College Baseball (Multiple Seasons)

[CaliforniaRaisin]

 

131 pitches. Should've taken the pro money, kid.

[OleMissCub]

 

Nice reaction, or lack thereof, by Rocker.

[Regular Show]

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[OleMissCub]

holy crap, talking heads on ESPN are acting like Vandy is this little engine that could in the big bad SEC.

 

Vandy is the freaking Yankees or Dodgers of college baseball. Every other team in the SEC (and every other public university) can only give 11.7 scholarships to be divided among the entire roster in baseball. Vandy can give unlimited "academic" scholarships to whomever they wish. Their entire baseball team is on a full ride.

 

I'd argue that Corbin has actualy underachieved at Vandy. They should win it every single year with their lack of scholarship limitations.

[Regular Show]

holy crap, talking heads on ESPN are acting like Vandy is this little engine that could in the big bad SEC.

 

Vandy is the freaking Yankees or Dodgers of college baseball. Every other team in the SEC (and every other public university) can only give 11.7 scholarships to be divided among the entire roster in baseball. Vandy can give unlimited "academic" scholarships to whomever they wish. Their entire baseball team is on a full ride.

 

I'd argue that Corbin has actualy underachieved at Vandy. They should win it every single year with their lack of scholarship limitations.

 

Come on dude. Win it every single year? You know MLB teams try to draft and sign almost every good prospect that commits to Vandy right? He's done a phenomenal job, but they can't be expected to dominate every year (this isn't college basketball and even Duke/Kentucky don't win the NCAA tournament every year).

 

I agree Vandy has a huge advantage in terms of scholarship money and being a private University btw.

[OleMissCub]

It was an exaggeration. Regardless, they’ve had several signing classes the last few years where the average player ranking was a Perfect Game 10. That’s ridiculous.

[Regular Show]

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So he's the top prospect right now for the 2021 MLB Draft. He was a dominant HS pitching prospect in last year's draft as well, but the price was too high and commitment to Vandy was very strong. I'm glad he's doing well and I hope he stays healthy. He throws very hard so I'm a little worried about TJS happening at some point.

 

Great kid with the potential to be a TOR arm in MLB someday.

[Regular Show]

Lol just the worst

 

I'm trying to ignore you Tom...

 

"Just the worst" what? Just the worst swings?

 

Again, you made a post right after I made one with very little context here. If you're trying to attack me for "jumping" on the Kumar bandwagon I wouldn't recommend it... I've liked him for a long time now.

[Cubfanintheknow]

 

So he's the top prospect right now for the 2021 MLB Draft. He was a dominant HS pitching prospect in last year's draft as well, but the price was too high and commitment to Vandy was very strong. I'm glad he's doing well and I hope he stays healthy. He throws very hard so I'm a little worried about TJS happening at some point.

 

Great kid with the potential to be a TOR arm in MLB someday.

 

Any chance of Kumar skipping his last two years to play in Japan? What (or how much) would it take to lure him overseas?

[Regular Show]

 

So he's the top prospect right now for the 2021 MLB Draft. He was a dominant HS pitching prospect in last year's draft as well, but the price was too high and commitment to Vandy was very strong. I'm glad he's doing well and I hope he stays healthy. He throws very hard so I'm a little worried about TJS happening at some point.

 

Great kid with the potential to be a TOR arm in MLB someday.

 

Any chance of Kumar skipping his last two years to play in Japan? What (or how much) would it take to lure him overseas?

 

I'm assuming you're referring to the whole Carter Stewart situation (which is not normal). So, yes, technically Kumar Rocker could leave Vanderbilt and play overseas and join NPB, but it would take an incredible amount of money and it might delay his FA in MLB down the road.

 

It's complicated (no one is quite sure how posting will work for Carter Stewart when/if he wants to return) and top draft prospects don't really go overseas. Maybe if Carter Stewart is successful it might become an option going forward, but it's a difficult transition.

 

So I'm assuming you're asking because you're trying to figure out a way for the Cubs to land Kumar Rocker? That's not happening lol.

 

-----

 

It's funny that someone here asks me about Kumar Rocker. I was told in another thread that "no one wants to talk to you directly or indirectly" (which is clearly false). Strange how reality works...

 

From the latest K. McDaniel chat on Fangraphs:

 

Paul: Why did someone not pay Kumar Rocker whatever his price was last year?

 

Kiley McDaniel: Sounds like it was $4Mish and no matter how good you are, that kind of price on a prep RHP will get you to school almost every time. Cole Wilcox, Jack Leiter, etc.

 

Jim Leyland Palmer: Is there anyway Rocker could be eligible for next year’s draft?

 

Kiley McDaniel: would have to transfer to a JC

Edited June 26, 2019 by Regular Show

[CaliforniaRaisin]

 

So he's the top prospect right now for the 2021 MLB Draft. He was a dominant HS pitching prospect in last year's draft as well, but the price was too high and commitment to Vandy was very strong. I'm glad he's doing well and I hope he stays healthy. He throws very hard so I'm a little worried about TJS happening at some point.

 

Great kid with the potential to be a TOR arm in MLB someday.

 

Any chance of Kumar skipping his last two years to play in Japan? What (or how much) would it take to lure him overseas?

 

I'm assuming you're referring to the whole Carter Stewart situation (which is not normal). So, yes, technically Kumar Rocker could leave Vanderbilt and play overseas and join NPB, but it would take an incredible amount of money and it might delay his FA in MLB down the road.

 

It's complicated (no one is quite sure how posting will work for Carter Stewart when/if he wants to return) and top draft prospects don't really go overseas. Maybe if Carter Stewart is successful it might become an option going forward, but it's a difficult transition.

 

So I'm assuming you're asking because you're trying to figure out a way for the Cubs to land Kumar Rocker? That's not happening lol.

 

If Rocker goes overseas and establishes residency there, he'd be open to the international spending caps considering his age. If he doesn't establish residency, I believe he'd still be under the draft eligibility rules.

[Cubfanintheknow]

 

Any chance of Kumar skipping his last two years to play in Japan? What (or how much) would it take to lure him overseas?

 

I'm assuming you're referring to the whole Carter Stewart situation (which is not normal). So, yes, technically Kumar Rocker could leave Vanderbilt and play overseas and join NPB, but it would take an incredible amount of money and it might delay his FA in MLB down the road.

 

It's complicated (no one is quite sure how posting will work for Carter Stewart when/if he wants to return) and top draft prospects don't really go overseas. Maybe if Carter Stewart is successful it might become an option going forward, but it's a difficult transition.

 

So I'm assuming you're asking because you're trying to figure out a way for the Cubs to land Kumar Rocker? That's not happening lol.

 

 

If Rocker goes overseas and establishes residency there, he'd be open to the international spending caps considering his age. If he doesn't establish residency, I believe he'd still be under the draft eligibility rules.

 

I’m completely ignorant regarding international rules/free agency. But it certainly was in reference to Stewart’s approach to his professional career. It’s going to be interesting to see how it plays out. Appreciate the clarification.

 

Whether it increases his chances of playing for the Cubs or not had no bearing on my question.

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[toonsterwu]

Been a couple seasons since I could really get excited about UVA baseball, or at least intrigued. Lost the season opening series to Oklahoma, but a nice homestand has given me some hope. The down last two years have been for a variety of reasons, including the loss of some impact talent to the draft, but mostly, pitchers not panning out after that Kirby/Waddell/Sborz/Jones years, for one reason or another.

 

This year, though, there's tons of arm talent. Mike Vasil was one of the top arms who passed on the draft last year to go to UVA. He struggled a bit, but the raw talent's there, and so far, so good to start the year. Griff McGarry is the Friday night starter, and the upside's there, but command and consistency isn't at times. Nate Savino was supposedly a lock to go high in the 2020 draft, but graduated early to come to UVA. He doesn't have a weekend rotation spot, as he's on a pitch count. I suspect he probably won't. One of last year's more intriguing freshmen was Brandon Neeck, but he missed the year due to injury and is back. There's loads of arm talent . Andrew Abbott might be the top collegiate pen arm in the country ... maybe (and in many other schools, he'd probably grab a weekend rotation spot this year ... I'd be surprised if a team didn't try Abbott out in the rotation in the minors for a bit). It'll be up to new pitching coach Drew Dickinson to get the most out of them.

 

While they've recruited arms well, they've missed on some bats in recent years, and honestly, I was as concerned about the lineup entering the year. Chris Newell looks like he's a good one, though. Love the early plate discipline he's shown, and he's got power and speed. They keep saying Derek Fisher, but Newell seems to be more athletic. Zack Gelof and Nic Kent should help anchor the lineup, but some guys need to step up to give the lineup some depth.

 

I'd be a bit shocked if UVA went three years outside the tournament. Team's got too much raw talent for me to think they miss again this year, particularly with the experience the arms will have had.

 

Draft wise, Abbott should go in the top 5 rounds. I'd be a bit surprised if he got to the third. Besides that, the only high level guy is McGarry, and it'll depend on how he gathers himself over the course of the year. I could see him edge into that 2nd round mix perhaps.

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[toonsterwu]

Looks like UVA's pitching has finally solidified after several down years post-Kirby/Waddell/Sborz (Lynch took off in the pros). Abbott looks solid as a college starter but I still wonder if his pro future is better in the pen as I don't know if the stuff is quality enough and holds (had anyone drafted him last year, he probably would've been tried in the rotation in the minors at some point). I think McGarry's pro future, if he has one, is in the pen, but he's fine as a college starter. Nate Savino got pushed to a weekday starter role. I'm more worried about the hitting, as I didn't think they had the depth, and a guy that might've played a role, like Evan Sleight, transferred. Newell's off to a slow start.

[toonsterwu]

Looks like College Baseball talk never really got going here.

 

Anyhow, onto the Super Regionals. A lot of fun exciting regionals, actually, this year, with Arkansas being pushed hard.

 

LSU/Virginia/Dallas Baptist all made nice runs, although LSU/Dallas Baptist were arguably bigger surprises than Virginia (I believe d1baseball said the Columbia South Regional was basically a toss-up, with a slight edge to ODU for their lineup).

 

Virginia finally starting to show why they were a top 10 squad in the pre-season. Rallying from the loser's bracket is difficult, and their pitching depth really showed after they lost Abbott's start, and Vasil didn't do well in the 2nd game, causing Savino to be used. It was arguably UVA's 8-11 arms (if one ranked UVA's arms in some sort of status ranking, it'd be the weekend rotation and closer, plus Whitten/Bales/Messinger) this year that pulled them through. I think the depth of UVA's arms really showed in the 2 meetings with ODU - ODU trotted out their lower significance arms in that 1st game, and their stuff is fairly pedestrian, and in the final game, I'm not so sure the raw stuff of their arms really matched up with UVA's 8-10 arms.

 

Matt Wyatt is a potential arm for next year's draft, who can get mid-90's velocity with a good breaking ball. I suspect he is in the weekend rotation next year. Griff McGarry was the Friday starter before his command torpedoed his senior season, but if he doesn't get a pro shot, I'll be surprised. It's, as a starter, upper 90's velocity with some movement and a pretty good curveball. I think he could move fast if a team shifted him to the pen, but I also wonder if a team will try to iron out his mechanics (straighten him up a bit, go over the top a bit more) to fix the command). Brandon Neeck was a fairly well thought of recruit 3 years ago but had labrum surgery his freshman year. After being basically a matchup lefty all year, he had 16 K's in 5.2 innings. Fastball really has some cross-action on it and is in the low-mid 90's range, and the slider, while not plus, is at least above average with some movement on it, and he locates both. I assume he comes back, and I don't know if he's rotation next year or maybe closer. It was topped off by Devin Ortiz pitching 4 shutout after only pitching 2 innings all year. If Ortiz has a pro future, I think it's in pitching, because he doesn't have the athleticism to do anything but the corners anymore and I don't think the bat is good enough at the corners. Pitching wise, with little work outside of scrimmages, he showed low-mid 90's with two breaking balls, a sharp curve that I'd be stunned if it didn't get above average to plus grades on it if he had more work, and a decent slider.

 

I think Supers format sets up well for this UVA team, as they can matchup the pitching a lot more and not worry. Dallas Baptist is a solid squad, but realistically, things broke well for UVA in terms of a matchup.

[Tim]

I want them to draft Griff McGarry just because of the name.

[toonsterwu]

McGarry is one of those big stuff, ugly numbers college pitchers I think the Cubs should be into with their non-first picks

 

McGarry could very well be a slightly bigger Alessandro Maestri, but it's a worthwhile gamble. Watching him pitch these last few years, I still don't know why UVA didn't try tinkering with his mechanics all that much. I feel like if you straighten him up, some of the command issues will iron out, as it feels like his arm action is causing the inconsistency in command. Even if you lose a tiny bit on the fastball, it could be worth it.

 

It's been a fun post-season in college, in general. Albeit, it's mostly the top seeds making it through, but the regionals were actually fairly interesting. For a moment, I thought the Jackets were going to knock out Vandy.

[PackLandVA]

Went to Game 2 off Ole Miss / Arizona in the Tucson Super Sectional last night. Thought I’d cheer on the local team. Admittedly, don’t know much about college baseball, don’t really follow it. But a few observations:

 

-watched the Rebels pitcher warm up. He looked scared/uneasy. Thought he would get rocked. Couldn’t be farther from what actually happened. Doug Nikhazy is an All American junior and looks to be a second round prospect. He dominated but threw a lot of pitches. AZ fouled off a lot of pitches, but struggled to put the ball in play. Nikhazy had about 10-12 Ks in 4 2/3 innings. Really stymied the ‘cats. Guess he outmatched Kumar Rocker earlier in the year.

 

-Arizona pitcher got blasted. Seemed like everything hit by Ole Miss was a rocket, even the outs. And this guy (Garrett Irvin) is their top pitcher apparently.

 

-Freshman lead off hitter for the Rebs has some really nice ABs including a rocket line drive HR to lead off the game. He also took a full count outside pitch and punched it out into left center for a couple of RBI. Kid might be a player.

 

-Nothing else off real note other than Ole Miss has a 10 run lead in the 8th and has a pinch runner straight steal. Thought that was odd.

 

Hope Arizona wins tonight….Go ‘cats!! Bear down!!

[toonsterwu]

McGarry could very well be a slightly bigger Alessandro Maestri, but it's a worthwhile gamble. Watching him pitch these last few years, I still don't know why UVA didn't try tinkering with his mechanics all that much. I feel like if you straighten him up, some of the command issues will iron out, as it feels like his arm action is causing the inconsistency in command. Even if you lose a tiny bit on the fastball, it could be worth it.

 

It's been a fun post-season in college, in general. Albeit, it's mostly the top seeds making it through, but the regionals were actually fairly interesting. For a moment, I thought the Jackets were going to knock out Vandy.

 

I don't get what's up with UVA in general. They've had plenty of talent come through over the years and I can't think of one high impact player outside of Ryan Zimmerman (drafted and debuted at 20, pretty cool) who lived up to the hype. They're not the worst at bats, I think Gelof would be interesting for the Cubs outside the first, but there hasn't been a ML starter in a while off the top of my head. The pitching feels like something else, all injuries and lost velocity. Lynch and soon Abbott are hopefully the program maybe turning the corner a little bit. Lynch isn't a worldbeater but the arm strength from a lefty is very impressive and obviously I'm all aboard the Abbott wagon especially if he's drafted by a team into winning. McGarry strikes me as a guy who can easily be a better pro than college player, plenty of tools and his health

 

The field seems loaded this year, but yeah the big names almost always end up getting the furtherst. I'm basic and rooting for Arkansas after deciding Moore is my favorite player (and prospect) currently in college. I was rooting for GT when I heard about the Grissom Jr/Leiter matchup, they have a good team (Waddell is another player I wouldn't mind seeing join the Cubs org), but yeah notsodeepdown...The good thing is that more Vanderbilt means more XP for Enrique Bradfield Jr., seems like an exciting player

 

ALL that said...burn the NCAA to the ground lol

 

You could run through the names and the thing about UVA is a lot of them have struggled for a variety of reasons. I think there was an easy label to slap on O'Connor's guys during his tenure - for pitchers, it was the whole "crouch" issue, which has largely gone away after the pitching coach change, and for hitters, it was the whole "approach" issue, which really was as much about playing to the home park (To fault O'Connor and Co. for playing to the park was something I never understood - I would hope I have a manager that does that, while developing his guys all around games).

 

That said, there really have been a variety of reasons why guys haven't panned out, which really suggests that it's less about O'Connor and his staff, and more about individual circumstances. In recent years, the talent hasn't been there as much, but a lot of guys also didn't pan out, particularly on the arm side (Offensively, this was the best squad UVA's had since the Pavin Smith/Adam Haseley run, and this offense was an utter mess at times). Mike Vasil's stuff backed up from this prep days - I can think of guys like Connor Jones, whose stuff backed up from his sophomore to junior years, and Jake Thompson. I'm not putting Savino in that group yet - his first year was lost to COVID, so I'm more wait and see there. Nate Kirby was injured, as was Danny Hultzen. After reading about what happened with Hultzen, that's really on the player, which he has sort of acknowledged. Branden Kline always was more of a pen arm and then got hurt. As of right now, I don't recall what the issue with Nick Howard on the Reds was (statistically, it was command, looks like he's still pitching at 28 in AA). On the bat side, there have been guys that are too free swinging (Parker, Fisher, Downes), guys whose hit tools weren't that good (Mike Papi comes to mind).

 

I was still high on Pavin Smith last year, and he's showing sparks (the fact that he's playing CF at times also stuns me), and there may be an argument that at the pro level, some of the non-power UVA bats needs to change their launch angles to succeed. Chris Taylor did as well, and he's arguably been the most successful bat in recent years. Again, hard to fault O'Connor for playing to his home park.

 

As for this year's squad, Kyle Teel will be fascinating. I think he has better tools than Matt Thaiss defensively (and Thaiss didn't have a defensive home and didn't have ideal corner power), so he could be interesting as a C prospect, but the bat and athleticism are good and I'll be interested what happens in 3 years. In terms of prosects this year, Zack Gelof has so much raw power but he's very swing or miss. I have no idea if Nic Kent gets drafted high enough that he goes pro this year - his early slump would suggest no, but he had a decent 2nd half. More of a utility guy, IMO, but then again, Andy Weber's gotten to the upper levels (Kent's better defensively). No other bat is really all that interesting - Devin Ortiz can't play MI anymore, and I don't think he has the power to stick at a corner, so if I'm him, I try to be a P. Even if you include underclassmen, Chris Newell is Jarrett Parker in some respects, the other OF bats aren't all that great (Alex Tappen has had a solid 2nd half, and I could see a team give him a look, but hard to think he gets drafted unless it's for cost savings). Jake Gelof is arguably the 4th or 5th best bat. Arm side, there's Abbott/McGarry. I don't know what Vasil does - tailed off so much, stuff is so average. Honestly, he should go to the pen and cut a breaking ball out and go max effort and toss upper 90's in short spurts. I suspect a lot of the upperclassmen pen arms will get pro looks - Blakes Bales, Stephen Schoch, Kyle Whitten, but none are really high level guys. The interesting decision will be some of the junior arms that are currently in the pen - Zach Messinger and Brandon Neeck. Can Neeck ride 1 postseason outing to a surprising draft pick? Probably not, and another year back, perhaps in the rotation, could push him much higher. Messinger could come back to a bigger role as well.

 

If I'm the Cubs, I pass on Gelof until say, the 3rd round give or take. Good raw power, suspect approach, might not stick at 3rd. If Abbott makes it to the 2nd, I could see it. If they think they can work with McGarry, taking him anywhere is a thought, although I have no idea where McGarry's value would be right now. I could see some teams seeing the late inning tinkering and success and surprising with a higher than expected pick, but he had such a poor season, it's hard to figure.

Edited June 14, 2021 by toonsterwu

[toonsterwu]

Heck of an afternoon game for UVA yesterday. I hated the fact that they couldn't string together hits early enough against the DBU arm (live fastball, but a bit straight and slider looks good but not great, but he located well). They eventually tagged him when DBU stunningly, IMO, left Kouba, the starter, into the 8th while past 100 pitches and the score being 0-0. Z. Gelof tagged him for a home run (as they started jumping on him earlier, since he was just trying to throw strike one down the pike), while Alex Tappen hit a 3-run shot after UVA got an obstruction call to keep the inning going (clear obstruction on the pickoff move ... ESPN commentators were poor there ... pickoff throw was off, but the first baseman (who was supposedly doing it all game based on reports there), had his foot blocking the base path before the throw and didn't move it and stepped on the pinch runner's hand).

 

The Griff McGarry that pitched yesterday would be a borderline 1st run pick, probably at least a 2nd rounder. He was the Griff of old - electric stuff, and able to get out of jams. His fastball command came and went, but he had a nasty curveball. If that curve yesterday didn't grade a 70 for scouts there, I'd be stunned. It was filthy and he was locating it, and DBU is an excellent lineup.

 

McGarry throwing 7 shutout (they trotted him out for the 8th, which was stupid IMO, before the umps forced him out because of bleeding) really gives UVA their best possible chance today, as everyone besides McGarry (and Abbott - I don't see them rushing him back for a bat or two) will be available. Going to be interesting - going up against Luke Eldred (Cal Eldred's kid).

[OleMissCub]

Ole Miss under Mike Bianco is 1-8 in games that wound have sent them to the CWS

 

Good times

[OleMissCub]

-Freshman lead off hitter for the Rebs has some really nice ABs including a rocket line drive HR to lead off the game. He also took a full count outside pitch and punched it out into left center for a couple of RBI. Kid might be a player.

 

Yes, he’s outstanding. Freshman All-American SS. Jacob Gonzalez.

 

.355/.443/.561, 12 HR, 16 2B and 55 RBI coming out of the SEC at SS as a true freshman is quite the line.

 

Though they were stymied by “Big Dick Doug” Nikhazy, Arizona’s offense is out of control. I’ve watched almost every Ole Miss game this year and I’ve not seen another team with bats like that. They’ve got a tough task having to face Rocker in Game 1 at Omaha, but I’ll be pulling for them.