what is the final verdict now that fall baseball is over? I saw that bracewell apparently had a good outing in the last scrimmage. Did any of the young pitchers make strides from the beginning of fall?
Todd, fall baseball question
- Thread starter DirtyLopez
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Bracewell did have a great outing, but he also struggled in other outings. Some of that is from being a freshman, and maybe the light went on. Bracewell will be our closer in a couple of years.
There was some concern that Chris Stratton would have to RS because of a muscle strain sustained in the world famous Tupelo American Legion Tournament, but of all of the freshman pitchers, he really stepped up, and I think he will be a weekend starter for us.
CC Watson is a guy I like. He was drafted by the Rangers, and he has a really good curveball. I think he will eventually be a starter for MSU, but for next year, I think he will possibly the closer, and will get a look at starting as well.
Luke Bole will be a two way player for us, and Cohen really likes him a lot.
Devin Jones has added some muscle and is now topping out at 95 and is consistently in the low 90's with his fastball. He will either close or be a Fri. or Sat. starter for us. Personally, I would start him.
Those guys made the most strides of the freshmen. The other freshmen will likely be role guys for this year, but I think they could be pretty good in the future- those in that group include Chad Girordo, Jared Miller, Matt Lane, and Kendall Graveman.
Another new pitcher that will contribute for us in the bullpen is going to be Corey Collins. He is a ground ball type pitcher. Then Trey Johnson is going to be another two way player for us, and I think he will get a shot at the closer role as well. He doesn't throw all that hard- 84-85, but he fared pretty well this year. Greg Houston is going to surprise some people, I think. He has come a long way since his freshman year, and I think he will be a big part of our bullpen. I have some personal bias for Jordan Faulkner, since I know him personally. He has held his own- his fastball tops out at 90, and he has a really good change up. The issue with him is control- he had 14 K's, but also 15 BB's. I think 7 of those BB's came in one outing though. I hope he makes the team, and I think he certainly has a good shot. He was the most impressive walk-on that we had, and we need bullpen help.
As far as the rest of the team, I think we will be pretty good because we have a lot of seniors and juniors. And the pitching will be better. I don't think we will have one set lineup, but I think Cohen is going to basically play a bunch of guys and go with the hot hands.
Catcher is going to be shared between Cody Freeman and Wes Thigpen. I think that we will see Carlos Leal play some as the third cather, and Kolby Byrd will likely RS.
Conner Powers is the first baseman, and will be one of the few mainstays in the lineup.
The middle infield is going to be shared between Frankie Rawdow, who had a good fall, Nick Vickerson, and Johnathan Ogden. Ogden can't hit worth a darn, but he is a great defender. I think Sam Frost may RS.
Third base is kind of a quandry. Jarrod Parks is our best option offensively and defensively in my opinion. Russ Sneed is back, and can hit. I think Sneed will be our DH becuase he is a below average defender, and he had hip surgery. Then you have Jet Butler, who is a good hitter, but quite frankly is a *****. The reason he is at third is because he allegedly "has trouble seeing the ball on the right side of the infield".
The outfield is similar- we have a lot of options. The two constants will be Brent Brownlee and Trey Johnson. Brownlee will be the CF and is a very good defender, but he needs to step up at the plate. Johnson will be either in RF or LF and I think he will be a solid player for us. Then we have Ryan Collins, who is bigger this year, but struggled at times, and Jaron Shepherd, who is probably our best athlete in the outfield. However, Shepherd struggled some at the plate as well. He also has injury issues. Then you have Luke Atkins, who is a solid player, and I think he will find some action as well. You might see Butler and Sneed play out here as well.
Ryan Duffy is a guy that we are very fortunate to have becuse he is a really good pinch hitter. I don't think he will see the field too much becuase he is atrocious. He may DH some, though. I think we have a pretty good mix of guys that Cohen can use in various roles like pinch hitting, pinch running, and defensive replacements depending on who starts.
And finally back to pitching- Nick Routt had some back problems, but he pitched well towards the end of the fall, and will be fine. Tyler Whitney will figure into the plans somewhere, but he had a really bad fall. I hope he's not Ricky Bowen II.
There was some concern that Chris Stratton would have to RS because of a muscle strain sustained in the world famous Tupelo American Legion Tournament, but of all of the freshman pitchers, he really stepped up, and I think he will be a weekend starter for us.
CC Watson is a guy I like. He was drafted by the Rangers, and he has a really good curveball. I think he will eventually be a starter for MSU, but for next year, I think he will possibly the closer, and will get a look at starting as well.
Luke Bole will be a two way player for us, and Cohen really likes him a lot.
Devin Jones has added some muscle and is now topping out at 95 and is consistently in the low 90's with his fastball. He will either close or be a Fri. or Sat. starter for us. Personally, I would start him.
Those guys made the most strides of the freshmen. The other freshmen will likely be role guys for this year, but I think they could be pretty good in the future- those in that group include Chad Girordo, Jared Miller, Matt Lane, and Kendall Graveman.
Another new pitcher that will contribute for us in the bullpen is going to be Corey Collins. He is a ground ball type pitcher. Then Trey Johnson is going to be another two way player for us, and I think he will get a shot at the closer role as well. He doesn't throw all that hard- 84-85, but he fared pretty well this year. Greg Houston is going to surprise some people, I think. He has come a long way since his freshman year, and I think he will be a big part of our bullpen. I have some personal bias for Jordan Faulkner, since I know him personally. He has held his own- his fastball tops out at 90, and he has a really good change up. The issue with him is control- he had 14 K's, but also 15 BB's. I think 7 of those BB's came in one outing though. I hope he makes the team, and I think he certainly has a good shot. He was the most impressive walk-on that we had, and we need bullpen help.
As far as the rest of the team, I think we will be pretty good because we have a lot of seniors and juniors. And the pitching will be better. I don't think we will have one set lineup, but I think Cohen is going to basically play a bunch of guys and go with the hot hands.
Catcher is going to be shared between Cody Freeman and Wes Thigpen. I think that we will see Carlos Leal play some as the third cather, and Kolby Byrd will likely RS.
Conner Powers is the first baseman, and will be one of the few mainstays in the lineup.
The middle infield is going to be shared between Frankie Rawdow, who had a good fall, Nick Vickerson, and Johnathan Ogden. Ogden can't hit worth a darn, but he is a great defender. I think Sam Frost may RS.
Third base is kind of a quandry. Jarrod Parks is our best option offensively and defensively in my opinion. Russ Sneed is back, and can hit. I think Sneed will be our DH becuase he is a below average defender, and he had hip surgery. Then you have Jet Butler, who is a good hitter, but quite frankly is a *****. The reason he is at third is because he allegedly "has trouble seeing the ball on the right side of the infield".
The outfield is similar- we have a lot of options. The two constants will be Brent Brownlee and Trey Johnson. Brownlee will be the CF and is a very good defender, but he needs to step up at the plate. Johnson will be either in RF or LF and I think he will be a solid player for us. Then we have Ryan Collins, who is bigger this year, but struggled at times, and Jaron Shepherd, who is probably our best athlete in the outfield. However, Shepherd struggled some at the plate as well. He also has injury issues. Then you have Luke Atkins, who is a solid player, and I think he will find some action as well. You might see Butler and Sneed play out here as well.
Ryan Duffy is a guy that we are very fortunate to have becuse he is a really good pinch hitter. I don't think he will see the field too much becuase he is atrocious. He may DH some, though. I think we have a pretty good mix of guys that Cohen can use in various roles like pinch hitting, pinch running, and defensive replacements depending on who starts.
And finally back to pitching- Nick Routt had some back problems, but he pitched well towards the end of the fall, and will be fine. Tyler Whitney will figure into the plans somewhere, but he had a really bad fall. I hope he's not Ricky Bowen II.
He throws low to mid 80s from the left side but had a little late movement and a deceptive delivery that will make him an inning eater this year in certain situations. Our pitching will be light years ahead of where we were last year. The only problem is that they are very young, but extremely talented. Todd is spot on about Ogden. That dude has a filthy glove at short stop.
is going to be a really good pitcher for us in time. As you said, he has a very deceptive delivery, but more importantly, he throws strikes. Some people are going to see that he throws 84 and freak out, but Girordo made the Louisville-Slugger All-American Team last year. He's legit.
I remember when Justin Pigott led the SEC in era- that was the year he was coming out of the bullpen. I think Girordo is going to be a similar pitcher for MSU, but I think he will mainly be a relief pitcher for most of his career, and possibly start as a senior. Unfortunately, we were forced to use Pigott as a starter, and that probably wasn't the best way to use him.
I remember when Justin Pigott led the SEC in era- that was the year he was coming out of the bullpen. I think Girordo is going to be a similar pitcher for MSU, but I think he will mainly be a relief pitcher for most of his career, and possibly start as a senior. Unfortunately, we were forced to use Pigott as a starter, and that probably wasn't the best way to use him.
with Micheal Dixon, who is indeed out with Tommy John surgery, and also Paxton Pace is out for the year with an arm injury.
According to Cohen, we have 38 guys, and 35 spots.
I think the most likely to get cut will be in my order:
Brandon Briggs
Tyler Hartzog
Dallas Hannah
Caleb Reed
Jordan Faulkner
I think the final two roster spots will come down to those five. I think Nick Ray will make the team because we need a back-up first baseman.
According to Cohen, we have 38 guys, and 35 spots.
I think the most likely to get cut will be in my order:
Brandon Briggs
Tyler Hartzog
Dallas Hannah
Caleb Reed
Jordan Faulkner
I think the final two roster spots will come down to those five. I think Nick Ray will make the team because we need a back-up first baseman.