per PJ. Any info on him, particularly what this means with current/new players.

hit .278- seriously? ****, I hit .285 in juco as a Freshman and I would not have hit SEC pitching consistently. Have times changed THAT MUCH?

[Noxdog]

He is 6' 3", 210 so maybe there is potential, but yea 278. Also 6 hr's and 31 RBI. From T town, bama.

[Ifyouonlyknew]

He's being recruited as a pitcher. Had surgery earlier in the year & only started back pitching late in the season.

[Coach34]

Shit, I hope so

[Todd4State]

He's a Moneyball guy. His .278 AVG is pedestrian. But he has 30 BB's and 27 K's. And of his 35 hits, 11 went for extra bases. His OBP is .435. If he is a pitcher, he had 7 K's in 4 IP with only 1 BB. If he's not healthy, I'd say all bets are off with him as a pitcher.

The other day I said we would probably try to add a JUCO 1B/OF for depth purposes. This appears to be him. If Wes doesn't come back, he will be in the mix at first base. If Wes continues to struggle we may platoon Wes and Waddell.

To me, our absolute worst case scenario is Wes leaving and Robson not coming back healthy. If that happens, we could be in a serious bind because that scenario would mean Humphreys at first base and likely a freshman in RF. Waddell will at least give us another option. And if Waddell struggles as a hitter, he has the option to be LHP as well.

This is not a five star pick-up- but it's a good need pick-up.

[AlSwearengen]

I would expect to sign a juco 1b that hits .350. I'm with Coach on this, .278 in juco just doesn't translate into what you need from a 1b if you are hoping to compete for national titles. A wizard at SS, maybe. But a 1st baseman?

[Todd4State]

I would expect to sign a juco 1b that hits .350. I'm with Coach on this, .278 in juco just doesn't translate into what you need from a 1b if you are hoping to compete for national titles. A wizard at SS, maybe. But a 1st baseman?

I wouldn't be surprised if he's a walk-on.

I think Rea will come back, and then you look at our OF situation and it's probably going to be Humphreys, Cody Brown, and Vickerson. Maybe Robson if he is healthy. JUCO guys are going to study a team's situation because they want to play immediately. Most JUCO first baseman and outfielder are going to look at our depth chart and realize that they are going to have to compete.

Waddell is a LH hitter- which means that he would fit in nicely as a platoon with Rea. Or maybe even someone like Garner if Rea leaves. We don't need a five tool guy- we need someone that can at the very least match Detz's .250 average from this year. He also has the ability to play the outfield if Robson doesn't come back 100%.

[Jacksondevildog]

I talked to a scout yesterday and he said that Rea will not get drafted and Holder has a good chance of coming back.

[BeardoMSU]

He had 1,345 failed sac-bunts for infield fly-outs*****

[Todd4State]

He had 1,345 failed sac-bunts for infield fly-outs*****

That's what's so ironic to me about this- like I said, this is one of the most Moneyball moves we have ever made as far as recruiting. Not great batting average, good OBP, good BB/K ratio, 1/3 of his hits went for extra bases.

Cohen might have made this move because he felt bad for Will James so he decided to throw him a bone.

[BeardoMSU]

he felt bad for Will James so he decided to throw him a bone.

#Sabermetrics

[messageboardsuperhero]

And yes, there are far more important statistics out there than batting average. I wouldn't go to Will James lengths and say it's totally irrelevant- but it's far from the first number I look at when checking out a player's statistics.

Mike Trout and Josh Donaldson are hitting .263 and .280 respectively, but everyone knows they've been two of the best all-around players in the AL this season.

[messageboardsuperhero]

Brett Pitle also hit .222 his sophomore year in JUCO, so forgive me for not worrying about this. If Waddell can give us a few home runs and a little pop from the left side (ala Trey Porter), he's totally worth it.

And if he's a pitcher then that's just another lefty arm. I'm sure the coaches saw something they liked and could develop in him.

[MsStateBaseball]

He is a walk on. If he makes the 35 the first yr he is an option BC he is lefty at 1b and mound. If he doesn't make it, redshirt, don't count against 35.

[RTO Dawg]

He is a walk on. If he makes the 35 the first yr he is an option BC he is lefty at 1b and mound. If he doesn't make it, redshirt, don't count against 35.

Bingo next thread please...

[engie]

He is a walk on. If he makes the 35 the first yr he is an option BC he is lefty at 1b and mound. If he doesn't make it, redshirt, don't count against 35.

Exactly. I love how Cohen handles this. Let walk-ons "commit" and get the praise and moment in the sun -- then give them the exact same opportunity that "scholarship players" get.

Betting the kid is on academic aid >/= any baseball money he could have received...

[MsStateBaseball]

Rea may just sign on as a FA and start playing.

[msstate7]

I talked to a scout yesterday and he said that Rea will not get drafted and Holder has a good chance of coming back.

Wasn't rea draft eligible last year? If he wasn't drafted last year, I can't imagine him being drafted this year

[Homedawg]

Wasn't rea draft eligible last year? If he wasn't drafted last year, I can't imagine him being drafted this year

Yes sir, you are correct on both counts.