Baseball Lineup for Next Year

[Todd4State]

This is of course assuming that we don't take anymore guys in the portal which I do think we will. But this is pretty close to the final lineup probably.

Fri- Pico
Sat- Kevin Mannell
Sun- Jacob Pruett from Indiana State

Midweek- Nolan Stevens. This kind of makes sense to me because then he could work on his pitching and if needed move to the rotation which we have seen happen a lot with our midweek guys.

Luke Dotson, Makhai Grant, JT Schnoor, Will Gibbs, Charlie Foster, and Cade O'Leary are other candidates.

Bullpen

Closer- Grant. I like him here and it would give us a chance to see what he can do now that he is recovering from Tommy John. Electric stuff when he is healthy
Set-up- Dotson
Relief ace- Chase Hungate
Wild card- Noah Sullivan


C- Highfill and Joe Powell. Getting Highfill back will be a good thing.
1B- Hines- should set the school record for home runs
2B- Pulliam or Sawyer Reeves. Maybe Conner Barth. Don't sleep on Reeves. He was a Brooks Wallace nominee and may be an underrated pick up for us.
3B- Gehrig Frei
SS- Cupp. He has a higher ceiling than Mershon. We'll see if he breaks out in 2025.

LF- Stevens. Having a really good summer. I think he breaks out next year.
CF- Ace Reese. Probably my favorite portal pick up for us. He will be in the lineup and I know he was recruited to play OF so I'm putting him here for now.
RF- Reed Stallman. He was recruited to replace Hines but since Hines is returning I think we have to get his bat in the lineup.
DH- Noah Sullivan. He will DH because that's what he was recruited for.
Wild card- Bryce Chance. There is a good chance he will find his way in the lineup. If Frei struggles we can move Reese to third and then rework the OF some. If Stallman struggles we can move Stevens to RF and put Chance in RF.
Freshman who could surprise- Henry Allen. He is a corner guy. So it is conceivable that he could play third base or one of the corner OF spots. I don't think first is likely with Hines coming back but after Hines graduates it is on the table.

Overall thoughts- Not as bad as some may think. My biggest concern would be pitching because it doesn't appear as if we have a clear SEC ace unless Stevens makes a big jump and takes over or Grant heals really well and in that case I'm sure we will be careful with him and not extend him too much. Even with Mershon gone I think the infield actually has a chance to be better than it was last year. Highfill should be better than Long. Hines should hit 15-20 home runs. Frei I think will give us at least what we got with Kohler last year. Cupp is a better defender than Mershon and I think he could put up at least comparable numbers. Pulliam and Reeves are better defensively than Larry. I don't think they will hit 8 home runs but I do think we will get a higher average, OBP, and a better K/BB ratio. Outfield you're not going to replace Dakota Jordan unless Stevens just breaks out next year. That said, I do think that the three guys in the OF that I have starting could hit 10-15 home runs apiece next year. And if that happens that's pretty close to getting what we got out of our OF last year as whole unit. Sullivan will be a clear upgrade at DH.

So I think we have a solid team. If some of the sophomores step up we could be really good.

[smootness]

Oof. Could end up being a solid team, but putting it all out there makes you realize how few solid answers we really have. The infield and pitching are?unproven, to say the least.

[TStationDawg]

What about Loftin? Is he gone?

[Duckdog]

Any word on Rives Reynolds?

[Todd4State]

What about Loftin? Is he gone?

He's still here. I also forgot about Stone Simmons and Gavin Black. Those two will be solid in the bullpen.

[Todd4State]

Oof. Could end up being a solid team, but putting it all out there makes you realize how few solid answers we really have. The infield and pitching are?unproven, to say the least.

I wonder if that is going to be more the norm with the portal. Everyone wanted new players and we got them.

[Coach34]

He's still here. I also forgot about Stone Simmons and Gavin Black. Those two will be solid in the bullpen.

Shit Todd- you left off Dane Burns too. I'm betting a LHP throwing in the 90's is going to get some work

Also- our hitting line-up will be better than 24.

Hines will likely be better and closer to his first two seasons.
Highfill returns and will be a huge upgrade over Long.
Reese hit .278 with 7 HR's as a Freshman and .370 this summer. He is going to be in the middle of our line-up
Usually guys like Trout, Cupp, Pulliam, and others get better each year they play.
Stallman is going to help us a good deal as well

[KOdawg1]

I'm not sold on Stallman. I get he was injured on and off but .239 in the Big South conference ain't exactly inspiring.

[Coach34]

Sullivan is also going to be in there somewhere. He did hit 17 bombs last year

We dont lack options this year like we did in 24

[Commercecomet24]

I wonder if that is going to be more the norm with the portal. Everyone wanted new players and we got them.

It's exactly the way it's gonna be for every sport from here on out with free agency(oops i mean transfers)every single year and nil. Every team in every sport is gonna have big roster turnover every single year, it's the era we're in now.

[Todd4State]

Shit Todd- you left off Dane Burns too. I'm betting a LHP throwing in the 90's is going to get some work

Also- our hitting line-up will be better than 24.

Hines will likely be better and closer to his first two seasons.
Highfill returns and will be a huge upgrade over Long.
Reese hit .278 with 7 HR's as a Freshman and .370 this summer. He is going to be in the middle of our line-up
Usually guys like Trout, Cupp, Pulliam, and others get better each year they play.
Stallman is going to help us a good deal as well

I completely forgot everyone in the bullpen. That's what happens when I post MSU depth charts past my bedtime.

As it is- Burns is like Grant to me. A wild card but if he is healthy and his command improves he could be a potential closer.

I forgot about Ligon too.

[CaptainObvious]

Your forgot the constant, Lemonis.

[Activated Alpha]

Shit Todd- you left off Dane Burns too. I'm betting a LHP throwing in the 90's is going to get some work

Also- our hitting line-up will be better than 24.

Hines will likely be better and closer to his first two seasons.
Highfill returns and will be a huge upgrade over Long.
Reese hit .278 with 7 HR's as a Freshman and .370 this summer. He is going to be in the middle of our line-up
Usually guys like Trout, Cupp, Pulliam, and others get better each year they play.
Stallman is going to help us a good deal as well

Is that hopeful wishing or do you know if he has actively tried to improve his pitch recognition and to utilize hitting the other way. Too many times he struggled this year which led him to spiral even further.

[Todd4State]

I'm not sold on Stallman. I get he was injured on and off but .239 in the Big South conference ain't exactly inspiring.

If he doesn't pan out we will replace him with Chance.

[Pancho]

I think this a potential SR-Omaha type roster. but what about Lemo?

[Coach34]

Is that hopeful wishing or do you know if he has actively tried to improve his pitch recognition and to utilize hitting the other way. Too many times he struggled this year which led him to spiral even further.

I'm betting having a bad season plus the draft snub forces some soul searching and different hitting habits

[Coach34]

I completely forgot everyone in the bullpen. That's what happens when I post MSU depth charts past my bedtime.

As it is- Burns is like Grant to me. A wild card but if he is healthy and his command improves he could be a potential closer.

I forgot about Ligon too.

Yep. This is why I have said and will continue to say this staff is deeper than 24 because well- it is.

[Coach34]

Another thing with Grant and Burns is that they will have more rehab time under their belt than Pico did when he returned in 24. Those two should be stronger and more ready to go whereas Pico had to slowly work to get his strength back

[Offshore Dawg]

He's still here. I also forgot about Stone Simmons and Gavin Black. Those two will be solid in the bullpen.

Old age and memory loss setting in Todd.

[basedog]

Way too early to really know. 17 Sec wins would remarkable. I’m not sure what other teams have coming back. On paper we look ok but replacing maybe our 3 best everyday player may be tough. Still I don’t think we can replace our two best starters, but overall staff looks decent on paper.