2024 Season

gtbeak

Jolly Good Fellow
Messages
235
Now that we have our coaching situation for next season resolved, I am interested in hearing thoughts on what the team's roster will look like. I know that there are a ton of unknowns with the transfer portal, the draft, etc., and so this is way too early, but I got nothing better to do, so why not start thinking about it now?

The outfield, I assume, we will lose entirely. All three should get drafted fairly early. Do we have any freshman from this past season who didn't see action but should be ready to step in? Do we have incoming freshmen that could start day 1? Or will this be a priority in the transfer portal? The only names I can think of are Riley Stanford, wasn't he highly ranked but injured early and never returned? And Jett Lovett.

The infield is a little more interesting. First base, would I be dreaming too much if I imagined Giesler returning? I believe he still has two years of eligibility remaining, and his 2023 season compares almost as a mirror image to Andrew Jenkins 2021 season. Second base, similarly, can I dream about Kristian Campbell returning? He still has three years of eligibility remaining. I saw that he has agreed to at least start the season with Cotuit on the Cape. Does that tell us anything about his plans for 2024? I have heard of players starting on the Cape until they are drafted and signed, so probably not, but I can hope, right? Shortstop, unless we lose all to the transfer portal, I think at least one of Diamant or Senese will provide equivalent production to what Jackson provided this year. And don't we have a highly ranked freshman coming in? I am confident this position will be stronger in '24 than it was in '23. Third base, can one of Baughcum or Romano improve in the off-season and provide respectable performance there? Any other infield options I should have on my radar screen?

Catcher, no offense to Rubenstein and much respect from me for how he developed, but I expect that Minnick should improve enough to provide equivalent production in '24. What about catcher #2? Do we have an incoming freshman capable of stepping into this gap?

Wild card...Jackson Finley. He has two years of eligibility remaining, I think. Any chance he is back with the Jackets next season?

Pitching: I would expect Schmolke and Finateri to been written in as weekend starters. The 3rd spot could go to Samol, Finley if he is back, a healthy Logan McGuire or Cam Hill, and I'm sure others will be considered. Seems we have potential to be a lot better in the weekend rotation next season. Gold colored glasses too much on my part? The bullpen, I would have to guess that Ben King will be drafted, and Jackson Vaughn is out of eligibility, I believe. I would expect Mannelly, Smith, Siegel, and Brown to move on. But Terry Busse still has two years of eligibility, correct? And I would expect that Cody Carwile could become a good lefty out of the pen. I also expect there are others waiting in the wings to get their chance, along with incoming freshmen. Any names I should especially expect to hear from in the fall?
 

THWG

Helluva Engineer
Messages
3,996
As for the outfield, we have two big prospects coming in, but they might get drafted too. They are Drew Burress and Isaiah Drake. Parker Brosius also saw a lot of time this year as a defensive replacement, so I imagine that he and Lovett will get a lot of time. Then the 3rd OF spot just depends on who makes it to campus and the health of Stanford.

I really love the potential of the IF defensively next year. Diamant, Sense, Baughcum, and Romano all looked good defensively to me but that is also 4 guys for 3 spots. I think 1st base will be Sabathia or maybe we try to put Romano there and let Sabathia DH. We also have 2 big recruits for the IF but I believe both of them will get drafted.

I also believe that Minnick is going to be our next great catcher, so I'm very excited about his potential. As for backups there, we have Nathan Smith who was a transfer from Tennessee, and I know we have 1 recruit if not 2 coming in next year.

And finally, the pitching staff should be very experienced. Like you, I imagine that Schmolke and Finateri have rotation spots. I am a huge fan of McGuire too, he just needs to be healthy. I'm not going to make too many predictions on the staff until we see who is injured and who the new pitching coach is.
 

Buzzbomb

Mello Yellow-Jacket
Messages
12,014
Did I miss something about our 2024 Pitching Coach?
To me, that will have much to say about the season.
Hitting, no worries.
Defense, can use a Ron Washington type of tutorial.
Pitching, needs the whole dissection.
 

Northeast Stinger

Helluva Engineer
Messages
9,563
Good catch Buzzbomb...I did jump the gun on DBo's replacement. No one has been named yet.
And, as an observer to these conversations, the question revolves around how much good pitching prospects need the careful care and feeding by a competent coach to get them to the next level.

I have no clue how you find that person as well as how you determine how much time they need to do their job vs they aren’t capable of doing their job vs the pitching prospects weren’t that good to begin with.
 

FredJacket

Helluva Engineer
Messages
5,993
Location
Fredericksburg, Virginia
As I guy who knows nothing about the "rules" (real or unwritten)... if I'm CDH, the plan has to be extremely short term wrt to pitching. If you're able you go after an experienced D1 pitching coach that has shown some success at this level... and if within the rules and not violating your own moral code... hope that guy has a couple of quality transfers that'll follow him.
 

rodandanga

Jolly Good Fellow
Messages
245
Now that we have our coaching situation for next season resolved, I am interested in hearing thoughts on what the team's roster will look like. I know that there are a ton of unknowns with the transfer portal, the draft, etc., and so this is way too early, but I got nothing better to do, so why not start thinking about it now?

The outfield, I assume, we will lose entirely. All three should get drafted fairly early. Do we have any freshman from this past season who didn't see action but should be ready to step in? Do we have incoming freshmen that could start day 1? Or will this be a priority in the transfer portal? The only names I can think of are Riley Stanford, wasn't he highly ranked but injured early and never returned? And Jett Lovett.

The infield is a little more interesting. First base, would I be dreaming too much if I imagined Giesler returning? I believe he still has two years of eligibility remaining, and his 2023 season compares almost as a mirror image to Andrew Jenkins 2021 season. Second base, similarly, can I dream about Kristian Campbell returning? He still has three years of eligibility remaining. I saw that he has agreed to at least start the season with Cotuit on the Cape. Does that tell us anything about his plans for 2024? I have heard of players starting on the Cape until they are drafted and signed, so probably not, but I can hope, right? Shortstop, unless we lose all to the transfer portal, I think at least one of Diamant or Senese will provide equivalent production to what Jackson provided this year. And don't we have a highly ranked freshman coming in? I am confident this position will be stronger in '24 than it was in '23. Third base, can one of Baughcum or Romano improve in the off-season and provide respectable performance there? Any other infield options I should have on my radar screen?

Catcher, no offense to Rubenstein and much respect from me for how he developed, but I expect that Minnick should improve enough to provide equivalent production in '24. What about catcher #2? Do we have an incoming freshman capable of stepping into this gap?

Wild card...Jackson Finley. He has two years of eligibility remaining, I think. Any chance he is back with the Jackets next season?

Pitching: I would expect Schmolke and Finateri to been written in as weekend starters. The 3rd spot could go to Samol, Finley if he is back, a healthy Logan McGuire or Cam Hill, and I'm sure others will be considered. Seems we have potential to be a lot better in the weekend rotation next season. Gold colored glasses too much on my part? The bullpen, I would have to guess that Ben King will be drafted, and Jackson Vaughn is out of eligibility, I believe. I would expect Mannelly, Smith, Siegel, and Brown to move on. But Terry Busse still has two years of eligibility, correct? And I would expect that Cody Carwile could become a good lefty out of the pen. I also expect there are others waiting in the wings to get their chance, along with incoming freshmen. Any names I should especially expect to hear from in the fall?
I agree on the OF. Have to hope Burress makes it to campus. There are some other decently rated guys in the 2023 class as well that might push for some time.

I think Geisler is gone, he was honored on SR day. I think Sabathia gets a shot at 1st. I liked Senese, from what I saw. Not sure about how in the 2023 class might get a shot in the IF. I think if Anderson gets to campus, he is the SS, same idea with Peete.

I think they want Stanford to pitch, so he might have a shot at a starting slot.

Minnick was decent, struggled in conference play, but hopefully develops in the offseason.

It will be interesting to watch who has a good summmer. Beesball does a good job of tracking guys.
 

57jacket

Ramblin' Wreck
Messages
886
Did I miss something about our 2024 Pitching Coach?
To me, that will have much to say about the season.
Hitting, no worries.
Defense, can use a Ron Washington type of tutorial.
Pitching, needs the whole dissection.
Yes. Pitching is the lifeblood of a baseball team. Until we solve that, anything else is meaningless.
 

78pike

Ramblin' Wreck
Messages
692
The following list was compiled by Buzzbomb back in April. My added comments in parentheses.

Drew Burress
OF 5-9 175 R-R Houston County Perry GA Georgia Tech (Perfect Game ranks him as the #29 prospect nationally. #7 ranked player in GA)

Antonio Anderson
SS 6-3 205 S-R North Atlanta Atlanta GA Georgia Tech (Perfect Game ranks him as the #15 player nationally. #2 ranked player in GA and possibly the SS next year if he makes it to campus. Jackson may have to move to 2B)

Tai Peete
SS 6-3 190 L-R Trinity Christian Tyrone GA Georgia Tech (Perfect Game ranks him as the #16 player in the nation. #6 ranked player in GA. Also can play 3B)

Isaiah Drake
OF 6-0 180 L-R North Atlanta Atlanta GA Georgia Tech

Tate McKee
RHP 6-2 180 R-R Mt Paran Christian Kennesaw GA Georgia Tech (ranked as the #80 player in the nation by Perfect Game)

Miller Green
LHP 6-5 220 L-L Lipscomb Academy Nashville TN Georgia Tech (Perfect Game ranks him as the 107th best player in the nation)

Michael Graziano
OF 6-3 210 R-R Naples Naples FL Georgia Tech (ranked #109 in the nation by Perfect Game)

Ryan Jaros
3B 6-4 220 R-R Cranford Cranford NJ Georgia Tech (ranked #115 by PG)

John Cooper Williams
OF 5-10 180 L-R North Cobb Christian Woodstock GA Georgia Tech (ranked #126 by PG)

Kyle Henley
OF 6-3 175 R-R Denmark Cumming GA Georgia Tech
(tall, lean speedster who looks like a possible replacement in CF)

Pete Craska
1B 6-1 240 L-R Mount Paran Christian Kennesaw GA Georgia Tech (ranked #219 nationally by PG. Huge power at the plate, if not at 1B a possible DH)

Carson Kerce
SS 6-1 195 R-R Pope Marietta GA Georgia Tech

Logan Chapman
3B 6-1 190 R-R Montverde Academy Apopka FL Georgia Tech

Nathanael Coupet
OF 6-0 192 R-R North Broward Prep Boynton Beach FL Georgia Tech

Reid Haire
OF 6-0 185 L-L Pro5 Baseball Academy Hudson NC Georgia Tech

Tyler Neises
1B 6-4 215 L-R Dalton Rocky Face GA Georgia Tech

Jackson Sobel
LHP 6-2 185 L-L Oceanside Collegiate Mount Pleasant SC Georgia Tech

Jake Tucker
LHP 6-4 190 L-L Mount Paran Christian Kennesaw GA Georgia Tech

Michal Kovala
RHP 6-0 175 L-R Combine Academy Ostrava MO Georgia Tech (pitched for the Czech national team)
 
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CINCYMETJACKET

Helluva Engineer
Messages
1,165
Looking forward to the 2024 season. My projection as to who we will be playing in the ACC next year:

Miami, Duke, Virginia Tech at home.
Virginia, UNC, Pittsburgh on the road.
At Clemson and FSU, home against BC and NC State.

All based on historical trends.

Life permitting, I will be at opening weekend in February against whomever we schedule. Plan to head up to Pittsburgh. Virginia and UNC are interesting, depending on when they're scheduled. I've never seen us play at Clemson or FSU, so those are two of the 4 series I need to get to at some point (at Wake and at BC are the other two). FSU would be the obvious one, because we only play at FSU once every 4 years, while we play at Clemson every other year.

Go Jackets! Let's make 2024 memorable!
 

senoiajacket

Helluva Engineer
Messages
1,054
Looking forward to the 2024 season. My projection as to who we will be playing in the ACC next year:

Miami, Duke, Virginia Tech at home.
Virginia, UNC, Pittsburgh on the road.
At Clemson and FSU, home against BC and NC State.

All based on historical trends.

Life permitting, I will be at opening weekend in February against whomever we schedule. Plan to head up to Pittsburgh. Virginia and UNC are interesting, depending on when they're scheduled. I've never seen us play at Clemson or FSU, so those are two of the 4 series I need to get to at some point (at Wake and at BC are the other two). FSU would be the obvious one, because we only play at FSU once every 4 years, while we play at Clemson every other year.

Go Jackets! Let's make 2024 memorable!
I admire your forward looking point of view!
 
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