Hatcher is slugging...

[57stratdawg]

.377; OBP of .333

That's brutal.

 

[Phil Wenneck.sixpack]

His two doubles Friday were huge but the 1B spot has to give a little more power

My bigger concern is Dubrule hitting .243 from the leadoff spot and Rowdey hitting .231 in the 2 spot. I get that Rowdey is known for slow starts but the pitching isn't going to get any easier from here on out. The veterans have got to pick it up because Forsythe and Skinner are both going to be up and down until they get more AB's.

 

[Leeshouldveflanked]

There is really no one except maybe Hancock in our lineup that would come close to striking fear in an opposing pitchers head.

 

[bulldogcountry1]

Skinner is really the only other candidate to lead off. Debrule just isn’t getting it done, and I don’t see any signs of life. At least Skinner puts pressure on the defense any time he puts it in play. He could be a spark to get other guys going.

 

[o_HuntDawg]

entire lineup is a cause for concern.

1-2 hole guys are probably more suited for 7-9 spots. James isn't a prototypical type SEC 4 hole hitter. Hancock is hitting about 200 or below since opening weekend. Hatcher has never hit here.

I do like Skinner and think perhaps he can be a jolt. But we better pitch it well, because Im worried about this club offensively.

Also need to keep LT behind the plate on Sundays. Its that big of a drop off to Hancock

 

[Phil Wenneck.sixpack]

Absolutely right. I hate small ball with a passion but this might just be the

right time to start bunting guys over and playing for 1 or 2 runs. I hate it but until we see this lineup take steps in the right direction, I don't see what it could hurt. The flip side of that however is every time we bunt we look like we are doing it for the first time in our life.

 

[MSUDC11]

I think there’s a certain level of acceptance that will be required with this lineup. The guys you’re seeing are largely who you’ll see all year, we don’t have much depth offensively. Just gonna need some older guys to figure it out eventually. Luckily most of them have a track record of doing just that.

But generally speaking I would probably say get used to us having to win a bunch of pitcher’s duels and manufacture some runs like we did Friday and Saturday.

 

[messageboardsuperhero]

I would lead off with Hancock. He gives you a good AB every time he steps to the plate. That is who I want setting the tone. Right now Debrule is way too much weak contact early in the count- frankly, that is most of our lineup at the moment.

Hancock
Rowdy
Allen
James
Tanner
Hatcher
Debrule
Skinner
Forsythe

 

[Arthur2478]

I wouldn't mind seeing Pimentel get some starts at 1st just to see if he could produce a little better.

 

[Misfit]

Have to disagree about Hatcher. He is off to a bad start, but his batting average for 2019 and 2020 combined was .317 (53 hits in 167 abs).

 

[PartTimeGenius]

This lineup, top to bottom, would not scare me as an opposing coach/player.

As I asked before the season began, Where does the Power come from in this lineup? Sure, a couple of guys have run into a handful already, but they are not power guys. At this point, one could also argue that they are not hit-for-average guys either.
When I see a team average of .270, I expect to see some higher slg %. This team, unfortunately, currently has neither.

Has there been some TIMELY hitting? Yes, but you can't rely on that all year. At some point, there needs to be some consistency. Based on personnel, this team should be a hit-for-average team, with the ability to get a few out of the park occasionally.

 

[bruiser.sixpack]

State leads the Conference in walks and is Top 5 nationally. Also high in the hit by pitch stat. That is essentially how State has manufactured runs. Get em on, get em over, get em in.

 

[WutheringDawg]

There’s just no way you can put Hancock in the 1 hole, but I would like to see him moved up in the order. I’m also on the Skinner at lead off bandwagon. I’d go something like:

Skinner
Allen
James
Hancock
Tanner
Jordan
Hatcher
Forsythe
Debrule

I know we’ll never see Jordan that low in the order but he needs a little break from the 2 hole.

 

[trob115]

This team reminds me of 2013 UCLA. Elite pitching, with an anemic offense. I think we will be okay offensively, but we don't need to be elite offensively to win a natty, or the SEC. If we can score 4 runs a game, we should win at least 17 SEC games and put us in prime position for a National seed.

I would like to see pinmentel get a few more ABs if Hatcher continues to struggle. If Kellum Clark hadn't gotten sick, I think he would be starting at 1B already. He's down almost 25 pounds but is back with the team practicing. Not sure how much we see him this year.