Welcome to Hogville!      Do Not Sell My Personal Information

Cardinal - Grey rosters

Started by ricepig, October 10, 2017, 05:19:46 pm

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.


howie76

Good stuff.. thanks for the link rice

 

ricepig


ThisTeetsTaken

Acan anyone give some highlights?  Maybe some individual stats especially pitching.
***"He must increase, but I must decrease"***

ricepig

Quote from: ThisTeetsTaken on October 11, 2017, 06:43:14 pm
Acan anyone give some highlights?  Maybe some individual stats especially pitching.

All I saw was the Cardinal won 13-0, Kenley hit for the cycle, and a few others hit bombs.


JHicks3636

What are the chances of having two pitchers named Jackson Rutledge on the same team? In our case, pretty high.

yraciv

Quote from: JHicks3636 on October 11, 2017, 09:01:01 pm
What are the chances of having two pitchers named Jackson Rutledge on the same team? In our case, pretty high.

IDK, but it certainly is going to confuse a lot of people. Luckily one is 6'8, so he kind of sticks out.

Hogs49ers

Looks like our catcher position is not going to miss a beat after Koch gets drafted next year (at least from a hitting standpoint), Optiz went 2/3 with a 3 run HR and a walk - from everything I have been hearing, he is going to be a solid one for us!

Nice to see McFarland get a couple hits and for Evan Lee to have a HUGE game pitching and hitting, should be studs for us this year!
SCREW Vandy!

factchecker

Quote from: Hogs49ers on October 12, 2017, 03:44:48 pm
Looks like our catcher position is not going to miss a beat after Koch gets drafted next year (at least from a hitting standpoint)

You are correct.

https://twitter.com/RyanFolkes/status/918314806041509888
WORK FOR IT
PLAN ON IT
EARN IT
OMAHOGS

dotnet

I may have posted in the wrong thread - is Bonin hurt or did he just sit out a game?

ucahogfan

There is so much to like about the 2018 Diamond Hogs.  It is hard to really find a hole in this team.

Looking at the offense, you bring back 7 regulars from an offense that punished pitching at times last year.  While we did lose Chad Spanberger, I feel like we will hit for more power as a team this year.  I would be willing to bet that Bonfield, Shaddy, Gates, and Koch all have stronger seasons than they did last year.  We might have the best trio of seniors in the lineup this year with Bonfield, Shaddy, and Gates.  Add in other returners in Biggers, Cole, and Fletcher and we might have the best returning lineup in the country.  Add in Lee who was a stud this summer and McFarland who has a rare combo of speed and power.

That does not even factor in the freshmen who have performed well this fall in Kjerstad, Martin, Murrell, and Opitz.  Kjerstad has probably been our best hitter this fall in live game action, but when you bring back a Freshman AA (Fletcher), top summer performer (Lee), and one of our top hitters in SEC play (Cole) in the OF as well as Bonfield, it will be tough to find him regular ABs.  It looks like Martin might be the favorite to get the first shot at 3B while Murrell is also a contender.  Opitz provides a good back up option at C or even 2B for this team.

That does not even factor in returners or other newcomers such as Jack Kenley (hit for the cycle and DVH has said he has been a different hitter this fall), Hunter Wilson, Brady Disher, and Derek Ripp.  Disher and Ripp are both big LHHs who have hit multiple HRs this fall from what I have heard.  Zack Plunkett gives us yet another option with pop to play behind the dish.  There could be weekends early in the season where we have a different C start each game, but Koch will be the main guy depending on health.  Can't forget to mention Bonnin who hit over .300 in California this summer playing against college guys or Turney who is one of the highest ranked players to ever step foot on campus.  He is the highest ranked freshmen since Stanek as both were top 20 guys according to PG.

The pitching is just as promising as these hitters will face some very good pitching.  It all starts out with Blaine Knight and Isaiah Campbell.  It is hard to find a better 1/2 punch in the country.  Kacey Murphy would be my top pick for Sunday starter considering how strong he finished for us last year.  There are two elite sophomore LHPs in Matt Cronin and Evan Lee who could also start, but figure to be major options.  Barrett Loseke and Jake Reindl give us experienced options who have performed in the past to be top options as well.  The biggest question is who closes.  Is it a freshmen like Bonnin or Rutledge or is it one of the options I have already mentioned?  Losing Kopps hurts, but we have the depth to overcome it this year.  Also don't forget that Keaton McKinney should be healthy and ready to go in like April so he adds another option down the stretch.

I even feel like this might be the best defense we have seen under DVH coming up this year.  You have an OF who not only can run most fly balls down in Fletcher, Lee, and Cole, they also have cannons to keep runners from taking the extra base.  Biggers is an elite defense SS while Koch threw runners out at a good clip from behind the plate last year.  Shaddy improved tremendously defensively at 2B last year.  He had 16 Es which is bad, but the vast majority came the first third of the season.  He was a downright decent defender down the stretch and he provides nice athleticism there.  Gates might be better suited for 1B and we are going to put an excellent defender at 3B whether it be Kenley, Wilson, or Martin.

Can the season start already?

dotnet

Quote from: ucahogfan on October 12, 2017, 05:45:34 pm
There is so much to like about the 2018 Diamond Hogs.  It is hard to really find a hole in this team.

Can the season start already?

If I had to pick a hole...

I'd say the bullpen.  This is true for almost every single college team, and we were spoiled with the 2012/2013 teams where there were four shut down guys which is unheard of with the scholarship limit.


So you need 2 starters and a solid bullpen out of:

Cronin
Lee
Murphy
Bonnin
Loseke
Reindl
Rutledge
various freshman/relatively unproven guys. 


I agree Murphy has a good chance to be the Sunday guy, because DVH really likes to have an older guy in that spot.  I think Lee would be a good closer becuase I like his demeanor.  Reindl really started to come on at the end of last year.

everyone else has great potential but has really struggled or is unproven.  Arkansas is still in a great spot here because there are tons of talented potential answers here.  But in the offense, we have seen basically 9 guys with good success and we're basically betting on that continuing with normal improvement.  In the pitching department, there needs to be multiple guys with solid improvement for it to be where we want.

 

ucahogfan

Quote from: dotnet on October 13, 2017, 10:42:15 am
If I had to pick a hole...

I'd say the bullpen.  This is true for almost every single college team, and we were spoiled with the 2012/2013 teams where there were four shut down guys which is unheard of with the scholarship limit.
But even the pen returns a solid amount of experience from last year.

It sounds like Knight and Campbell are pretty much locked in as the top two starters so the third option is probably either Murphy or Lee right now.  The other probably becomes a major piece in the pen.

Cronin might be the top option to close right now IMO as we saw 90-94 out of him toward the end of the year.  It is also a tough 90-94 that just seems to jump on hitters.  I remember his outing in Hoover as the hitters never really picked up his fastball and swung and missed at it a number of times.  The good thing about all 3 of the LHPs is that they have nasty breaking balls which help play their fastballs up.

Loseke has so much talent that I just hope he figures it out this year.  He can be 90-96 at his best with a good slider.  He draws a lot of swings and misses, but his command is also very shaky at times.

Reindl is the perfect option to be the setup man like he was most of the time last year.  He won't blow hitters away, but he has a funky cross fire motion and spots it well.  He also has a decent breaking ball.

Rutledge excites me as a freshman.  He is a big guy at 6-8, but DVH has said he has been mainly working 92-96 with a nasty curveball.  He is also just wild enough to keep hitters on their toes.  Sounds like a former closer from a couple of years ago who did very well shutting teams down.

Bonnin is such an exciting arm as well.  It is very rare to have two freshmen with the skills of Rutledge and Bonnin who can both run it into the mid 90s with good breaking stuff.

ricepig


dotnet

Quote from: ucahogfan on October 13, 2017, 11:46:56 am
But even the pen returns a solid amount of experience from last year.

I agree, the potential and talent is there.  I don't expect it to be a bad pen.

But you're kind of making my point in that the team returns a bunch of people from a bad bullpen last year.


ThisTeetsTaken

We've got some dudes on our roster.  A bunch of them.   
***"He must increase, but I must decrease"***

PorkRyan

Our hitting 1-9 is going to be unreal.  This Kjerstad kid barrels up everything.  He is taking someone's job in the OF.  We are going to have a couple of very good hitters on the bench. 

I agree with dotnet that the bullpen is the potential weakness.  I haven't seen a lot of swing and miss stuff from the bullpen.  I think you have Lee, Cronin, and Reindl and then a lot of question marks.  Rutledge and Bonnin are the two with probably the best stuff so we need those guys to develop over the next few months.  Bonnin was wild yesterday and when he found the plate he got hit hard.  Same thing happened to Rutledge last week.   

Mr.Swine89

Kjerstad is a long lanky athlete. Looks like he weighs 165lbs, but I know he weighs much more. Watching him hit the other day was pretty cool. Covers both sides of the plate and really swings for contact. His HR was a thing of beauty. I don't see lots of HR's from him though. He will lead us in doubles at some point. A lot like Fico as a freshman. Dude also has a .308 attached to his shoulder.

PorkRyan

Quote from: Mr.Swine89 on October 16, 2017, 01:34:31 pm
Kjerstad is a long lanky athlete. Looks like he weighs 165lbs, but I know he weighs much more. Watching him hit the other day was pretty cool. Covers both sides of the plate and really swings for contact. His HR was a thing of beauty. I don't see lots of HR's from him though. He will lead us in doubles at some point. A lot like Fico as a freshman. Dude also has a .308 attached to his shoulder.

He reminds me a lot of Zack Cox the way he consistently finds a way to hit it on the screws.  There wasn't anything cheap on his 5-5 day.

Mr.Swine89

Quote from: PorkRyan on October 16, 2017, 01:45:48 pm
He reminds me a lot of Zack Cox the way he consistently finds a way to hit it on the screws.  There wasn't anything cheap on his 5-5 day.

That's a great comparison as well. Hits it very hard every time. 

dotnet

Quote from: PorkRyan on October 16, 2017, 01:45:48 pm
He reminds me a lot of Zack Cox the way he consistently finds a way to hit it on the screws.  There wasn't anything cheap on his 5-5 day.

Did he also consistently hit it on the screws when he was 1-7 the other two days? 

Not trying to be negative, just trying to understand.  There isn't much you can take from one day (or even the two days before that)...

Taking someone's spot would mean he has to beat out at least five of the following: Lee/Opitz/Fletcher/McFarland/Gates/Bonnin/Bonfield/Cole plus every other true freshman. 

I expect a freshman to start but starting for this team is turning into a pretty high bar.

311Hog

Quote from: dotnet on October 16, 2017, 03:30:10 pm
Did he also consistently hit it on the screws when he was 1-7 the other two days? 

Not trying to be negative, just trying to understand.  There isn't much you can take from one day (or even the two days before that)...

Taking someone's spot would mean he has to beat out at least five of the following: Lee/Opitz/Fletcher/McFarland/Gates/Bonnin/Bonfield/Cole plus every other true freshman. 

I expect a freshman to start but starting for this team is turning into a pretty high bar.

or something that will be second guessed if it doesn't work out right away.

dotnet

Quote from: PorkRyan on October 16, 2017, 01:31:51 pm
....
I haven't seen a lot of swing and miss stuff from the bullpen.

...

Bonnin was wild yesterday and when he found the plate he got hit hard.  Same thing happened to Rutledge last week.   


So basically,  how you described those two is how I would describe the entire bullpen last year - and most freshman in SEC play. 

Hopefully those guys can develop and the returners have developed and make the hoped for freshman to sophmore year jumps

 

bulldog04

Quote from: PorkRyan on October 16, 2017, 01:31:51 pm
Our hitting 1-9 is going to be unreal.  This Kjerstad kid barrels up everything.  He is taking someone's job in the OF.  We are going to have a couple of very good hitters on the bench. 

I agree with dotnet that the bullpen is the potential weakness.  I haven't seen a lot of swing and miss stuff from the bullpen.  I think you have Lee, Cronin, and Reindl and then a lot of question marks.  Rutledge and Bonnin are the two with probably the best stuff so we need those guys to develop over the next few months.  Bonnin was wild yesterday and when he found the plate he got hit hard.  Same thing happened to Rutledge last week.   
Just because a pitcher had a bad outing or got hit hard doesn't mean a whole lot since they are facing these hitters.  I will put our hitters against anyone's top to bottom.

PorkRyan


Quote from: dotnet on October 16, 2017, 03:30:10 pm
Did he also consistently hit it on the screws when he was 1-7 the other two days? 

Not trying to be negative, just trying to understand.  There isn't much you can take from one day (or even the two days before that)...

Taking someone's spot would mean he has to beat out at least five of the following: Lee/Opitz/Fletcher/McFarland/Gates/Bonnin/Bonfield/Cole plus every other true freshman. 

I expect a freshman to start but starting for this team is turning into a pretty high bar.

DVH said he has been the best hitter on the team this Fall.  Those are big words considering the hitters we have. 

PorkRyan

Quote from: dotnet on October 16, 2017, 03:32:35 pm

So basically,  how you described those two is how I would describe the entire bullpen last year - and most freshman in SEC play. 

Hopefully those guys can develop and the returners have developed and make the hoped for freshman to sophmore year jumps
Quote from: bulldog04 on October 16, 2017, 09:01:46 pm
Just because a pitcher had a bad outing or got hit hard doesn't mean a whole lot since they are facing these hitters.  I will put our hitters against anyone's top to bottom.

I think it is what dotnet said.  You can't depend on most Freshman in conference play.  Also, keep in mind that as good as our hitters have been, these pitchers are facing roughly half of a starting lineup in the Fall WS.  There just haven't been many swing and misses and that is a little bit of a concern.  I think we have 6 pretty dependable guys but we can't afford anymore injuries.  Bonnin and Rutledge have the stuff to be high end SEC guys.  Bolden was solid yesterday and seems like he has a bit more control than those two but not quite their stuff.       

dotnet

Quote from: PorkRyan on October 16, 2017, 09:50:11 pm
Bolden was solid yesterday and seems like he has a bit more control than those two but not quite their stuff.       

Sounds like a good candidate for a mid week starter and let him develop throughout the year. That is probably good enough to beat a lot of mid week teams, especially when you consider the offense vs their 4th pitcher

hogwild04

In fall season, at the beginning or first 2 weeks the pitchers win most of the battles, after batters face the same pitcher multiple times and get some rust knocked off, the batters seem to win the battles in the end. Not saying that is always the case, but know that some of the pitchers that got hit hard also had some very strong outings through out the fall, and take this line up of hitters is one of the best in the nation if not the best and after seeing pitchers like Rutledge (fresh) a few times this fall,  hitters know how to adjust.  I do agree about freshman needing time to learn and get the pace of the game down before being a big force in SEC, game is 10 times faster and longer than HS games, we know who 1 and 2 are for us, I do believe Rutledge and Bonin along with Bolden are going to get as lot  of innings while developing  into the future and 2 more CWS National Championships after win it this year,  I can dream.