We’ve talked alot about the portal and the future for the baseball program, but not a lot about the roster or anything specific for next next year, so I figured I would start a thread on that. I was also inspired by the post from @rickgivens about basketball, and since I know I have often been one of the more negative ones about baseball I think it would be good for me to balance that out.
Pitching-
This is an interesting group to look at, because while the two frontline guys are likely leaving, and a couple decent relievers, pretty much all of the guys in the pen they rely on as well as much of Sunday and the midweeks have been the freshman and JD Thompson. JD has been a pleasant surprise and is probably the one guy with a weekend start on lock next year. McIlvain is an elite talent and should be in the mix there too. I would guess Miller Green and Brennan Seiber might start too. Guys like Luke Guth and Alex Kranzler have also shown promise as freshmen.
Two wild cards would are Devin Futrell and The Duke. Dutkanych is an elite talent but has had two season ending injuries. I’m not sure what he’ll do. Futrell doesn’t have the stuff to be a consistent weekend starter but he can be really solid in the midweek at times on the weekend and can go a long time.
I think Levi Huesman is decent too. Then there’s guys like Horn and Hawks who’ve had injuries but have been very poor statistically.
Looking at their incoming class they’ve got some decent pitchers but no surefire elite guy.
I like a lot of the guys here, and I think many of these younger guys can improve too. Portal wise I think they could definitely use some help in the pen, and I don’t think they’d turn down a potential weekend starter if they wanted to come since they won’t be returning a lot of starting experience.
Hitters
Laneve is done, and Espinal and Vastine feel like draft locks. Beyond that there’s a lot of guys that have decisions to make. Polk is a junior and he’s had a decent season. Not sure what he’ll do because I’m not sure he’s gonna get much better than he is now. Bulger has a Covid year and I’m sure Tim would welcome him back. Maldo could go as a draft eligible soph but I would think he’ll come back which would be big. Diaz is a junior and has been liked by scouts as times, but I don’t think he’s actually improved since last season. I wouldn’t mind if he came back but he probably needs to stay in the 9 hole if he does. I like Austin and Kozeal a lot. Austin improved a good bit this year, and Kozeal has flashed a lot as a freshman. Jayden Davis is a solid contact hitter. I’ll be interested to see what they do with Davis and Kozeal in the field too.
I think the group of Davis, Kozeal, Austin, and Maldonado is a really solid group of 4 hitters. I think a couple of those guys could hit 10 plus homers. They’ve got some other younger guys who have power such as Holcomb, Poteet, and Ossenfort. However the fact that none of those guys are in the lineup right now doesn’t lead me to believe that they will be a middle of the order type bat next year. They have some interesting freshman hitters coming (I’m guessing one may play SS) however I dont think you can rely solely on them.
I think this is still a lineup that needs a big bat or two from the portal. I’m not sure they can afford to bet on guys hitting under .200 or older guys like Diaz or Bulger to suddenly become something they’re not. But I don’t think they need a bunch of new hitters. I think you can build a lineup with the main 4, Poteet, a couple transfers, a freshman, and maybe Diaz or Polk or someone else that comes back like Holcomb, Barczi or Ossenfort.
I think if they are able to get some power bats and a few pitchers to add to the decent core that is present, they could have a shot at Omaha.
Pitching-
This is an interesting group to look at, because while the two frontline guys are likely leaving, and a couple decent relievers, pretty much all of the guys in the pen they rely on as well as much of Sunday and the midweeks have been the freshman and JD Thompson. JD has been a pleasant surprise and is probably the one guy with a weekend start on lock next year. McIlvain is an elite talent and should be in the mix there too. I would guess Miller Green and Brennan Seiber might start too. Guys like Luke Guth and Alex Kranzler have also shown promise as freshmen.
Two wild cards would are Devin Futrell and The Duke. Dutkanych is an elite talent but has had two season ending injuries. I’m not sure what he’ll do. Futrell doesn’t have the stuff to be a consistent weekend starter but he can be really solid in the midweek at times on the weekend and can go a long time.
I think Levi Huesman is decent too. Then there’s guys like Horn and Hawks who’ve had injuries but have been very poor statistically.
Looking at their incoming class they’ve got some decent pitchers but no surefire elite guy.
I like a lot of the guys here, and I think many of these younger guys can improve too. Portal wise I think they could definitely use some help in the pen, and I don’t think they’d turn down a potential weekend starter if they wanted to come since they won’t be returning a lot of starting experience.
Hitters
Laneve is done, and Espinal and Vastine feel like draft locks. Beyond that there’s a lot of guys that have decisions to make. Polk is a junior and he’s had a decent season. Not sure what he’ll do because I’m not sure he’s gonna get much better than he is now. Bulger has a Covid year and I’m sure Tim would welcome him back. Maldo could go as a draft eligible soph but I would think he’ll come back which would be big. Diaz is a junior and has been liked by scouts as times, but I don’t think he’s actually improved since last season. I wouldn’t mind if he came back but he probably needs to stay in the 9 hole if he does. I like Austin and Kozeal a lot. Austin improved a good bit this year, and Kozeal has flashed a lot as a freshman. Jayden Davis is a solid contact hitter. I’ll be interested to see what they do with Davis and Kozeal in the field too.
I think the group of Davis, Kozeal, Austin, and Maldonado is a really solid group of 4 hitters. I think a couple of those guys could hit 10 plus homers. They’ve got some other younger guys who have power such as Holcomb, Poteet, and Ossenfort. However the fact that none of those guys are in the lineup right now doesn’t lead me to believe that they will be a middle of the order type bat next year. They have some interesting freshman hitters coming (I’m guessing one may play SS) however I dont think you can rely solely on them.
I think this is still a lineup that needs a big bat or two from the portal. I’m not sure they can afford to bet on guys hitting under .200 or older guys like Diaz or Bulger to suddenly become something they’re not. But I don’t think they need a bunch of new hitters. I think you can build a lineup with the main 4, Poteet, a couple transfers, a freshman, and maybe Diaz or Polk or someone else that comes back like Holcomb, Barczi or Ossenfort.
I think if they are able to get some power bats and a few pitchers to add to the decent core that is present, they could have a shot at Omaha.
