Fall Ball

[FredJacket]

http://ramblinwreck.com/baseball-announces-fall-schedule/
The newly authorized two fall exhibition games against outside competition is a very good thing... better late than never with that concept.

 

[up state jacket]

Yeah I heard this the other day on Columbia sports radio. That the cocks were coming to Atlanta.

 

[GTNavyNuke]

Only 18 days till we play USCe 0n Oct 6th. Hope it's on ESPN3.

 

[FredJacket]

I'll put this here. Haven't listened to all of it; but will as soon as I get a quiet moment.

Podcast features Wiley on mainly TECH baseball... but other stuff too.
https://collegebaseballcentral.com/...orgia-tech-baseball-with-wiley-ballard/18293/

 

[CINCYMETJACKET]

Thanks for getting me fired up for college baseball in September. Only 146 days left according to beesball.com!

 

[GTNavyNuke]

I'll put this here. Haven't listened to all of it; but will as soon as I get a quiet moment.

Podcast features Wiley on mainly TECH baseball... but other stuff too.
https://collegebaseballcentral.com/...orgia-tech-baseball-with-wiley-ballard/18293/

Very inspiring interview; mostly because I think I know Wiley to some extent and he is a straight shooter. He won't say negative things but he won't puff up an area, just ignore it.

Pitching to be our strength. He think Connor and Tristin are our most promising pitchers. He didn't mention X who did well in summer ball. He didn't talk about relievers this year and hopefully we'll fix that.

Defense was a problem last year. He highlighted our need to figure out CF, 2B and SS.

• CF we have Nick The Highlight Machine, but he doesn't have a high batting average. I like the way he coaxes walks though. Just get on base.
• 2B losing Wade is going to hurt. I agree.
• SS came up though I'm not sure why. Must have had a lot f errors there last year?
• Catcher - he thinks McMann will really develop. Of course not as good as the highest ever drafted GT player Joey Bart, but good. Wiley rattled off three or four former catchers on our coaching staff. A coaching strength

Offense should be good as usual. He mentioned Chase Murray (#50 on D1 list of 50 top hitting draft eligible prospects). I guess we'll be good because we usually do well hitting (must be the good coaching and development )

When asked about the word to describe our 2018 season, Wiley said "bizarre". We had good starting pitching, good hitting but seemed to melt down late in games. Of course, on this forum we would classify "bizarre" as coaching not getting the results from the talent we have. Wiley needs to stay positive. So "bizarre" it is.

PS: Thanks to Fred for finding this. With football where it is, this was a great listen.

And only 13 days till USCe.

 

[GTNavyNuke]

D1 Baseball came out with their top 150 prospects for the 2019 draft. We have 5!

Tristin #47, X #64, Chase #101, Connor #114, McCann #126.

Since these guys are draft eligible this year and most or all will probably go, this is our year to step up and make noise. Otherwise, .........

"Louisville and Vanderbilt lead the charge with six players each on the overall list, while Stanford, Texas Tech, UCLA, Georgia Tech and North Carolina each had five players on the list. Eat Carolina, Florida, LSU and Oregon each had four, while Arkansas, Baylor, Coastal Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi State, St. John’s and UC Irvine each have three.

 

[GTNavyNuke]

Of the top 50 D1 Baseball 2020 top draft prospects, Oscar comes in at #18. Pretty good but there's a lot of baseball and development in the next two seasons. We know he is good now ...... and fast.

Some were speculating he may go to 2B, or was that Austin Wilhite moving over?

 

[THWG]

Of the top 50 D1 Baseball 2020 top draft prospects, Oscar comes in at #18. Pretty good but there's a lot of baseball and development in the next two seasons. We know he is good now ...... and fast.

Some were speculating he may go to 2B, or was that Austin Wilhite moving over?

I would like Austin to move there and have Serratos at SS and Waddell at 3rd.

 

[GTNavyNuke]

I would like Austin to move there and have Serratos at SS and Waddell at 3rd.

I think Austin 2B, Waddell SS and Serratos 3B may be better. I think Serratos has a better arm than Waddell for the longer throws from third.

But which is a better fielder? I don't know which position gets more balls. That also should be the one Serratos goes to. It's probably SS?

 

[THWG]

I think Austin 2B, Waddell SS and Serratos 3B may be better. I think Serratos has a better arm than Waddell for the longer throws from third.

But which is a better fielder? I don't know which position gets more balls. That also should be the one Serratos goes to. It's probably SS?

SS definitely gets more plays. I just like Waddell at 3rd because he has some quick reactions. I also think that Serratos has the better arm, but I like my SS to have the best arm because of those deep in the hole throws. I believe we have one freshman (Miller??) who might challenge for 3rd base or a corner outfield spot.

 

[FredJacket]

Ok... I've been sucked into this "way early" baseball talk. ...not a complaint; but I reserve the right to do a 180 on any position I take because I cannot even find a 2019 roster (anyone?).

One of my biggest concerns is the bullpen. I have other concerns (the middle infield...already addressed by @THWG and @GTNavyNuke in previous posts); but relief pitching is a current "need" based on the last few seasons. Last year, Andy Archer was a very nice surprise and ended up being the most reliable reliever. There were times during the season it seemed he was the ONLY guy CDH had any confidence in. We are going to need "several" reliable guys out of the bullpen to finish games. As a fan, the recall of that feeling of hopeless trepidation of carrying a great starting performance into the 7th or 8th inning holding a 2-3 run lead is palpable.

Any thoughts on who could emerge as our go-to bullpen guys.... starting with a shutdown closer. I looked... and last year the entire team recorded 9 saves over the 31-win season. Archer had 3 of those and the others were 3 by guys no longer on the team. The others were 1 each for: English, Thomas, Hughes. By comparison... the last time we had a good (actually great) closer was 2016 (seems like forever ago) when Gorst recorded 12 saves and the team got to 17. That team won 38 games.

 

[FredJacket]

Defense was a problem last year. He highlighted our need to figure out CF, 2B and SS.

• CF we have Nick The Highlight Machine, but he doesn't have a high batting average. I like the way he coaxes walks though. Just get on base.
• 2B losing Wade is going to hurt. I agree.
• SS came up though I'm not sure why. Must have had a lot f errors there last year?
• Catcher - he thinks McMann will really develop. Of course not as good as the highest ever drafted GT player Joey Bart, but good. Wiley rattled off three or four former catchers on our coaching staff. A coaching strength

Here are N.Wilhite's summer numbers. I really hope he can get his bat going.... a solid defender in CF WITH an average bat on this roster is something positive.
G-30 AB-115 R-21 H-35 2B-8 RBI-10 BB-9 K-19 SB-15 BA-.304

Any thoughts on some "intangibles" on Bart's absence? How much better did he make our pitchers (specifically... the starters)?

 

[GTNavyNuke]

Ok... I've been sucked into this "way early" baseball talk. ...not a complaint; but I reserve the right to do a 180 on any position I take because I cannot even find a 2019 roster (anyone?).

One of my biggest concerns is the bullpen. I have other concerns (the middle infield...already addressed by @THWG and @GTNavyNuke in previous posts); but relief pitching is a current "need" based on the last few seasons. Last year, Andy Archer was a very nice surprise and ended up being the most reliable reliever. There were times during the season it seemed he was the ONLY guy CDH had any confidence in. We are going to need "several" reliable guys out of the bullpen to finish games. As a fan, the recall of that feeling of hopeless trepidation of carrying a great starting performance into the 7th or 8th inning holding a 2-3 run lead is palpable.

Any thoughts on who could emerge as our go-to bullpen guys.... starting with a shutdown closer. I looked... and last year the entire team recorded 9 saves over the 31-win season. Archer had 3 of those and the others were 3 by guys no longer on the team. The others were 1 each for: English, Thomas, Hughes. By comparison... the last time we had a good (actually great) closer was 2016 (seems like forever ago) when Gorst recorded 12 saves and the team got to 17. That team won 38 games.

We are only going to pitch complete game shutouts. Isn't that how it works in off-season?

Seriously, I think one of the guys we are looking at as a starter may be our ace reliever. We may a better idea of depth in the exhibition games and White/Gold. I don't have next year's roster either.

More likely: Lee, Brace, Shirah, Gibson, Bartnicki, Archer, Winborne, Mannelly, Carpenter, Combs, Chapman

Not likely: Hughes (gone?), Gooden (gone?) +other Fr coming in

Some of these guys really have to have developed. Right?

 

[THWG]

We are only going to pitch complete game shutouts. Isn't that how it works in off-season?

Seriously, I think one of the guys we are looking at as a starter may be our ace reliever. We may a better idea of depth in the exhibition games and White/Gold. I don't have next year's roster either.

More likely: Lee, Brace, Shirah, Gibson, Bartnicki, Archer, Winborne, Mannelly, Carpenter, Combs, Chapman

Not likely: Hughes (gone?), Gooden (gone?) +other Fr coming in

Some of these guys really have to have developed. Right?

Ok... I've been sucked into this "way early" baseball talk. ...not a complaint; but I reserve the right to do a 180 on any position I take because I cannot even find a 2019 roster (anyone?).

One of my biggest concerns is the bullpen. I have other concerns (the middle infield...already addressed by @THWG and @GTNavyNuke in previous posts); but relief pitching is a current "need" based on the last few seasons. Last year, Andy Archer was a very nice surprise and ended up being the most reliable reliever. There were times during the season it seemed he was the ONLY guy CDH had any confidence in. We are going to need "several" reliable guys out of the bullpen to finish games. As a fan, the recall of that feeling of hopeless trepidation of carrying a great starting performance into the 7th or 8th inning holding a 2-3 run lead is palpable.

Any thoughts on who could emerge as our go-to bullpen guys.... starting with a shutdown closer. I looked... and last year the entire team recorded 9 saves over the 31-win season. Archer had 3 of those and the others were 3 by guys no longer on the team. The others were 1 each for: English, Thomas, Hughes. By comparison... the last time we had a good (actually great) closer was 2016 (seems like forever ago) when Gorst recorded 12 saves and the team got to 17. That team won 38 games.

The starters will definitely be our strength this year and I actually hope it is Curry, Thomas, and Hurter for the weekend. Then have Bartnicki, the other lefty we got (decommitted from NC State and committed to us), and Brace for the weekday role. Make English the closer, Archer and Carpenter can be the set up men/ part time closers. Hughes had a great summer and was able to find the strike zone a lot, so he is my wildcard. We really just need 3 or 4 stoppers in the pen with the rotation that we'll have this year.

Edit: I forgot about Winborne, Shirah, and Mannelly. Use them as situational pitchers, especially with Winborne who is tough on righties.

 

[CINCYMETJACKET]

Defense was a problem last year. He highlighted our need to figure out CF, 2B and SS.

• CF we have Nick The Highlight Machine, but he doesn't have a high batting average. I like the way he coaxes walks though. Just get on base.
• 2B losing Wade is going to hurt. I agree.
• SS came up though I'm not sure why. Must have had a lot f errors there last year?
• Catcher - he thinks McMann will really develop. Of course not as good as the highest ever drafted GT player Joey Bart, but good. Wiley rattled off three or four former catchers on our coaching staff. A coaching strength

I'm hoping that Wilhite, Waddell, and Serratos will shore up the middle of the infield and third base. If I'm not mistaken, Austin was a 2B in high school, so I can see him moving back there this year. I believe Waddell and Serratos were both SS in high school. From what I recall, Serratos was playing pretty well at third at the end of last year, and Waddell was in at SS from time to time when he was healthy. I could see Wilhite at 2B, Waddell at SS, and Serratos at 3B.

 

[RoosterJacket]

I'm hoping that Wilhite, Waddell, and Serratos will shore up the middle of the infield and third base. If I'm not mistaken, Austin was a 2B in high school, so I can see him moving back there this year. I believe Waddell and Serratos were both SS in high school. From what I recall, Serratos was playing pretty well at third at the end of last year, and Waddell was in at SS from time to time when he was healthy. I could see Wilhite at 2B, Waddell at SS, and Serratos at 3B.

Yep, I’d assume it’s gotta be some combo of those three at 2B, SS, and 3B. Wilhite played SS in HS as well.

 

[GTNavyNuke]

The starters will definitely be our strength this year and I actually hope it is Curry, Thomas, and Hurter for the weekend. Then have Bartnicki, the other lefty we got (decommitted from NC State and committed to us), and Brace for the weekday role. Make English the closer, Archer and Carpenter can be the set up men/ part time closers. Hughes had a great summer and was able to find the strike zone a lot, so he is my wildcard. We really just need 3 or 4 stoppers in the pen with the rotation that we'll have this year.

Edit: I forgot about Winborne, Shirah, and Mannelly. Use them as situational pitchers, especially with Winborne who is tough on righties.

Hughes is one I missed; confused him with someone else who has left. It will be good to see a roster or even a line-up for some of the games. 10 days till we play USCe.

Hughes stats in the Coastal League were really improved over the previous year in Sunbelt. http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/profile.asp?ID=197378

The K-BB of 3.73 is impressive. He went from .87 to 3.73. That's how his WHIP got down to 1.04. Real improvement.

 

[FredJacket]

A summary of the 60 sec interview/video:
- it feels like summer.... not "fall"
- Apparel commercial
- ENERGY

 

[MWBATL]

Some of these guys really have to have developed. Right?

Developed? What's that?