C
Collyn Taylor
Guest
Thought I'd share a few thoughts I had keeping up with Friday's game in Nashville and being at Founders for games two and three in the series.
--I'll start with this: I think this weekend was more of a testament to how good Georgia is compared to the talent level at South Carolina. The Gamecocks got swept but were in the last two games as opposed to struggling down in Athens last year. Getting swept at home is never good, and fans have a right to be frustrated, but to pack the season up after one series isn't necessarily the best thing to do. A reminder that last season South Carolina started 1-5 in the SEC and went to a Super. Still a lot of baseball to be played.
--A lot will be made about strikeouts and those are concerning, yes, but I think this was a big wake up call for guys that are getting a little too long in their swings. Andrew Eyster struck out four times alone Sunday and looked frustrated at the plate. Will be interesting to see how he responds and if he tweaks his swing a little. I know he started choking up on the bat a little—even without two strikes—more earlier in the year and that led to success; I'll be interested to see if that'll be done again. They'll probably really focus on getting on the pitching machines this week and ratchet up the velocity there. I think this weekend, against a pitching staff that didn't have many guys throwing less than 93/94 mph, was pretty eye-opening.
It won't be good for long-term success if over half the outs you record are via the strikeout.
--I saw a lot of disdain and frustration with the hitting approach and I thought I'd clarify that Mark Kingston and his staff are not emphasizing home runs. They're preaching gap-to-gap power. Their philosophy is the best hit in baseball is a line drive: a ball hit hard and hit in the air. That's why there's a more uppercut swings. They want extra bases—doubles, triples—into the gaps and if home runs happen, they happen. That's not necessarily an analytics thing, that's more of a modern baseball thing. Defenses are too good to hit balls on the ground consistently and hope to string three, four or five of those together. The issue is being selective early in counts on balls that can't be driven gap-to-gap and then shortening up with two strikes. If those two things happen, South Carolina hitters would probably find themselves in more favorable counts and strikeout less.
--I will say heading into this weekend's series against Tennessee I don't see any reason and don't expect any changes to the starting rotation. Wes Sweatt looked good, Reid Morgan despite a shakier outing gave his team a chance and TJ Shook looked really, really good in his Sunday outing. Not saying it can't change, but I don't think it will heading into the series against the Vols.
--Shook, despite only lasting four innings, looked arguably the best he has all season against a really solid Georgia lineup. The thing that makes him so effective isn't necessarily velocity but his spin rate and release point. His fastball only sits between 88-90 mph but he has such a long release point, the ball's coming out of his hand closer to the plate so it feels faster than 90 mph. It gets on hitters much quicker. Brett Kerry is the same way with his release point. They both have high spin rates, which just means the ball spins a lot and usually leads to success if they elevate fastballs in the zone.
--Brady Allen seems to be adjusting semi-well to SEC pitching and has shown flashes of being really good. He's done a few different things with recruiting assistant and hitting coach Mike Current, tweaking his swing and doing a few different things to speed up his bat and make him a better hitter. His ceiling over the course of his career is very, very high.
--Dylan Harley came out of the bullpen twice and pitched two scoreless innings. That might be the best spot for him, although I think he could develop into a starter this year or moving through his career. He was up to 95 in the scrimmages with a plus changeup from a wonky arm angle that causes problems for hitters. One of his issues earlier in the year was command and that came somewhat from a knuckle-curve he threw. He's scrapped that pitch right now and is throwing a slider more and more in the mid-80s that's looked good and he's getting strikes with it.
--Long term, I think things will settle down. It's tough to make conclusions after 27 innings of baseball, especially against a top 10 team that can contend for the College World Series this year. The defense will get cleaned up and pitching, once Carmen Mlodzinski and Ridge Chapman get back fully healthy should shore up the pitching staff.
Stock risers:
George Callil—Outside of a few miscues in the field this weekend, he's a lot more comfortable at the plate and will provide exceptional defense the majority of the time. He says he and Nick Neville will split time at short as the season goes on but the Australian-born shortstop seems to have a lock on that position at the moment.
TJ Shook—He looked really good in his outing Sunday and, if it weren't for a really long first inning, could have gone five or six innings against the Bulldogs. His role could be growing as the season goes on.
--I'll start with this: I think this weekend was more of a testament to how good Georgia is compared to the talent level at South Carolina. The Gamecocks got swept but were in the last two games as opposed to struggling down in Athens last year. Getting swept at home is never good, and fans have a right to be frustrated, but to pack the season up after one series isn't necessarily the best thing to do. A reminder that last season South Carolina started 1-5 in the SEC and went to a Super. Still a lot of baseball to be played.
--A lot will be made about strikeouts and those are concerning, yes, but I think this was a big wake up call for guys that are getting a little too long in their swings. Andrew Eyster struck out four times alone Sunday and looked frustrated at the plate. Will be interesting to see how he responds and if he tweaks his swing a little. I know he started choking up on the bat a little—even without two strikes—more earlier in the year and that led to success; I'll be interested to see if that'll be done again. They'll probably really focus on getting on the pitching machines this week and ratchet up the velocity there. I think this weekend, against a pitching staff that didn't have many guys throwing less than 93/94 mph, was pretty eye-opening.
It won't be good for long-term success if over half the outs you record are via the strikeout.
--I saw a lot of disdain and frustration with the hitting approach and I thought I'd clarify that Mark Kingston and his staff are not emphasizing home runs. They're preaching gap-to-gap power. Their philosophy is the best hit in baseball is a line drive: a ball hit hard and hit in the air. That's why there's a more uppercut swings. They want extra bases—doubles, triples—into the gaps and if home runs happen, they happen. That's not necessarily an analytics thing, that's more of a modern baseball thing. Defenses are too good to hit balls on the ground consistently and hope to string three, four or five of those together. The issue is being selective early in counts on balls that can't be driven gap-to-gap and then shortening up with two strikes. If those two things happen, South Carolina hitters would probably find themselves in more favorable counts and strikeout less.
--I will say heading into this weekend's series against Tennessee I don't see any reason and don't expect any changes to the starting rotation. Wes Sweatt looked good, Reid Morgan despite a shakier outing gave his team a chance and TJ Shook looked really, really good in his Sunday outing. Not saying it can't change, but I don't think it will heading into the series against the Vols.
--Shook, despite only lasting four innings, looked arguably the best he has all season against a really solid Georgia lineup. The thing that makes him so effective isn't necessarily velocity but his spin rate and release point. His fastball only sits between 88-90 mph but he has such a long release point, the ball's coming out of his hand closer to the plate so it feels faster than 90 mph. It gets on hitters much quicker. Brett Kerry is the same way with his release point. They both have high spin rates, which just means the ball spins a lot and usually leads to success if they elevate fastballs in the zone.
--Brady Allen seems to be adjusting semi-well to SEC pitching and has shown flashes of being really good. He's done a few different things with recruiting assistant and hitting coach Mike Current, tweaking his swing and doing a few different things to speed up his bat and make him a better hitter. His ceiling over the course of his career is very, very high.
--Dylan Harley came out of the bullpen twice and pitched two scoreless innings. That might be the best spot for him, although I think he could develop into a starter this year or moving through his career. He was up to 95 in the scrimmages with a plus changeup from a wonky arm angle that causes problems for hitters. One of his issues earlier in the year was command and that came somewhat from a knuckle-curve he threw. He's scrapped that pitch right now and is throwing a slider more and more in the mid-80s that's looked good and he's getting strikes with it.
--Long term, I think things will settle down. It's tough to make conclusions after 27 innings of baseball, especially against a top 10 team that can contend for the College World Series this year. The defense will get cleaned up and pitching, once Carmen Mlodzinski and Ridge Chapman get back fully healthy should shore up the pitching staff.
Stock risers:
George Callil—Outside of a few miscues in the field this weekend, he's a lot more comfortable at the plate and will provide exceptional defense the majority of the time. He says he and Nick Neville will split time at short as the season goes on but the Australian-born shortstop seems to have a lock on that position at the moment.
TJ Shook—He looked really good in his outing Sunday and, if it weren't for a really long first inning, could have gone five or six innings against the Bulldogs. His role could be growing as the season goes on.
