C
Collyn Taylor
Guest
Hello all.
I figured I'd pass along some of my notes and observations after watching the vast majority of the team's fall scrimmages this year.
Some general notes
--The team looks crisper and more disciplined this year. Kingston's been very good in teaching the players his two-strike approach, which can be maddeningly frustrating for a pitcher. There are a lot of foul balls and takes.
--Defensively I don't see much of a drop off from last year's team that was pretty good in the field. That's what happens when you return a lot of veteran players.
--Offensively the team's doubled its home runs from last fall in about 150 less at-bats this year, so it looks like as of now the offense is going to be something to watch. Kingston's been very adamant and very vocal about hitting the ball in the air and driving it.
--He's been testing a few players out at different positions: Jacob Olson in the middle infield (where I think he'll stay); Matt Williams, Riley Hogan and freshman Jordan Holladay (all infielders) in the outfield; and a few players have bounced around the infield.
--Pitching still is a question mark because there's still no definition outside of the Friday night guy with Adam Hill. There's a few guys the coaches are waiting to get healthy. I don't think the pitching's going to be bad this season, but I do think it could take some time to click while players settle into their roles.
So now let's get into some player stuff:
Most improved players
Cody Morris: He didn't pitch all of the fall, but looked good when he did. He's up to 95-97 mph on his fastball which is up about three miles per hour from last year. He looks more built and like he can go deeper into games than he did last year. He's got to sure up his command and locate his off-speed stuff more, but he's a legitimate shot to be in the weekend rotation.
Jacob Olson: It's hard to think of a guy that was near the top of the team in hitting last year as severely improved, but Olson seems to be. He's not striking out as much, and he tweaked his batting stance a little bit so he's more comfortable in the box. That makes his swing a little bit easier.
He's also made a really smooth transition back to the middle infield, where he seems a more natural fit. He played all of his life at either second or short, so my guess is that's where he'll be opening day.
TJ Hopkins: Hopkins seems the healthiest he's been in a year after battling a quad injury all season, but he's back to being close to 100 percent and showing what he can do. He's been an on-base machine, seemingly always walking or getting a hit in every plate appearance.
He's as good as they come defensively in center in the SEC, and he's hit for power this fall as well.
TJ Shook: After redshirting this year he's shown a jump in his velocity. He's up to 89 mph on his fastball and is locating a lot better this year. He throws a pretty good curveball for his out pitch that I think can be effective this year.
Freshmen to watch
Logan Chapman, RHP: It took him a while to see the mound this fall, but he didn't disappoint when he did. He was up to about 94 mph on his fastball and showed a good mix of off-speed stuff. Kingston really likes Chapman and his demeanor on the mound. He's another guy that could compete for innings on the weekend.
Carmen Mlodzinski, RHP: Like Chapman, Mlodzinski is a really talented true freshman that could be a big part of the team's weekend rotation this year. He's sitting at about 92 mph on his four-seam this fall and has a pretty good slider as well. I was pretty impressed with the stuff I've seen from him. He's still raw as a freshman, but he has the potential to be very good.
Noah Campbell, MIF: Kingston was incredibly high on Campbell, and watching him I can see why he thinks so highly of him. Campbell has "elite speed." He's alos a guy with some power as well in the middle infield that will be somewhere in the starting lineup sooner rather than later.
Kyle Jacobsen, OF: Jacobsen's similar to Campbell because they were highly-rated players coming out of school. Jacobsen has shown flashes of some serious power, and his bat, once it his for average, should be a mainstay in the lineup.
Ian Jenkins, OF: Jenkins was a late addition to the 2017 class and really came into his own. He can hit for a lot of power and plays a good right field. He just went through Tommy John and will be out until March, but could see some designated hitter appearances this year.
Projected lineup
I know it's early, but if a lineup was filled out today, this is my best guess as to how it would look.
DH, Noah Campbell
CF, Kyle Jacobsen
LF, TJ Hopkins
RF, Carlos Cortes
SS, Jacob Olson
1B, Riley Hogan
C, Chris Cullen
3B, Jonah Bride
2B, LT Tolbert
Pitching roles
It's still really early with a lot of guys still competing for jobs, but this is how I think the pitching staff shakes out.
Friday: Adam Hill
Saturday: Cody Morris
Sunday: Logan Chapman
I figured I'd pass along some of my notes and observations after watching the vast majority of the team's fall scrimmages this year.
Some general notes
--The team looks crisper and more disciplined this year. Kingston's been very good in teaching the players his two-strike approach, which can be maddeningly frustrating for a pitcher. There are a lot of foul balls and takes.
--Defensively I don't see much of a drop off from last year's team that was pretty good in the field. That's what happens when you return a lot of veteran players.
--Offensively the team's doubled its home runs from last fall in about 150 less at-bats this year, so it looks like as of now the offense is going to be something to watch. Kingston's been very adamant and very vocal about hitting the ball in the air and driving it.
--He's been testing a few players out at different positions: Jacob Olson in the middle infield (where I think he'll stay); Matt Williams, Riley Hogan and freshman Jordan Holladay (all infielders) in the outfield; and a few players have bounced around the infield.
--Pitching still is a question mark because there's still no definition outside of the Friday night guy with Adam Hill. There's a few guys the coaches are waiting to get healthy. I don't think the pitching's going to be bad this season, but I do think it could take some time to click while players settle into their roles.
So now let's get into some player stuff:
Most improved players
Cody Morris: He didn't pitch all of the fall, but looked good when he did. He's up to 95-97 mph on his fastball which is up about three miles per hour from last year. He looks more built and like he can go deeper into games than he did last year. He's got to sure up his command and locate his off-speed stuff more, but he's a legitimate shot to be in the weekend rotation.
Jacob Olson: It's hard to think of a guy that was near the top of the team in hitting last year as severely improved, but Olson seems to be. He's not striking out as much, and he tweaked his batting stance a little bit so he's more comfortable in the box. That makes his swing a little bit easier.
He's also made a really smooth transition back to the middle infield, where he seems a more natural fit. He played all of his life at either second or short, so my guess is that's where he'll be opening day.
TJ Hopkins: Hopkins seems the healthiest he's been in a year after battling a quad injury all season, but he's back to being close to 100 percent and showing what he can do. He's been an on-base machine, seemingly always walking or getting a hit in every plate appearance.
He's as good as they come defensively in center in the SEC, and he's hit for power this fall as well.
TJ Shook: After redshirting this year he's shown a jump in his velocity. He's up to 89 mph on his fastball and is locating a lot better this year. He throws a pretty good curveball for his out pitch that I think can be effective this year.
Freshmen to watch
Logan Chapman, RHP: It took him a while to see the mound this fall, but he didn't disappoint when he did. He was up to about 94 mph on his fastball and showed a good mix of off-speed stuff. Kingston really likes Chapman and his demeanor on the mound. He's another guy that could compete for innings on the weekend.
Carmen Mlodzinski, RHP: Like Chapman, Mlodzinski is a really talented true freshman that could be a big part of the team's weekend rotation this year. He's sitting at about 92 mph on his four-seam this fall and has a pretty good slider as well. I was pretty impressed with the stuff I've seen from him. He's still raw as a freshman, but he has the potential to be very good.
Noah Campbell, MIF: Kingston was incredibly high on Campbell, and watching him I can see why he thinks so highly of him. Campbell has "elite speed." He's alos a guy with some power as well in the middle infield that will be somewhere in the starting lineup sooner rather than later.
Kyle Jacobsen, OF: Jacobsen's similar to Campbell because they were highly-rated players coming out of school. Jacobsen has shown flashes of some serious power, and his bat, once it his for average, should be a mainstay in the lineup.
Ian Jenkins, OF: Jenkins was a late addition to the 2017 class and really came into his own. He can hit for a lot of power and plays a good right field. He just went through Tommy John and will be out until March, but could see some designated hitter appearances this year.
Projected lineup
I know it's early, but if a lineup was filled out today, this is my best guess as to how it would look.
DH, Noah Campbell
CF, Kyle Jacobsen
LF, TJ Hopkins
RF, Carlos Cortes
SS, Jacob Olson
1B, Riley Hogan
C, Chris Cullen
3B, Jonah Bride
2B, LT Tolbert
Pitching roles
It's still really early with a lot of guys still competing for jobs, but this is how I think the pitching staff shakes out.
Friday: Adam Hill
Saturday: Cody Morris
Sunday: Logan Chapman
