scrimages? Last I heard, CC Watson didn't have a great outing, but that most of the pitchers had pretty good velocity. I did see on the local news that future pitcher James McMahan reinjured his shoulder friday night.
What is the latest with the baseball
- Thread starter DirtyLopez
- Start date
for all sports is this: Whenever you do something well, it also means that someone did something not so well, so take it for what it's worth.
That said, yes CC struggled a little bit during his first scrimmage, but it also was his first scrimmage ever, so I will be looking to see if he will improve now that he has one out of the way.
Devin Jones has looked really good- is topping out at 93 and is consistently in the low 90's, high 80's. I think he and Routt will fight for the Fri. and Sat. slots in the rotation. We've also lost Micheal Dixon, who was going to potentially be our closer for the year because he will have to have Tommy John surgery. If the season started today, here's what I think our lineup would look like:
Fri- Nick Routt
Sat.- Devin Jones
Sun.- Tyler Whitney
Midweek- CC Watson
Midweek- Chris Stratton- is topping out in the low 90's despite having tendonitis during the summer.
Bullpen
Closer- Ben Bracewell. Very emotional player. Our fans our going to like him. Like I said, this is very much up in the air
Set-up- Corey Collins, Greg Houston who hit 90 during a scrimmage- that's a miracle, and maybe Paxton Pace.
Middle relief- Kendall Graveman, Luke Bole, Chad Girordo, Trey Johnson, Caleb Reed, and Jared Miller.
Totally biased Sleeper- Jordan Faulkner. There is some merit- he is a walk-on who is topping out at 90, but he also has been wild. I say biased because I know him personally. He is a JUCO transfer from Meridian and pitched at Madison Central. It has been his dream to pitch at MSU, and Polk and Raffo gave him the run around in high school. I'm glad to see him at least get a chance to be a part of the team in the fall if nothing else.
Catcher- Platoon between Cody Freeman and Wes Thigpen. Occasional cameo appearance by Jet Butler. Kolby Byrd and Carlos Leal fighting for third spot with the loser being RS.
1B- Conner Powers. I expect him to have an All-SEC type year, and will be disappointed if he doesn't.
2B- Jet Butler. He hits too well. I expect him to be replaced late in games by Johnathan Ogden or Rawdow, though.
3B- Russ Sneed. Is out for the fall with an injury. Spot is probably safe, but Cohen probably won't hesitate to give it to someone else if he isn't healthy in the spring. Could also be DH if he isn't 100%. Job could go to Nick Vickerson or Jarrod Parks.
SS- Johnathan Ogden. Just a gut feeling. Defensive specialist, but not a very good hitter. Could platoon with Nick Vickerson or even Rawdow at SS, and may lose job to Vickerson if Vickerson can play defense more consistently. Both Vickerson and Ogden will see plenty of playing time for sure.
Infield walk-ons- Sam Frost and Dallas Hannah will likely both be RS, or will be role players. Nick Ray is a good defensive first baseman, and RS last year. Likely pinch hitter this year.
Please drink your beer inside your house and don't leave the house- Ethan Bright.
RF- Ryan Collins. I think he will have a good year now that he is healthy.
CF- Brent Brownlee. Cohen loves this guy. Says that he is the best defensive CF in the SEC. He's going to have to prove that he can hit SEC pitching, though.
LF- Trey Johnson. Cohen loves this guy to. I think he's one of those players that doesn't do things exceptionally well, but he does everything well, and is pretty solid overall.
Odd men out: Luke Adkins, Jaron Shepherd, who is the biggest disappointment of the fall so far to me, but if Brownlee can't hit he could very well start somewhere in the OF.
DH- Ryan Duffy. I kind of like him. How can you not like someone that does back flips in the OF when they were more svelte? Plus, he has power and can hit. He can't field, though. His catching days are over, and if he plays defense, it will be LF or 1B likely. Others: Cody Freeman when he's not catching, Parks, Sneed, Butler, Adkins against LH pitching, maybe Jaron Shepherd.
Top pinch hitter- Ryan Duffy again. He just is our best PH. Adkins could be pretty good in this role to.
Top pinch runner- Jaron Shepherd.
Utility man- Johnathan Ogden. More of a middle infielder, but I could see him playing third to. If you say Nick Vickerson, I wouldn't argue.
Also, of note: We only have 17 players left on the team from the Polk II era, which was of course last season.
That said, yes CC struggled a little bit during his first scrimmage, but it also was his first scrimmage ever, so I will be looking to see if he will improve now that he has one out of the way.
Devin Jones has looked really good- is topping out at 93 and is consistently in the low 90's, high 80's. I think he and Routt will fight for the Fri. and Sat. slots in the rotation. We've also lost Micheal Dixon, who was going to potentially be our closer for the year because he will have to have Tommy John surgery. If the season started today, here's what I think our lineup would look like:
Fri- Nick Routt
Sat.- Devin Jones
Sun.- Tyler Whitney
Midweek- CC Watson
Midweek- Chris Stratton- is topping out in the low 90's despite having tendonitis during the summer.
Bullpen
Closer- Ben Bracewell. Very emotional player. Our fans our going to like him. Like I said, this is very much up in the air
Set-up- Corey Collins, Greg Houston who hit 90 during a scrimmage- that's a miracle, and maybe Paxton Pace.
Middle relief- Kendall Graveman, Luke Bole, Chad Girordo, Trey Johnson, Caleb Reed, and Jared Miller.
Totally biased Sleeper- Jordan Faulkner. There is some merit- he is a walk-on who is topping out at 90, but he also has been wild. I say biased because I know him personally. He is a JUCO transfer from Meridian and pitched at Madison Central. It has been his dream to pitch at MSU, and Polk and Raffo gave him the run around in high school. I'm glad to see him at least get a chance to be a part of the team in the fall if nothing else.
Catcher- Platoon between Cody Freeman and Wes Thigpen. Occasional cameo appearance by Jet Butler. Kolby Byrd and Carlos Leal fighting for third spot with the loser being RS.
1B- Conner Powers. I expect him to have an All-SEC type year, and will be disappointed if he doesn't.
2B- Jet Butler. He hits too well. I expect him to be replaced late in games by Johnathan Ogden or Rawdow, though.
3B- Russ Sneed. Is out for the fall with an injury. Spot is probably safe, but Cohen probably won't hesitate to give it to someone else if he isn't healthy in the spring. Could also be DH if he isn't 100%. Job could go to Nick Vickerson or Jarrod Parks.
SS- Johnathan Ogden. Just a gut feeling. Defensive specialist, but not a very good hitter. Could platoon with Nick Vickerson or even Rawdow at SS, and may lose job to Vickerson if Vickerson can play defense more consistently. Both Vickerson and Ogden will see plenty of playing time for sure.
Infield walk-ons- Sam Frost and Dallas Hannah will likely both be RS, or will be role players. Nick Ray is a good defensive first baseman, and RS last year. Likely pinch hitter this year.
Please drink your beer inside your house and don't leave the house- Ethan Bright.
RF- Ryan Collins. I think he will have a good year now that he is healthy.
CF- Brent Brownlee. Cohen loves this guy. Says that he is the best defensive CF in the SEC. He's going to have to prove that he can hit SEC pitching, though.
LF- Trey Johnson. Cohen loves this guy to. I think he's one of those players that doesn't do things exceptionally well, but he does everything well, and is pretty solid overall.
Odd men out: Luke Adkins, Jaron Shepherd, who is the biggest disappointment of the fall so far to me, but if Brownlee can't hit he could very well start somewhere in the OF.
DH- Ryan Duffy. I kind of like him. How can you not like someone that does back flips in the OF when they were more svelte? Plus, he has power and can hit. He can't field, though. His catching days are over, and if he plays defense, it will be LF or 1B likely. Others: Cody Freeman when he's not catching, Parks, Sneed, Butler, Adkins against LH pitching, maybe Jaron Shepherd.
Top pinch hitter- Ryan Duffy again. He just is our best PH. Adkins could be pretty good in this role to.
Top pinch runner- Jaron Shepherd.
Utility man- Johnathan Ogden. More of a middle infielder, but I could see him playing third to. If you say Nick Vickerson, I wouldn't argue.
Also, of note: We only have 17 players left on the team from the Polk II era, which was of course last season.
Cohen tries to set up his scrimmages like a normal week during the regular season.
So, usually they're Tues., Weds, and then Fri., Sat., and Sun.
Now, the time varies. My guess would be the Tues. scrimmage will likely be played either at 2:15 or 3:15. Depends on the weather.
So, usually they're Tues., Weds, and then Fri., Sat., and Sun.
Now, the time varies. My guess would be the Tues. scrimmage will likely be played either at 2:15 or 3:15. Depends on the weather.