goldenwavedawg said:
Stratton - looked really good, should be a top of the SEC pitcher, needs a little weight
Graverman - little rocky but got out of a jam. Those that know more than me said his stuff was nastier than it appeared
Watson -looked really good - big time curve
Bracewell - looked really good - closer mentality
Of the freshman arms that leaves Bole (starts versus UAB), Girodo (Thompson likes him), Miller ( throws hard but everywhere ), Lane ( know zero about him other than he's tall and from Georgia)
And that's a pretty good summary. Graveman has a lot of movement on his fastball, and that's what makes him nasty. Watson not only has a big time curve, but I think he will be a guy that has a great fastball once he gets a little more adjusted to NCAA baseball. He has a very deceptive delivery and is LH and I thought he might be a closer candidate this year because he has that out pitch that you need to close. I think eventually he will be a starter for us. Bracewell is guy that I really like. His attitude kind of reminds me of Papelbon- lots of fist pumping when I saw him in high school. Stratton has really stepped up and kind of separated himself from the pack, and I think he will be a great starter for us right now.
Luke Bole will start against UAB and he is actually a guy that I would like to see hit for us as well as pitch because he hit 20 home runs in high school and is a LH bat. I think he will actually be a starter for us some, but I think with the pitching that we have coming in, he may actually be a midweek guy- not because he's bad but because I think we're going to have a lot of pitching depth- Stratton, Norris, and Watson. Chad Girodo is a guy that I like to. He's your typical control, changes speeds type pitcher. Very similar to Justin Pigott. He's not going to throw real hard, but he is LH and he has a funky delivery. He was a Louisville Slugger HS AA and played with Luke Bole. Jared Miller is a guy that emerged his senior year at Sumrall. He has a big frame- 6'3" about 220 or so I believe, but he is a little raw and might actually RS. As of now, he probably figures more in the bullpen. Matt Lane is another guy with a tall frame- he's 6'5" but he is very thin, and needs to add muscle. Right now he is throwing in the 80's, but he could certainly add velocity into the low 90's by adding some muscle. He is a little bit of a project, but I think he has a bright future in coming seasons- possibly as starter, no worse than a relief pitcher.
The guys in the second paragraph are still RS candidates as of now, except for Bole, but I think no more than two of those that I mentioned will be RS at most, and I think that in all likelihood all will see some action, even if it's against SWAC competition.