FredJacket
Helluva Engineer
- Messages
- 6,018
- Location
- Fredericksburg, Virginia
It is right around the corner... in just over a week, college baseball is back in action at Russ Chandler. I'm fired up for a great season!! This opening series is the start a 50 game slate for the Yellow Jackets and one of only two non-conference weekend series all year. The 2nd won't come until finals week (Apr30-May2).
D1 baseball has EKU predicted to finish 3rd (of 11) in the Ohio Valley Conference behind Jacksonville State and Belmont. They have Jacksonville State as the only OVC team to make the field of 64... but note that EKU is capable of getting there. They also are projecting the EKU SS/3B (Daniel Harris IV) to be conference Player of the Year.
Ga Tech is better than this team (on paper). Need to win all 3 of these games... one at a time.
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Eastern Kentucky has a chance to contend this season thanks to the solid talent level on the roster. There’s a lot of youth since the 44 players on the roster, 22 of them will be listed as freshmen. Fortunately, they have Daniel Harris IV who led the OVC in batting a year ago at an astounding .460 clip. Harris (.460/.541/.680), a junior infielder, raised his average almost two hundred points from 2019 to 2020. Athletic with good actions and above-average arm, Harris can play shortstop but will begin the year at third base and hit three-hole.
He will be joined in the infield by sophomore shortstop Logan Thomason (.362/.422/.517). An above average college defender at shortstop (.960+ fielder for two years), Thomason is athletic with a chance to be solid offensively while being steady with good actions and an accurate arm. Senior catcher Chance Bodine (.125/.440/.125) is a physical catcher with a good arm. Sophomore first baseman Charlie Ludwick (.250/.371/.354) is a middle of the order OVC bat with average power and a solid stroke. True freshman second baseman Santiago Peralta is an above-average defender at second base.
Junior DH Caleb Upshaw has power and good feel to hit. He should bat in the middle of the order and be an impact stick in the OVC. True freshman left fielder Max Williams is a good runner (6.5-6.6) and was very good offensively this fall. He has a leadoff profile with gap power and should steal some bases. Sophomore center fielder Cam Pidley (juco transfer) is a good runner (6.5-6.6) and solid defender in center with a slightly below-average arm but accurate. Second-year freshman right fielder Kendal Ewell has an elite power tool (probably 60-65 grade) but must prove can hit in games. A solid athlete with a solid arm, Ewell has lots of projection and if he meets it, will be an impact player in OVC.
Junior RHP Louis Davenport (2-0, 4.20) leads the staff. He will bring his fastball at 90-94 MPH with an 82-84 slider and feel for his change. Junior RHP Darren Williams is a former closer who has moved to the rotation. He features an 89-92 MPH fastball with three different secondary pitches (CB, CH, SL). Junior LHP Jake Lewis (2-1, 7.71) really came on in the fall. He has been 84-86 MPH for most of his career and was consistently 87-89 MPH during the fall.
Sophomore RHP Julian Jackson (2-0, 4.22) is out until early March. He is a 6-foot-8 righty with elite stuff before the injury (up to 95 MPH with hard BB). He has a chance to be a good prospect if he returns from injury. Sophomore LHP Will Brian missed last season with an injury. He has a 90-93 MPH fastball with a high spin rate on a 78-80 curveball. His heavy fastball plays up and has feel for his change as well. Sophomore LHP John Farley (0-0, 4.50) brings deception from a low 3/4 arm angle and could be a spot starter as well as a reliever. Lefties Jake Lewis and John Farley showed a big improvement and add depth.
Ohio Valley Conf Preview from D1:
d1baseball.com
D1 baseball has EKU predicted to finish 3rd (of 11) in the Ohio Valley Conference behind Jacksonville State and Belmont. They have Jacksonville State as the only OVC team to make the field of 64... but note that EKU is capable of getting there. They also are projecting the EKU SS/3B (Daniel Harris IV) to be conference Player of the Year.
Ga Tech is better than this team (on paper). Need to win all 3 of these games... one at a time.
-----------------------------------
Eastern Kentucky has a chance to contend this season thanks to the solid talent level on the roster. There’s a lot of youth since the 44 players on the roster, 22 of them will be listed as freshmen. Fortunately, they have Daniel Harris IV who led the OVC in batting a year ago at an astounding .460 clip. Harris (.460/.541/.680), a junior infielder, raised his average almost two hundred points from 2019 to 2020. Athletic with good actions and above-average arm, Harris can play shortstop but will begin the year at third base and hit three-hole.
He will be joined in the infield by sophomore shortstop Logan Thomason (.362/.422/.517). An above average college defender at shortstop (.960+ fielder for two years), Thomason is athletic with a chance to be solid offensively while being steady with good actions and an accurate arm. Senior catcher Chance Bodine (.125/.440/.125) is a physical catcher with a good arm. Sophomore first baseman Charlie Ludwick (.250/.371/.354) is a middle of the order OVC bat with average power and a solid stroke. True freshman second baseman Santiago Peralta is an above-average defender at second base.
Junior DH Caleb Upshaw has power and good feel to hit. He should bat in the middle of the order and be an impact stick in the OVC. True freshman left fielder Max Williams is a good runner (6.5-6.6) and was very good offensively this fall. He has a leadoff profile with gap power and should steal some bases. Sophomore center fielder Cam Pidley (juco transfer) is a good runner (6.5-6.6) and solid defender in center with a slightly below-average arm but accurate. Second-year freshman right fielder Kendal Ewell has an elite power tool (probably 60-65 grade) but must prove can hit in games. A solid athlete with a solid arm, Ewell has lots of projection and if he meets it, will be an impact player in OVC.
Junior RHP Louis Davenport (2-0, 4.20) leads the staff. He will bring his fastball at 90-94 MPH with an 82-84 slider and feel for his change. Junior RHP Darren Williams is a former closer who has moved to the rotation. He features an 89-92 MPH fastball with three different secondary pitches (CB, CH, SL). Junior LHP Jake Lewis (2-1, 7.71) really came on in the fall. He has been 84-86 MPH for most of his career and was consistently 87-89 MPH during the fall.
Sophomore RHP Julian Jackson (2-0, 4.22) is out until early March. He is a 6-foot-8 righty with elite stuff before the injury (up to 95 MPH with hard BB). He has a chance to be a good prospect if he returns from injury. Sophomore LHP Will Brian missed last season with an injury. He has a 90-93 MPH fastball with a high spin rate on a 78-80 curveball. His heavy fastball plays up and has feel for his change as well. Sophomore LHP John Farley (0-0, 4.50) brings deception from a low 3/4 arm angle and could be a spot starter as well as a reliever. Lefties Jake Lewis and John Farley showed a big improvement and add depth.
Ohio Valley Conf Preview from D1:
2021 Ohio Valley Conference Preview: Experienced JSU Leads Solid Pack • D1Baseball
Jacksonville State is the headliner in the Ohio Valley Conference, and we take an in-depth look at the league with analysis, top prospects and more.
