Completely a shot in the dark, but heard this in a few baseball podcasts this week; If he can sharpen up (And yes I know he is right out of HS), but the comparison has been mentioned. That’s a tall 17n comparison to even be mentioned! Why are all this podcast “Professionals” already linking him to a closer role? I’ll hand up and listen.
Could J. Bauer be the next Sims??
- Thread starter TTKADawg
- Start date
Two pitch guys don't need to go through a lineup more than once typically. He'll need to develop a real third pitch to keep folks off balance to become a starter as well as be on a real S&C program.
Plus we have plenty of others that can start.
Plus we have plenty of others that can start.
And thank goodness Coach Parker is coming back. You take this offensive lineup and add Coach OAK, plus his guys coming in. Could be special
Barring injury, I don't think he'll really start factoring in until about the 2nd half of the season. 1) He's never likely played in front of more than 300 fans. 2) Yes, he does need to master a 3rd and possibly 4th pitch. 3) He's never faced college baseball hitters, especially in the SEC. I look at him as using this year to gain experience for next year. Of course, if he does well in the spots we use him, we better have some significant NIL money ready to go to keep him next year.
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Yep, I think we have Super Regional talent and an outside shot at Omaha, We'll just have to let Coach O and Parker piece it together and jell a complete team. My minimum expectation is a Regional host. If we don't make it to a Super anywhere, I would be disappointed. But it happens, sometimes a hot 2 or 3 seed may come to DNF and upset us. Just look at Vandy and Arkansas recently.....they struggle to just get out of Nashville or Fayetteville when they host.
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He could be Sims, but he could also be Cerantola. All the coaches interviews seem to suggest we need to pump the brakes a little on the excitement. Good thing he don't need him to play a major role. Best case is we don't overuse him and he comes into his own at the end of the year when we need him most.
I doubt he’s going to be Sims this season. But Sims was not also the Sims we remember right out of the gate. He struggled early his freshman year and was starting to piece it together right as the COVID shutdown happened. Then his Year 2 was maybe the most dominant season we’ve ever had from a pitcher. It still amazes me that in ‘21 we finished the year undefeated in games where Sims entered with a lead or in a tie game. The most automatic reliever we’ve ever had.
With Bauer, I get the sense our depth is strong enough where he’s more of a luxury than a necessity. He’s going to pitch but I don’t think we are going to need him to be great right away. I’m tempering my year 1 expectations for him a little like you have to with most freshmen, but fascinated to see him pitch regardless.
With Bauer, I get the sense our depth is strong enough where he’s more of a luxury than a necessity. He’s going to pitch but I don’t think we are going to need him to be great right away. I’m tempering my year 1 expectations for him a little like you have to with most freshmen, but fascinated to see him pitch regardless.
I may be remembering wrong but I think Sims’ struggles were for the first game where he walked everyone he faced and after that he started shoving. I do remember the coaches being a little surprised after the first game and attributed it to first game nerves. I remember well how he dominated a good Texas Tech team in biloxi; like you said that led us into covid.
I'd start out using him in early OOC weekends and in some midweek games as a closer/mid relief. Then if he performs really well, use him in some SEC games as a closer/mid relief. Maybe by the end of the season, he'll be giving us 4-6 innings as a solid reliever and possibly starter. As hard as he throws, I'm kind of worried the TJ demon could find him. Hopefully, not.
The TJ demon shouldn’t be as big of a concern with Bauer as it is with a lot of other hard throwers b/c he has that rare blend of max velocity with an effortless delivery. That’s another reason the pros like him; if he would have had good control he would have gone in the top half of the first round. Sims on the other hand used max effort to get his velocity and it was when, not if with him.
If you can even remotely locate 100 mph, you might need 1 more pitch as a closer. If you can hit the corners with 100, that is the only pitch you need. Get Paps to teach him the 4 seam fastball he learned and let's roll.
Jacob deGrom has made a lot of money with two pitches.
When you've got 100 in your back pocket and a good slider coming out of the same arm slot, you don't need anything else.
I can’t wait to hear a pitch hit the glove and the batter is only half way thru his swing. A 100 mph pitch will do that to you.