Baseball Hot Board

[Todd4State]

One more comment about analytics and how baseball coaches use them. If you think we use them too much, just wait until we hire someone like Will Coggin and Josh Elander. You will see a major difference in the use of analytical tools under both of them. I'm not just talking using the better statistics we have available to evaluate player performance such as WAR, wOBA, FIP, xFIP, SIERA, and wRC+. I'm talking about the data analytics that goes into player development. How Will Coggin and Josh Elander are using player tracking technology to improve swing paths while maximizing the power potential of a player. I'm talking about using the same data to maximize spin rate and velocity on pitches like fastball, sliders, and curves. I'm talking about how they can use this data to pair pitches up better for tunneling effect. We have the technology at Mississippi State. I'm not convinced that we are utilizing it to its fullest extent.

Oh we use analytics and technology a lot. Maybe more than anyone in the SEC. But I think from talking to the coaches they actually rely on it too much. Let me give you an example. Karson Ligon. In the lab he had I think the second best numbers of any pitcher we have behind Pico I think it was. However, in scrimmages he had major control issues and struggled. So, that's why he is still in the rotation despite the fact he hasn't played very well.

The other thing about analytics in baseball that a lot of people miss is you can't really just blanket statement analytics. It comes down to individual match ups and what THOSE analytics say when you're talking about what gets the weight in decision making.

And the thing about that is as fans we don't have that info readily available. Now you can probably find SIERRA or whatever data you can find for a team more easily and maybe even calculate some of it depending on how complicated the formula is but that is only a piece of what the coaches have which is way more in depth.

And in fact I think they rely so much on analytics that it may have caused them to become emotionless compared to some of their other contemporaries and I think it may have caused them to lack focus on fundamentals. Why? Because they're waiting on their data to bear itself out.

I will also add this. I completely understand where those who think the program is too big for a first-time head coach come from. Hiring a first-time head coach at this program is a risk. I 100% agree.

However, I'm not against it. Why? Because sometimes you have to make a decision whether to take a chance to be great or play it safe and be average. I think with the way college baseball coaches tend to not hop around, hiring an established head coach from a lower-level program may be the safe move, but is it the move that will ensure that we become the perennial national championship contenders we know this program can be? I look at what Tennessee has done under a first-time head coach in Tony Vitello. Yes, he took over a program that was not on the same level as our program when he got that Tennessee job. All he's done is build a perennial national championship contender out of a program that was an also ran program prior to him. He's won 73% of his games since 2018. Look at what Wes Johnson has done with the Georgia baseball program. They are top 5 in the country in his second season.

Everyone wants a Tony Vitello, but to get the next Tony Vitello, you are likely going to have to go the first-time head coach route. Someone like Will Coggin, Josh Elander, or Nate Thompson.

The only assistant out of that group I would consider is Coggin. Because at least he understands MSU's culture and that is a very real thing. As I've said before this job is a monster and you can't just half ass hire someone and hope they figure coaching out. There is way too much scrutiny here and the expectations aren't changing.