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Post by SCCat66 on Oct 2, 2021 17:40:22 GMT -5
CATCHERS - There are 4 on the roster. Luke Robinson graduated and has left.
The four are:
Tom Brosnahan, a JUCO who was on the team last year and played a moderate amount. Now shown as R-Soph due to added year for Covid.
Cody Rech, a natural Soph who got limited playing time last year.
Cameron Murray, a natural FR from Virginia
Brendan Burke, a natural FR from Cary, NC.
Cody Rech got the most playing time defensively last night. He looked solid defensively and has good POP in his bat. Hit a dinger his first AB and made good contact other times. I think he has developed and matured significantly since last season.
Tom Brosnahan was in the batting order all night but never played defensively. His hitting was OK last night but nothing spectacular.
Cameron Murray looked good defensively. He is one on those catchers (like Luke Robinson was) that sits/kneels on the ground behind the plate. I am a traditionalist on that point and not sold on that defensive posture, even though it is becoming more pervasive throughout the baseball world. (The downside is limited lateral movement to catch a wide pitch.) I will confess that one of the most memorable plays (for me) last night was Murray throwing a runner out at 2B from his knees. He got a solid double in the LCF gap on one of his AB's.
Brendan Burke did not play at all last night.
I do not believe that Catcher will be any kind of weakness for the team this coming season. Should be in good hands.
That is my opinion....
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Post by SCCat66 on Oct 2, 2021 17:41:45 GMT -5
Thanks for the feedback on the game, SCCat66 I'm sure it was enjoyable to watch. I don't guess you want to make any predictions about the upcoming season? I think we will be "very competitive" in the SoCon this season. |
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Post by SCCat66 on Oct 2, 2021 18:27:14 GMT -5
INFIELD - 3B, SS, and 2B are in good hands with solid, returning veterans.
Zach Ketterman, natural Soph, who started nearly all games last year at 3B is back and played the whole game last night. Solid defensively but probably needs to mature some offensively.
Pascanel Ferreras, natural Soph, who started every game last year at SS is back and played the whole game last night. What more can be said?
Will Prater, SR (who is utilizing an additional year due to Covid rules) is back and played most of the game defensively at 2B last night but stayed in the batting order after being replaced defensively. Solid in every way. Should be All-SoCon along with Ferreras.
Brandon Butterworth, natural FR from Monroe, NC played several inning defensively at 2B. Flashes the glove but that sidearm throw scares me. He is going to be a good player. Small, but he made good contact at the plate.
First Base - Daylan Nanny was primary 1B last year but he has graduated and is gone.
Coaches have probably not nailed this position down yet. Drew Needham, natural Soph, played most of the innings last night. He is probably not going to scoop up every low throw. Adequate at the plate with potential power.
They played Daniel Walsh (SR) several innings at 1B last night. He would be better defensively than Needham since 2B & SS are his natural positions, however, a 5'9" 1B does not excite me. (I know Walsh is a great athlete and could jump for high throws. Nanny was 5'11. I want a 1B to be at least 6'0", but that's just my opinion.)
We may see some experimentation at 1B even at the start of the season in February, unless Needham shows GREAT offense during preseason practice.
One interesting player (to me) last night was a guy who was not on any recruiting or commitment list posted on this forum... James Hinson, a Soph JUCO transfer. He is from Sylva and Smoky Mountain High but played one year at Catawba Valley CC. Shown on roster as First Base. 5'10" 225. Bats & Throws Left. Did not play in the field last night, but got to bat twice. First time - one pitch; crushed baseball went well over RF fence. Second time - looked like deja vu except the ball hit the base of the fence and he got a double. If that is standard performance, you've got to find a place to play him (or at least to let him bat).
My opinion - Infield will be a strength for this team, defensively and offensively.
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Post by SCCat66 on Oct 3, 2021 14:56:34 GMT -5
PITCHING - I can only tell about what I saw on Friday night. My recollection is that all four (4) runs that WCU surrendered to the pretty weak Ontario Blue Jays came only when there were free passes involved (BB or HBP), followed by a base hit.
The pitchers that I saw on the mound Friday night were as follows: (I will try to get the order right)
(1) Cole Beverlin - (R-Soph RHP who had 8 relief appearances - less than 10 innings total - last year) Pitched two innings and looked pretty good overall. Was sharper in the first inning. Plate started jumping a little in second inning and I believe they got the bases loaded (free passes). But he got out with no runs scored. Looked improved to me from last year.
(2) Davis Tyndall - (Jr RHP who had 23 relief appearances - almost 30 innings total - last year). Did not look too effective in his one inning pitched Friday night, IMO.
(3) Nick Hyde - (Soph RHP who had 18 relief appearances - 18 innings total - last year). Pitched 2 innings (I think). Looked OK.
(4) J.D. Price - (Natural Fr RHP from Knoxville). Most impressive pitcher of the evening, IMO. Pitched two innings and I recall only one batter reaching base - a ground single through the INF. No BB's. Sent several back to the dugout carrying their bats and talking to themselves. Does not throw especially hard but must have good movement on pitches. I like this guy! Hope he is able to stay free from injury.
(5) Jackson Kirkpatrick - (Soph RHP who only had 8 relief appearances for a total of 6 innings last year.) Very imposing figure on the mound 6'6". Throws hard. Looked OK.
(6) Carson Lowder - (Soph RHP who had 10 relief appearances last year totalling 14 innings.) Walked a couple and gave up a hit or two. Looked pretty fair.
If I had to rank those 6 guys (based on Friday night's work only), the top 3 would be Price, Beverlin and Hyde, in that order. But that's a small sample size.
Statistical Snapshot - We had 6 pitchers last year that pitched as many as 30 innings cumulative. Five (5) of them are returning for 2022 season. Three of them are coming off season-ending injuries from last year. AS someone posted, Zebby Matthews has not thrown any during the Fall. Don't know where Mitschele and Mortenson are on their return from injury. I'm sure the coaches are looking for those 3 + Zach Franklin and Tristan Campbell to be the workhorses.
We had 12 pitchers who pitched as many as 10 innings cumulative last season. All return but one. Hopefully, some others who were on the team last year have developed their pitching skills, such as Beverlin, Eric Wallington, and others.
Our overall team ERA last year was 5.75. That has got to come down into the 5.0 range.
Our K-BB ratio was exactly 2:1, which is better than many previous years. 402 K's and 201 BB's but then you have to add 67 HBP's and the total Free Pass ratio drops down to 1.5:1. That total number needs to be at least 2:1
As always, Pitching will be the key to a successful season. I believe we have the makings for a really good pitching staff, especially if we have another Freshman or two like J D Price.
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Post by SCCat66 on Oct 3, 2021 15:26:24 GMT -5
OUTFIELD - We have 4 experienced OF'rs returning. Seth Graves, Bryson Parks, Immanuel Wilder and Nate Stocum. Justice Bigbie started nearly every game in LF and he is gone to the MLB draft. Friday night, a Freshman from Knoxville named Caden Rector started in LF. Small (5'7" - 160) but he showed some POP in his bat a couple of times. Defensive play was fine. Bryson Parks (Sr) started in CF and played there most of the game. Made one spectacular catch in LCF that I was sure was going to fall in for extra bases. He has improved with the bat. Speed to burn. Hit a gapper Friday night and took a spill coming around 2B but was able to get up and still make it into a triple.  Seth Graves (Sr who came from JUCO a couple of years ago) played most of the game in RF. Seth is solid, offensively and defensively. Nate Stocum came in defensively in RF for the last few innings. Nate is going to contribute well to the effort. A new JUCO transfer from Spartanburg Methodist, Jordan Starkes (bats & throws Right) played in CF for a few innings. He looks like a good addition to the roster to provide OF depth. Immanuel Wilder did not dress out Friday night and I don't know why. No injury that I know of. I think our OF is going to be fine. No weakness that I saw. Overall, the 100+ RBI's that Bigbie and Luke Robinson produced must be replaced by players who have developed and improved since last year. Only one new Freshman started Friday night (Caden Rector) and while I'm sure he will be a contributor, he doesn't look like a 50 RBI guy at this point. That is my opinion... BTW, Uniform number 7 does not show on the roster copy I got Friday night. As we know, that assignment will be announced just before the season starts. |
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Post by twandswr1 on Oct 4, 2021 6:46:27 GMT -5
Thanks for the feedback on the game, SCCat66 I'm sure it was enjoyable to watch. I don't guess you want to make any predictions about the upcoming season? I think we will be "very competitive" in the SoCon this season. |
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Post by twandswr1 on Oct 4, 2021 7:26:55 GMT -5
Good report. One thing that I would like to put out there is that this is fall baseball. Different teams use the fall scrimmages differently. Some throw what they believe to be their spring starting lineup out there for a few innings and go from there. Others, like WCU, use the fall to get a look at multiple guys over the course of the fall scrimmages. Nothing should be really read into who does or does not play in these games. One should however really take note of who is getting regular reps in the teams intrasquad contests. Play close attention to who is throwing in those contests and who is having success against our better hitters.
Several young power arms did not throw Friday at all.
The Freshman curveball/change-up pitcher did look good. Great command of those two pitches however I had his fastball on the gun at 83-85 max. Not sure how that will play vs D-1 hitters compared to the prep-school team.
Look for Burke to possibly make noise 1B. If he continues to hit as Cody R will most likely be our catcher.
Just my take
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Post by SCCat66 on Oct 4, 2021 9:55:39 GMT -5
True. The coaches are just evaluating at this point. Lots of options. I think there is a lot of talent on this team.
I did not see Tristan Campbell in the dugout Friday night. Asked Coach Sandefur about him and he said, "He's not dressed out tonight. He is going to pitch at Georgia next weekend."
I was very fortunate to be able to get out to Cullowhee on Friday night.
Looking for the 2022 Schedule to come out. Coach Moranda usually released that sometime in December.
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Post by twandswr1 on Oct 4, 2021 10:46:12 GMT -5
True. The coaches are just evaluating at this point. Lots of options. I think there is a lot of talent on this team. I did not see Tristan Campbell in the dugout Friday night. Asked Coach Sandefur about him and he said, "He's not dressed out tonight. He is going to pitch at Georgia next weekend." I was very fortunate to be able to get out to Cullowhee on Friday night. Looking for the 2022 Schedule to come out. Coach Moranda usually released that sometime in December. @55 kids fighting for 40 active roster spots in the spring. This team is deep and having dog fights in intrasquad games |
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Post by LCACAT on Oct 4, 2021 11:26:10 GMT -5
INFIELD - 3B, SS, and 2B are in good hands with solid, returning veterans. Zach Ketterman, natural Soph, who started nearly all games last year at 3B is back and played the whole game last night. Solid defensively but probably needs to mature some offensively. Pascanel Ferreras, natural Soph, who started every game last year at SS is back and played the whole game last night. What more can be said? Will Prater, SR (who is utilizing an additional year due to Covid rules) is back and played most of the game defensively at 2B last night but stayed in the batting order after being replaced defensively. Solid in every way. Should be All-SoCon along with Ferreras. Brandon Butterworth, natural FR from Monroe, NC played several inning defensively at 2B. Flashes the glove but that sidearm throw scares me. He is going to be a good player. Small, but he made good contact at the plate. First Base - Daylan Nanny was primary 1B last year but he has graduated and is gone. Coaches have probably not nailed this position down yet. Drew Needham, natural Soph, played most of the innings last night. He is probably not going to scoop up every low throw. Adequate at the plate with potential power. They played Daniel Walsh (SR) several innings at 1B last night. He would be better defensively than Needham since 2B & SS are his natural positions, however, a 5'9" 1B does not excite me. (I know Walsh is a great athlete and could jump for high throws. Nanny was 5'11. I want a 1B to be at least 6'0", but that's just my opinion.) We may see some experimentation at 1B even at the start of the season in February, unless Needham shows GREAT offense during preseason practice. One interesting player (to me) last night was a guy who was not on any recruiting or commitment list posted on this forum... James Hinson, a Soph JUCO transfer. He is from Sylva and Smoky Mountain High but played one year at Catawba Valley CC. Shown on roster as First Base. 5'10" 225. Bats & Throws Left. Did not play in the field last night, but got to bat twice. First time - one pitch; crushed baseball went well over RF fence. Second time - looked like deja vu except the ball hit the base of the fence and he got a double. If that is standard performance, you've got to find a place to play him (or at least to let him bat). My opinion - Infield will be a strength for this team, defensively and offensively. Thanks for all the info!! James Hinson is an interesting player. Catawba Valley CC had a Nationally ranked team last year with some very good players!! |
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