So, the game story is online and Dash posted it below. I'll try to not be too redundant in mentioning what I saw.
-First, great AB by Tucker Bradley to start the game. We had several like that today, but Bradley's stood out for his discipline and how hard he fought to earn that walk. That's one where, I think, if he K's, Cam Shepherd's HR probably doesn't show up in the next AB.
-It was an up and down day for Kevin Smith. I don't think that he worked a clean inning. He seems to be throwing from a lower arm slot now. This obviously isn't the same as taking the baseball against Vanderbilt, but Smith was a very stoic guy last year and that's how he came across today.
-Shane Tucker did some nice things, but like Smith I don't believe he worked a clean inning. Keegan McGovern's HR was BLASTED. You could see it coming too as Keegan was making very solid contact that at bat and nearly homered a few pitches earlier. That says more about him than Shane Tucker, in my view... I'm really pulling for Keegan to stay healthy this year and put it all together. He's got a chance to put up all SEC numbers and go in the top ten rounds in June.
-The guy who really stood out to me on the mound was James Williams, who I believe is a walk-on. Williams has a fairly jerky delivery. I don't know if "jerky" is the right word, but he really "throws the hell" out of the baseball. And he does that every time, which makes his change up outstanding. I really enjoyed watching him mix that in there today and he produced a lot of awkward swings with it. Williams came on for Kevin Smith with runners and 2nd and 3rd and 1 out (Smith was able to K the last hitter he saw) and then Williams K'd the next two guys. Really good work on his part.
-We're going to be a lot better defensively at 1B this year. I think it's still too early to tell between Sasser and Sullivan who will win that job, but both guys are so good defensively. And both need to play, but I really hope that we'll pick one guy and go with him. It was discussed several times last year, but neither player was able to get into a groove last season and neither played up to their potential as a result.
-To that end, the freshman trio of Cam Shepherd, Will Proctor, and Aaron Shunk are all plus guys defensively. Shepherd made some outstanding plays at SS today. It's going to be fun to watch us defensively around the IF this season.
-Tray Logan had two hits, including an RBI double.... And Tray also made a couple of slick plays at SS as well. I've got a lot of respect for that guy.... He's so good defensively and he really handles the bat pretty well too.... Just one of those guys you love to have on the team.
-Matt Campbell.... I know I've said it before, but he sure doesn't scare anyone walking up to the plate.... until he swings the bat. I don't think you find too many guys built like him who get that kind of bat speed. I think he'll be an every day player for us.
-Austin Biggar looked to have a better day behind the plate than Michael Curry. Biggar is still kind of raw, but you can see that he has an awful lot of ability.
-We didn't handle the run game very well today. There were a couple of steals on our pitchers and we had three throws go into CF on pick-off attempts at second base from the mound. The last one rightfully drew Stricklin's ire.
-Interestingly, Stricklin was coaching at 3B for the entire scrimmage today with Scott Daeley in the home team dugout. Not sure if we'll see Stricklin out there during the season, but I don't recall us doing that in previous falls.
-Tucker Bradley may be ahead of Tucker Maxwell for the CF job. I haven't seen nearly enough to know, but Bradley (at least today) seems a little stronger at the plate. Both guys are more than capable defensively.
-Overall, I think we'll hit pretty well this season. I think that we'll be able to score some runs and could very well best last season's HR total. I like the idea of hitting Curry, McGovern, and Campbell together. We look pretty athletic to me and I think we'll run some, although I thought we'd do a lot more of that last year than we wound up doing. It's hard to do this with so many young players. While the ability is there with a lot of these freshman, it's just hard to have a productive lineup with so many young guys. That's my reservation offensively. We're down to four players from Stricklin's first signing class. With so many new faces, it does seem like a "starting over" point with Stricklin implementing his system. So again, while the ability is there, you can count on some growing pains along the way. But I do think that we're going to enjoy this lineup more days than we won't, and I think that we've got some quality depth that will prove beneficial as well.
On the mound, without mincing words, it's concerning. We are extremely green on the pitching staff. By my estimation, we lost four players (three of whom had eligibility left) from this past spring who would have been a lock to be our Friday night guy in 2017. I think we've got a lot of guys who may be better fits to throw out of the bullpen, as opposed to going through the order three times. I think Kevin Smith has shown that he does have the ability to start on the weekend, but I'm not sure if he's really ready to be the Friday night guy just yet. And if it's not him, I have no idea who it will be. I wonder too how much of our hitters are a function of our pitchers right now. So that part concerns me. But Fred Corral is a good pitching coach and I think he'll get the most out of this group. If I'd seen more this fall, I could say this with more confidence, but right now it really looks like we may be a year away on the mound.
All in all, it was a great time this afternoon.... I love being at Foley and cannot wait for Opening Day.... It's the best 14 weeks of the year.
-First, great AB by Tucker Bradley to start the game. We had several like that today, but Bradley's stood out for his discipline and how hard he fought to earn that walk. That's one where, I think, if he K's, Cam Shepherd's HR probably doesn't show up in the next AB.
-It was an up and down day for Kevin Smith. I don't think that he worked a clean inning. He seems to be throwing from a lower arm slot now. This obviously isn't the same as taking the baseball against Vanderbilt, but Smith was a very stoic guy last year and that's how he came across today.
-Shane Tucker did some nice things, but like Smith I don't believe he worked a clean inning. Keegan McGovern's HR was BLASTED. You could see it coming too as Keegan was making very solid contact that at bat and nearly homered a few pitches earlier. That says more about him than Shane Tucker, in my view... I'm really pulling for Keegan to stay healthy this year and put it all together. He's got a chance to put up all SEC numbers and go in the top ten rounds in June.
-The guy who really stood out to me on the mound was James Williams, who I believe is a walk-on. Williams has a fairly jerky delivery. I don't know if "jerky" is the right word, but he really "throws the hell" out of the baseball. And he does that every time, which makes his change up outstanding. I really enjoyed watching him mix that in there today and he produced a lot of awkward swings with it. Williams came on for Kevin Smith with runners and 2nd and 3rd and 1 out (Smith was able to K the last hitter he saw) and then Williams K'd the next two guys. Really good work on his part.
-We're going to be a lot better defensively at 1B this year. I think it's still too early to tell between Sasser and Sullivan who will win that job, but both guys are so good defensively. And both need to play, but I really hope that we'll pick one guy and go with him. It was discussed several times last year, but neither player was able to get into a groove last season and neither played up to their potential as a result.
-To that end, the freshman trio of Cam Shepherd, Will Proctor, and Aaron Shunk are all plus guys defensively. Shepherd made some outstanding plays at SS today. It's going to be fun to watch us defensively around the IF this season.
-Tray Logan had two hits, including an RBI double.... And Tray also made a couple of slick plays at SS as well. I've got a lot of respect for that guy.... He's so good defensively and he really handles the bat pretty well too.... Just one of those guys you love to have on the team.
-Matt Campbell.... I know I've said it before, but he sure doesn't scare anyone walking up to the plate.... until he swings the bat. I don't think you find too many guys built like him who get that kind of bat speed. I think he'll be an every day player for us.
-Austin Biggar looked to have a better day behind the plate than Michael Curry. Biggar is still kind of raw, but you can see that he has an awful lot of ability.
-We didn't handle the run game very well today. There were a couple of steals on our pitchers and we had three throws go into CF on pick-off attempts at second base from the mound. The last one rightfully drew Stricklin's ire.
-Interestingly, Stricklin was coaching at 3B for the entire scrimmage today with Scott Daeley in the home team dugout. Not sure if we'll see Stricklin out there during the season, but I don't recall us doing that in previous falls.
-Tucker Bradley may be ahead of Tucker Maxwell for the CF job. I haven't seen nearly enough to know, but Bradley (at least today) seems a little stronger at the plate. Both guys are more than capable defensively.
-Overall, I think we'll hit pretty well this season. I think that we'll be able to score some runs and could very well best last season's HR total. I like the idea of hitting Curry, McGovern, and Campbell together. We look pretty athletic to me and I think we'll run some, although I thought we'd do a lot more of that last year than we wound up doing. It's hard to do this with so many young players. While the ability is there with a lot of these freshman, it's just hard to have a productive lineup with so many young guys. That's my reservation offensively. We're down to four players from Stricklin's first signing class. With so many new faces, it does seem like a "starting over" point with Stricklin implementing his system. So again, while the ability is there, you can count on some growing pains along the way. But I do think that we're going to enjoy this lineup more days than we won't, and I think that we've got some quality depth that will prove beneficial as well.
On the mound, without mincing words, it's concerning. We are extremely green on the pitching staff. By my estimation, we lost four players (three of whom had eligibility left) from this past spring who would have been a lock to be our Friday night guy in 2017. I think we've got a lot of guys who may be better fits to throw out of the bullpen, as opposed to going through the order three times. I think Kevin Smith has shown that he does have the ability to start on the weekend, but I'm not sure if he's really ready to be the Friday night guy just yet. And if it's not him, I have no idea who it will be. I wonder too how much of our hitters are a function of our pitchers right now. So that part concerns me. But Fred Corral is a good pitching coach and I think he'll get the most out of this group. If I'd seen more this fall, I could say this with more confidence, but right now it really looks like we may be a year away on the mound.
All in all, it was a great time this afternoon.... I love being at Foley and cannot wait for Opening Day.... It's the best 14 weeks of the year.
