For all of you concerned about our pitching next spring......

[Goat Holder]

Zac Houston just named Pitcher of the Week in his league.

He and Avery Geyer are two guys that don't get mentioned much, but both were rated highly by Perfect Game. For some odd reason, Houston didn't get many accolades even though he was 9/5 of 10 on PG (same as Collins), while Geyer got quite a few awards in the Pensacola area. Both had good offer lists. Bottom line, two talented players that we really don't ever hear about.

I'm not worried about pitching at all. I think we'll be dominant there. Maybe not quite as good as Vanderbilt in the starting rotation, but nobody is. 3 potential 1st rounders.

[dickiedawg]

IT'S TOO LATE. Voting in Mr. Pessimism is closed.

Seriously, though, this is good info.

[HancockCountyDog]

Zac Houston just named Pitcher of the Week in his league.

He and Avery Geyer are two guys that don't get mentioned much, but both were rated highly by Perfect Game. For some odd reason, Houston didn't get many accolades even though he was 9/5 of 10 on PG (same as Collins), while Geyer got quite a few awards in the Pensacola area. Both had good offer lists. Bottom line, two talented players that we really don't ever hear about.

I'm not worried about pitching at all. I think we'll be dominant there. Maybe not quite as good as Vanderbilt in the starting rotation, but nobody is. 3 potential 1st rounders.

What summer league is he playing in? Is he at the Cape? If so, that is awesome.

[Goat Holder]

IT'S TOO LATE. Voting in Mr. Pessimism is closed.

Ha, no doubt. While I am very proud of my hardware, it's amusing to me that people can't distinguish positive/negative from reality. I'm typically positive regarding baseball, because, you know, we're good and have good history. I'm negative about football because we typically ain't good and don't have history. Not sure what's so negative about wanting to wait/see instead of declaring Prescott as the Black Tebow.

[Pioneer Dawg]

What summer league is he playing in? Is he at the Cape? If so, that is awesome.

New England league, separate from the Cape

[MsStateBaseball]

And on top of his highly skilled pitching accolades, Zac has a smoking hot girlfriend...see twitter for that.

Another pitcher I am high on is Daniel Brown from Tyler Tx JC. He was 1st Team AA for his JC conference. He was virtually unhittable. This guy is the shut down pitcher for next spring. When in trouble, bring him in.

[Goat Holder]

Agree, heard great things about him.

[dickiedawg]

And on top of his highly skilled pitching accolades, Zac has a smoking hot girlfriend...see twitter for that.

Uh... Yeah she is.

[ScoobaDawg]

And on top of his highly skilled pitching accolades, Zac has a smoking hot girlfriend...see twitter for that.

CONFIRMED. She must be 4' though.

[War Machine Dawg]

CONFIRMED. She must be 4' though.

Indeed. She is HAWT.

[engie]

I'm not worried about us getting "good" pitching overall -- I'm worried about us having a guys step up to become ELITE and consistent starters in a way that can carry us. That's the part we've been lacking since Stratton left IMO...

[MsStateBaseball]

I hear you, engie. We are almost there. You will see the jump in the spring.

[Pioneer Dawg]

I hear you, engie. We are almost there. You will see the jump in the spring.

Who do you think makes the jump for us? What's the rotation you see coming

[Goat Holder]

Who do you think makes the jump for us? What's the rotation you see coming

I see Fitts, Laster and P. Brown starting out. That's good for two reasons.....we know what we have, and if we DON'T see this same rotation come regional time, we will know some other more talented guy like Hudson stepped up. Second reason.....they are pretty good pitchers. Especially with the bullpen we will have (Real Deal, Tatum, Gentry for starters).

[MsStateBaseball]

Trevor Fitts, Sr.
Ross Mitchell, Sr.R
Preston Brown, Jr.R
Austin Sexton, So.
Dakota Hudson, So.
Paul Young, So.R
Lucas Laster, Sr.
Vance Tatum, So.
Daniel Brown, So. JC Tr

This is my list before fall to choose from. Fitts is Mr Dependable, I don't believe he started and got killed once last year. We all wish he could go 6 innings, maybe he can do a little better in 2015. Mitchell has shown what he can do but he needs to be in the bullpen, long relief. Brown certainly pitched well but what is his health condition. Sexton performed well in spots and has in summer, he just needed experience and put on muscle. Hudson is the one that needs to separate himself. He should be Friday or Saturday starter. Young is the wildcard. I have heard he is well. He has the tools, he is another that needs experience and repetition on the mound. Laster in spot starts late in the year, certainly showed his stuff. But he is a spot starter, long relief guy. Tatum again showed flashes here and there. Weight room and repetition (bullpens) will do him good.

As of today, my wish is, Friday-Hudson Saturday-Young Sunday-Fitts. These guys will not go 6 innings each weekend that is why we have these other potential starters. Of course all of these guys are righties. We need a LHP or two to start against certain teams. Look at Butch's recruiting. He is getting more and more LHP starters. That is where the strength of the staff is shifting.

I'm anxious to see Waddell pitch too. We will have lots of talent in the pitching staff. Another busy fall for Butch seeing all the new guys.

[msstate7]

I'm not worried about us getting "good" pitching overall -- I'm worried about us having a guys step up to become ELITE and consistent starters in a way that can carry us. That's the part we've been lacking since Stratton left IMO...

Yes. We have got to be better starting games

[AlSwearengen]

Don't sleep on Houston. He came to Starkville needing to learn to pitch, which hopefully he is doing. 6'6" coming out of high school and I was told that he had gotten his velocity up to 93 toward the end of the season. One thing I noticed in a couple of mop up stints is it looked like he was throwing a heavy 90/91 mph fastball. A heavy fastball with good velocity is a good place to start, especially from a really tall pitcher.

[MsStateBaseball]

I was naming potential starters. Houston certainly could fit in the bullpen. I think when he is a Jr, you will see him start. Of course, we will know more in the fall. We need hard throwers at the end of games now.