Baseball team takes field

[Doc]

First time I have seen our players on new playing surface this fall.

[Roy Munson]

First time I have seen our players on new playing surface this fall.

Do we know what games will be played there this year? I know we front loaded games away and neutral.

[RocketDawg]

Didn't they just sod the field last week? Can't imagine it being settled in yet.

[DownwardDawg]

I expect to win the CWS next season. Is that asking too much?

[Todd4State]

Do we know what games will be played there this year? I know we front loaded games away and neutral.

Almost. The schedule is slowly coming out. Obviously, we'll play fewer than usual but my guess is it will end up being around 25 home games or so.

[Todd4State]

I expect to win the CWS next season. Is that asking too much?

No! The pitching should be much better. I think we at least make a SR again at a minimum. The hitting should be better although without Rooker we won't hit as many home runs unless someone unexpected totally busts out. I'm interested to see how we hit with a full year of Cann. Allegedly he didn't mess with our hitters as much because of the timing of when he was hired last year.

Obviously our program is in transition because of the new coach and now the new stadium being built- but that doesn't mean we won't have a lot of success on the field. Much like last year. If we had any semblance of starting pitching and a bullpen other than Pilkington and Self we probably win the SEC last year.

[Hasu Dackds]

The hitting should be better...

LOL

[Todd4State]

LOL

That's what I said when you told me that Luke Reynolds would be our starting third baseman and Ryan Rigby would be a top 5 round draft pick.

[Todd4State]

Here are my press conference thoughts:

Cann said that Hughes and Small are cleared and Keegan James and Blake Smith will likely be cleared later this fall and all four should be ready this spring. He didn't really talk too much about the pitching individually. I think it will be Pilkington, Billingsley and France more than likely. That's a probable first round pick and two seniors- including one who has pitched in the Cape and the other has been an ace at a strong mid major that has beaten LSU a couple of times. We've got several guys that have closed- Self, Blake Smith, and Price. Not sure if we will have a committee or if they will have actual defined roles but either way we should be pretty strong. We also have a grad transfer from Austin Peay named Zach Neff that could help us out and I definitely think that Small and could help us out of the bullpen. We also have Ashcraft and McQuary who will compete for SEC weekend spots and whoever doesn't get a weekend spot is going to give us a strong midweek starter- likely either a senior or a guy with SEC weekend experience. Cole Gordon could have a big role in the bullpen as well. Cann didn't mention him at first base and that's a good thing IMO because he needs to stick to pitching. He could be a darkhorse candidate at closer. I know our fans will point out that he had some bad outings and he literally couldn't get anyone out in the regionals almost. Some of that was because of our situation with the pitching and the fact that we had to extend guys a lot. Sometimes he would have 3-4 shutout innings and then give up a five spot that would blow up his outing. He also had some lights out moments like he did against Memphis and in the SEC Tournament. I think a full fall of focusing on pitching could allow him to be very good for us. I think Jared Leibelt will help us out a lot too. He reminds me a lot of Justin Pigott. Trysten Barlow has pitched in the Cape but I think he will be a LOOGY for us.

Cather- Skelton and Marshall Gilbert a JUCO catcher are competing for the starting job. We have a third catcher James Basham who is a freshman who might redshirt unless we have some injuries.

Infield- I'll get the mudslinging started- LA and Stovall are competing for the SS job. Cann said LA's range and mobility is a lot better than it was last year. Ultimately I think LA wins it. Just my opinion. If I'm wrong we have a veteran at third base and a senior at SS. If I'm right we have two juniors up the middle who have the potential to be elite defensively. I think both will take a big step forward offensively. Cann mentioned that two freshmen- Tanner Allen and Justin Foscue are competing at second base. At third base he mentioned Jordan Westburg but also talked about his versatility and how he could play any infield position. Look for MacNamee to be our starting first baseman- I like that move.

Outfield- Mangum will start in CF as everyone knows. Talked about how Vansau has built his strength up and looks better at the plate- let's hope his defense is better too. He also talked about Tanner Allen being an outfielder by trade in high school and how depending on how the SS spot shakes out they could move him back to the OF if necessary. If not, Allen will play second base for us. Cann also mentioned that they have made a lot of adjustments with Tanner Poole and they have him hitting more upright and he has made a lot of strides.

Cann said he is doing a lot more teaching as opposed to last year when he was doing mostly evaluating.

[Todd4State]

Depth chart synopsis for those that don't like long posts.

Ace- Pilkington
Sat- Billingsley
Sun- France
Midweek- Ashcraft/McQuary

Closer- Self
Set-up- Price
Set-up- Blake Smith
Girodo/Lindgren role- Cole Gordon
Girodo/Lindgren role- Leibelt
Middle relief- Small
LOOGY- Neff/Barlow

C- Skelton/Marshall Gilbert

1B- MacNamee
2B- Stovall
3B- Westburg
SS- LA

LF- Tanner Allen
CF- Mangum
RF- Vansau/Poole
DH- Poole/Vansau

[BB30]

Depth chart synopsis for those that don't like long posts.

Ace- Pilkington
Sat- Billingsley
Sun- France
Midweek- Ashcraft/McQuary

Closer- Self
Set-up- Price
Set-up- Blake Smith
Girodo/Lindgren role- Cole Gordon
Girodo/Lindgren role- Leibelt
Middle relief- Small
LOOGY- Neff/Barlow

C- Skelton/Marshall Gilbert

1B- MacNamee
2B- Stovall
3B- Westburg
SS- LA

LF- Tanner Allen
CF- Mangum
RF- Vansau/Poole
DH- Poole/Vansau

Sure is nice to see a full pitching staff again... What do you know about France? I'm not as familiar with some of the new guys.. His stuff pretty solid? Strike thrower? Do you not see Small competing for a rotation spot or is that just due to coming off TJ?

[Choctaw Dawg]

Depth chart synopsis for those that don't like long posts.

Ace- Pilkington
Sat- Billingsley
Sun- France
Midweek- Ashcraft/McQuary

Closer- Self
Set-up- Price
Set-up- Blake Smith
Girodo/Lindgren role- Cole Gordon
Girodo/Lindgren role- Leibelt
Middle relief- Small
LOOGY- Neff/Barlow

C- Skelton/Marshall Gilbert

1B- MacNamee
2B- Stovall
3B- Westburg
SS- LA

LF- Tanner Allen
CF- Mangum
RF- Vansau/Poole
DH- Poole/Vansau

Poole is a walk on this year and will be fighting to even be on the team, highly doubt he plays much considering his consistent 3 K a game last year.

[shoeless joe]

I will be pleasantly surprised with any meaningful contribution from any pitcher that has had tommy john since January 2017

[msstate7]

I will be pleasantly surprised with any meaningful contribution from any pitcher that has had tommy john since January 2017

Maybe we can get some effective relief work from those guys till they back fully right

[Hasu Dackds]

I will be pleasantly surprised with any meaningful contribution from any pitcher that has had tommy john since January 2017

The only 2 that are in that boat are Smith and Breaux and yes, I agree with you on them. The rest of those guys had TJ back in mid-2016. I think Keegan James' may have been a little later but he also didn't have a full tear and is supposedly back to full strength.

[Todd4State]

Sure is nice to see a full pitching staff again... What do you know about France? I'm not as familiar with some of the new guys.. His stuff pretty solid? Strike thrower? Do you not see Small competing for a rotation spot or is that just due to coming off TJ?

I saw him pitch against USM a couple of years ago against Tulane and he shut them out. His nickname is "the Tiger Tamer" because he has a history of shutting down LSU. He's not going to light up the radar gun but he throws strikes and mixes his pitches up well.

I think Small will compete for a rotation spot in 2019 unless he is a way ahead of where I envision him being at this point. I think we're going to bring him and the other Tommy John guys along slowly for the most part. Blake Smith may be the exception because from what I understand his tear wasn't a complete tear.

[Todd4State]

Poole is a walk on this year and will be fighting to even be on the team, highly doubt he plays much considering his consistent 3 K a game last year.

I'm going off of what Cann said in his interview. We've seen other players make huge jumps in the past as well- that may be the case with him. It sounds to me like Cann blew everything up with him and started from scratch. Being a walk-on in baseball doesn't mean very much in terms of ability with the scholarship situation baseball has.

[Homedawg]

I'm going off of what Cann said in his interview. We've seen other players make huge jumps in the past as well- that may be the case with him. It sounds to me like Cann blew everything up with him and started from scratch. Being a walk-on in baseball doesn't mean very much in terms of ability with the scholarship situation baseball has.

As for the walkon comment, true. It just means he's not one of the 27 guaranteed a spot. He's one of 12 fighting for one of 8 spots.

[TStationDawg]

I agree and let me add this- I am rooting for Tanner. You've got to have confidence to play this game of Baseball; pure and simple. Talent wise, the kid can play. He just has to regain that confidence that a first year in D1 or Minor Leagues can take from you- and that can be an awfully big hill to climb sometime.

[bulldogcountry1]

I agree and let me add this- I am rooting for Tanner. You've got to have confidence to play this game of Baseball; pure and simple. Talent wise, the kid can play. He just has to regain that confidence that a first year in D1 or Minor Leagues can take from you- and that can be an awfully big hill to climb sometime.

I'll tip my hat to him for not quitting and coming back. We were so thin last season that he had to play a lot more than he should have. Cann had him bunting a lot just to have a chance to put the ball in play. He hit well early in the season, so there is some potential there. He just got in a real bad funk and we didn't have the luxury of playing someone else or trying to save him for match-ups that gave him some confidence.