Thoughts from the Opening Weekend

[ucahogfan]

While Bucknell is not a very good measuring stick for how the season will go, we took care of business like we should have.  Here are a few observations I had from this weekend:

-  This offense will be really special.  They showed good plate discipline and can drive the ball all over the park.  We hit 8 HRs this weekend and had a couple more knocked down by the wind today.  The depth of the lineup is also scary.  How many teams have hitters the caliber of Koch, Gates, and Shaddy in the bottom third of the order?

-  Evan Lee will get better defensively at 1B, but right now, he will struggle.  The error on Biggers would have been dug out by most 1B as it was a nice hop.  He will also improve his defensiveness awareness on potential back picks.

-  Heston Kjerstad will show some freshmam misstakes and we saw a couple of those on the basepaths this weekend, but he barrelled everything up and made loud contact.  Pus, his arm isn't too shabby either.

-  I like our weekend rotation of Knight, Campbell, and McKinney.  Not only a lot of talent, but also a lot of experience in that group.

-  I feel better about our pen after this weekend.  Seeing Scroggins back throwing 93-94 with a good breaking ball gives DVH another guy to pair with Reindl and Cronin as the go to arms out there.

-  This freshmen class has a chance to be special.  Just a lot of extremely talented players both at the plate and on the mound.  We threw 6 freshmen pitchers this year - Ramage, Bonnin, Milligan, Vermillion, Bolden, and Rutledge - and they all did well.  Turney struggled at the plate, but I feel like he will come around eventually.

I'm excited that the Diamond Hogs are back in action and this will be one of the most fun seasons ever for this program.  We will find out a lot more next week in San Diego.

[Razorbacks#1]

Great post uca!

[Mr.Swine89]

Good stuff

[Baconomics]

Some intangibles...

1) The fans know it's going to be a special season.  Good attendance in cold weather against an outmatched opponent.

2) The team seems relaxed.  Hog teams with high expectations often seem to be carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders.  But even the slim lead in Game 3 didn't phase them.  They were loose and having fun.

3) Van Horn knows he's loaded with talent.  He was giving everyone some PT.  Dave, imo, likes to set his lineup and stick with it while the team jells.  I thought I was watching basketball and Mike was subbing for the entire lineup.  He may feel guilty that we have so many talented players on the bench.

4) If a freshman has ever had a more impressive debut in the opening series then Heston Kjerkstad, please clue me in.  That throw tells you why Luke Bonfield is a DH.  Wow.

It's going to be a fun year...

[Hawgphish]

I like the approach we had at the plate.  I know it is early and bucknell pitching was not great but we didn't seem to chase out of the zone as much.

[swineology]

Jackson Rutledge will be special sooner rather than later. the ability to throw one in at 96 then the next pitch 78.

[SPAL]

Agree with everything that has been said already. Hard to really have any negatives.

Our bullpen may end up being very deep. We have a lot of options though some youth out there.

Our approach has been world's better.

Still worried about mck but I'm gonna attribute it to rust. Hope he finds his groove sooner than later.

[mclyte]

This team is loaded.

One take away... DVH somehow has to get Casey Martin in the lineup. His power/speed is game changing. He can flat out fly. Impressed by these freshmen.

[swineology]

Agree with everything that has been said already. Hard to really have any negatives.

Our bullpen may end up being very deep. We have a lot of options though some youth out there.

Our approach has been world's better.

Still worried about mck but I'm gonna attribute it to rust. Hope he finds his groove sooner than later.

Campbell's performance was a bit unimpressive. Both him and McKinney need to knock off some rust and hot that groove.

[HogsBalls]

Just my opinion but I think you'll see Martin starting at 3B and Gates at 1B switching with Lee eventually. Martin offers too much in the 9 hole to not get him in there.

[pigture perfect]

Today's game may have the best thing for us all week. We battled.

[rolyat_2008]

Just my opinion but I think you'll see Martin starting at 3B and Gates at 1B switching with Lee eventually. Martin offers too much in the 9 hole to not get him in there.

Lee and Gates are both left handed hitters though and McFarland brings the right handed option at first when facing a lefty.

I wonder if we ever see Bonfield at 1B so it frees up DH.

[ucahogfan]

Our bullpen may end up being very deep. We have a lot of options though some youth out there.

Yeah, our pen doesn't have the experience that the rest of the team does, but the options DVH has are:

-  Jake Reindl - More 90-92 and can hit 93-94, but he also showed he was one of the elite relievers during SEC play last year with an ERA below 1.00 in an inning per game.  Based on this weekend, it appears he might be our closer, but I feel like DVH will use him in high leverage situations regardless if it is a closing situation or not.

-  Matt Cronin - He has drawn a lot of preseason attention being in CBD's top 100 and a top 30 reliever according to D1 Baseball as well as a top 100 prospect in the 2019 draft, but the praise is well deserved.  He was electric today sitting 92-94 with his fastball and showing that big hook.  I think we might see 95-96 at points this year especially in short one inning stints.  The fastball plays up due to the hook and the deception.

-  Cody Scroggins - If I recall correctly, he was going to be our closer last year before going down with TJ surgery.  He was 93-94 this weekend spotting the ball well with a good breaking ball.  Johnson has to feel good to have him back and looking good this early.  I think most of us didn't expect him to really be back this season at all let alone to begin the year.

-  Evan Lee - While his command was shaky this weekend, he is another LHP that will be 92-95 with that big hook.  He can be another elite arm that has some experience for DVH and Johnson to go to in tough situations.

-  Jackson Rutledge - While the ceiling on this guy is unlimited, the present looks pretty good.  He sits 95+ with a good breaking ball.  He reminds me a little of Zach Jackson in terms of stuff.  He has a better fastball, but his breaking ball is not there yet.  It is still nasty, but Jackson's breaking ball is elite.

-  Bryce Bonnin - Yet another arm for Johnson that will hit mid 90s and shows off a plus slider.  It seems like he really took off once he focused purely on pitching.

-  Barrett Loseke - The pure raw stuff is there, but the command has not always been.  He can be 90-96 at his best with a swing and miss breaking ball.  He would be the top reliever on a lot of teams, but he just adds to our insane depth.

-  Kole Ramage - He add a nice change of pace to the rest of the pen which contains a lot of fireballers.  He might not throw harder than 90 most of the time, but it appears his breaking stuff is his bread and butter.  Hearing DVH, it sounds like Ramage will be one of the key arms out of the pen this year.

That is seven solid arms out of the pen.  That does not even include Bolden (who I think will be a midweek starter along with Murphy), Kostyshock, and Vermillion who all hit 94+ this weekend or Milligan who is a promising young LHP.  Johnson has a ton of talented arms to use out of the pen, but not a ton of experience.

[ucahogfan]

Lee and Gates are both left handed hitters though and McFarland brings the right handed option at first when facing a lefty.

I wonder if we ever see Bonfield at 1B so it frees up DH.

Lee has a long way to go defensively at 1B.  DH might be a good option for him, but that is Bonfield's position this year and he did not show anything this weekend to dissuade from that.

Martin has game changing speed on the base paths.  I would like to see him in the lineup more regularly this year.

[swineology]

Yeah, our pen doesn't have the experience that the rest of the team does, but the options DVH has are:

-  Jake Reindl - More 90-92 and can hit 93-94, but he also showed he was one of the elite relievers during SEC play last year with an ERA below 1.00 in an inning per game.  Based on this weekend, it appears he might be our closer, but I feel like DVH will use him in high leverage situations regardless if it is a closing situation or not.

-  Matt Cronin - He has drawn a lot of preseason attention being in CBD's top 100 and a top 30 reliever according to D1 Baseball as well as a top 100 prospect in the 2019 draft, but the praise is well deserved.  He was electric today sitting 92-94 with his fastball and showing that big hook.  I think we might see 95-96 at points this year especially in short one inning stints.  The fastball plays up due to the hook and the deception.

-  Cody Scroggins - If I recall correctly, he was going to be our closer last year before going down with TJ surgery.  He was 93-94 this weekend spotting the ball well with a good breaking ball.  Johnson has to feel good to have him back and looking good this early.  I think most of us didn't expect him to really be back this season at all let alone to begin the year.

-  Evan Lee - While his command was shaky this weekend, he is another LHP that will be 92-95 with that big hook.  He can be another elite arm that has some experience for DVH and Johnson to go to in tough situations.

-  Jackson Rutledge - While the ceiling on this guy is unlimited, the present looks pretty good.  He sits 95+ with a good breaking ball.  He reminds me a little of Zach Jackson in terms of stuff.  He has a better fastball, but his breaking ball is not there yet.  It is still nasty, but Jackson's breaking ball is elite.

-  Bryce Bonnin - Yet another arm for Johnson that will hit mid 90s and shows off a plus slider.  It seems like he really took off once he focused purely on pitching.

-  Barrett Loseke - The pure raw stuff is there, but the command has not always been.  He can be 90-96 at his best with a swing and miss breaking ball.  He would be the top reliever on a lot of teams, but he just adds to our insane depth.

-  Kole Ramage - He add a nice change of pace to the rest of the pen which contains a lot of fireballers.  He might not throw harder than 90 most of the time, but it appears his breaking stuff is his bread and butter.  Hearing DVH, it sounds like Ramage will be one of the key arms out of the pen this year.

That is seven solid arms out of the pen.  That does not even include Bolden (who I think will be a midweek starter along with Murphy), Kostyshock, and Vermillion who all hit 94+ this weekend or Milligan who is a promising young LHP.  Johnson has a ton of talented arms to use out of the pen, but not a ton of experience.

Reindl and Rutledge should be door slammers.

DVH has the rest of the pen to figure out

[BroyledNutts]

I'd hate to be an SEC batter facing a 6'8" Rutledge closer throwing way downhill at 95+ ...

If he polishes what is already there he could be a Matty Ott type closer before he leaves here.

[Knot2brite]

We should find out all kinds of things after this week

[dotnet]

I'd hate to be an SEC batter facing a 6'8" Rutledge closer throwing way downhill at 95+ ...

If he polishes what is already there he could be a Matty Ott type closer before he leaves here.

If he is as good as we hope with that frame, he'll be starting.