Monday Morning Shortstop

[Todd4State]

Putting Frei at 2nd puts Sanders on the bench and he seems to be better defensively and is hitting around.500. It is a great problem to have.

Gatlin had 1 AB prior to last week. I'd like to see more of him before I put much stock into his average.

Don't forget about Sawyer Reeves when Cupp comes back. He is a better defensive player than Sanders or Frei.

Not as good a hitter as Frei but he is hitting better now than he was early in the year and I think when push comes to shove he is going to eventually take the job.

[Todd4State]

Weekend:

(1) Pico
(2) Davis
(3) Opener

I don't like Ligon or Simmons to start but both would be awesome SEC Middle Relief. Pruitt is middle relief too. Maybe McPherson can start and not freak out. Konor Pilkington did this in 2016.

Hell, maybe Gavin Black can start. He needs a role.

Anyone notice there is not a closer? Is this Williams?

Davis earned the Saturday spot. I just hope his blister isn't an issue. That may be why we are holding Pruitt back because to be honest Ligon didn't lose his job on Sunday.

I think our best rotation would be Pico, Davis, and McPherson. I wouldn't be surprised at all if that is what we have at the end of the year. Pruitt will probably get a shot at some point. They have been messing with Ligon's release point some from what I have heard so if it clicks with him at some point that would be awesome.

[Coursesuper]

Don't forget about Sawyer Reeves when Cupp comes back. He is a better defensive player than Sanders or Frei.

Not as good a hitter as Frei but he is hitting better now than he was early in the year and I think when push comes to shove he is going to eventually take the job.

That kid is hitting around .200, this lineup has enough holes in it already. The only way the Reeves should see the field the is if its an injury situation.

[Coursesuper]

The good news about catcher is we know that Powell can do the job. Highfill missed a lot of time rehabbing and just started throwing I think in December. It has definitely put him behind developmentally. He seems to grab at the ball sometimes and that would be where a lot of his passed balls come from if I had to guess. Not sure what his future path is with MSU but I could definitely see him switching positions next year (OF? 1B?) when some guys graduate. We have some elite catching prospects coming in if we can get them through the draft plus there is also the portal of course if we need a catcher. I think recovering has also affected him offensively some- we know he has power but it hasn't shown this year which is kind of similar to Aaron Downs last year who also wasn't 100%.

My hope is we are playing Highfill as much as possible to catch up on lost development and then go with Powell mostly during SEC play.

My fear is we are going with the more talented player and won't make a change until he costs us a game because of catching mistakes. Which is likely what will happen.

If I were in the coach's shoes, I would start Powell on Fri and Sat and then use Ross on Sun when we're likely going to need more offense.

The coach's really like Ross a lot though. So, I expect him to start the lion's share at least early on.

If we continue with Highfill back there it will cost us more that one game we need.

[Todd4State]

That kid is hitting around .200, this lineup has enough holes in it already. The only way the Reeves should see the field the is if its an injury situation.

Reeves is currently hitting .269.

[Homedawg]

Reeves is currently hitting .269.

In a small sample size..... I'm with you.

[Coach34]

Reeves is a plus defender. He deserves some AB's to see if he can handle it.

I hate it for Frei but it speaks to the talent on this team. Last year we didnt have a bench- this year we do. People bitched about Lemon's recruiting well hello guys- we are talented

[MoreCowbell]

Does anybody know if you could bring your dog into LFL or do I need to slap a fake Emotional Support sticker on him?

[Coursesuper]

In a small sample size..... I'm with you.

Real season starts Fri night and I don't have a warm fuzzy feeling about much right now. Everyone has warts and we will find out about ours very soon.

[somebodyshotmypaw]

Last year we didnt have a bench- this year we do. People bitched about Lemon's recruiting well hello guys- we are talented

We have 4 outfielders hitting well in Chance, Downs, Stallman, and Nolan Stevens. There are only 3 spots.

We have 7 infielders in Cupp, Reese, Reeves, Hines, Frei, Buckner, and Sanders.

So we will have some guys on the bench that want to play. We will have better pinch hitting than usual I would think.

Usually, the easiest way to help solve a logjam such as the 4 outfielders hitting well is to DH one of these guys. But Noah Sullivan prevents that from happening.

[The Federalist Engineer]

Does anybody know if you could bring your dog into LFL or do I need to slap a fake Emotional Support sticker on him?

Just bring him. Other people bring Ole Miss relatives to games, I rather sit by a Golden Retriever or even a Jack Russell than an Ole Miss fan.

[State82]

I rather sit by a Golden Retriever or even a Jack Russell than an Ole Miss fan.

Or a rabid pit bull.

[maroonmania]

Reeves is a plus defender. He deserves some AB's to see if he can handle it.

I hate it for Frei but it speaks to the talent on this team. Last year we didnt have a bench- this year we do. People bitched about Lemon's recruiting well hello guys- we are talented

If he does start I'm not wild about him batting leadoff. But I guess we really don't have an every day player right now that fits the leadoff role very well. Will be interesting to see what we do there long term.