2024 Lineup

#26
#26
preacherman20 said:
Might can take the blue font off Burns to LSU for $2 million. I’m sure somebody is offering him crazy money.
Click to expand...
Can a scholarship player be approached by another team without their name being the transfer portal? I was under the impression that that was forbidden.
 
  • Like
Reactions: chuckiepoo
#27
#27
Legally NO. Can that happen under the table or by an outside person, it does. No way the kid from USC goes in the portal on one day and 2 days later is in LSU uniform committed. Same with several others. His is just the most blatant I have seen. If my kid was going in the portal, I can guarantee you I would reach out to other schools before he went in. Why would you go in if you did not know there was somewhere to go from a major school? Again, a lot happens under the table that is not legal. Some are just called on it and others are not.
 
  • Like
Reactions: youcancallmeAl, StarRaider, GenRRN and 9 others
#28
#28
preacherman20 said:
Legally NO. Can that happen under the table or by an outside person, it does. No way the kid from USC goes in the portal on one day and 2 days later is in LSU uniform committed. Same with several others. His is just the most blatant I have seen. If my kid was going in the portal, I can guarantee you I would reach out to other schools before he went in. Why would you go in if you did not know there was somewhere to go from a major school? Again, a lot happens under the table that is not legal. Some are just called on it and others are not.
Click to expand...
Thank you, sir. That's what I assumed but didn't know for certain.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Volfan1000 and chuckiepoo
#30
#30
GregAmsler said:
If we get an OF from the portal, I hope it’s a true CF. Ensley would be better suited as a corner OF. But if we don’t land a portal OF, it’s probably Dreiling, Ensley, and Tears, left to right. We need a SS from the portal. And a Catcher, unless they think Ryan Miller will develop. Guessing Denton goes pro, so s 3B would be welcome from the portal, although I think Kendro will be a good one eventually. How soon, I don’t know. And of course, you always want to add quality arms.

The other big question is who makes it to campus as a freshman and how ready are they? Maybe Rucker steps in for Denton at 3B. Antigua or another freshman SS. Matthew Dallas might be an arm that contributes, especially as s LHP. Grimmer and/or Eaton could play early.

I DO think the weekend rotation will be Burns, Russell, and Beam. And it will be very good.
Click to expand...


Dylan Loy from Pigeon Forge could factor into a starting role if Burns goes elsewhere.
 
  • Like
Reactions: NighthawkVol and chuckiepoo
#31
#31
Halph66 said:
Can a scholarship player be approached by another team without their name being the transfer portal? I was under the impression that that was forbidden.
Click to expand...

IMO, I think the NCAA don't care. They can make a lot more money if anonymous donors make some big names rich enough to stay and they can grow their TV revenue with the bigger names staying vs navigating double A. So the under the table talking and all IMO will never be called out by anybody but fan bases , maybe some coaches but they may have to look in the mirror. It is morphing into a new era.
 
#32
#32
I hate to see him leave. But if he doesnt want to be here i would like to know why like a lot of fans. What suddenly changed or has been happening that has made this a place so undesirable. But as far as next years team im more concerned about hitting than pitching. We need to get someone at the catchers position that can hit at least 250 consistently. And our leadoff guy cant strike out 80 times. Third base i hope we find a portal guy with Zanes ability or better. The Baby Face Bomber will be missed.
 
  • Like
Reactions: youcancallmeAl, Volfan1000, minorvol and 1 other person
#33
#33
Obviously there are a ton of moving parts here as we are still VERY early into the offseason. It I read a lot on the team and have a friend who is good friends with some of the former Tony V players who stay in the loop. Any nuggets here are second hand info at best not trying to be an insider here. Someone like preacherman probably knows way more than me, but here’s best guess:

Starting Pitchers - I think Beam and Russell are two of the three. They’re trying to get Burns to stay but that’s not looking good. He’d be the third. As for order who the hell knows. If Burns leaves, they are after the Alabama Friday night guy from this year who had a great year. Does he only come if he’s the Friday guy? Do you keep Beam in the sunday role or promote him to Friday like he probably deserves? If Burns leaves and you don’t get Holman from Bama who’s your 3rd? These are the questions V and FA are paid the big bucks to figure out. One thing I’m confident in - the starting rotation will still be amongst the best on the country

Bullpen - this is always a bit more complicated to figure out early on. I’ll break it out in terms of righties and lefties

Righties - AJ Causey (transfer - maybe could start if needed), Combs (might go pro), Fanning, Jenkins, Joyce. There are some talented freshman who didn’t play much this year that could contribute here - Sloop, Hunley (Seans brother), Garcia

Lefties - (this should be a strength) Kirby, Sechrist, Evans, Behnke. A few very talented newcomers coming in as well - Dylan Loy (highschool all American - 0.10 ERA) and Matthew Dallas

There are some moving parts here. We are in good shape for a transfer from Wichita state Zach Snead (RHP - had 3.16 ERA in 42 IP, 53 K 17 BB as a freshman). This is good because we need more experienced righties in the pen. My gut feel says Combs is gone (no inside info there), but if they land Snead to go with Causey that’s big
 
  • Like
Reactions: youcancallmeAl, NighthawkVol, chuckiepoo and 4 others
#34
#34
I’ll do lineup in a separate post because it’s getting long - apologies I am long winded

Catcher - This is an important position this offseason. Stark and Taylor are GREAT kids competitors and teammates but it’s clear they need a better bat at that spot. They are going hard after freshman from NC State Cannon Peebles. It sounds like this has a good shot to happen. Would be huge pickup. Switch hitter who hit .350 with 12 HR and 50 RBI in only like 150 ABs in a very good ACC. Would be a HUGE pickup. Middle of the order guy with decent defense (could be DH too if Stark or Taylor needed for defense). Also needs to be mentioned Stone Lawless freshman coming in is a big time prospect. Probably best catcher they’ve signed under V

1B - Burke has this locked down. Struggled during SEC play but was huge in postseason. I expect a huge season from him

2B - CMo has this locked down. A little shocked by the CMo hate I see on here. The guy is a career .305 hitter and has 27 HR and like 90 RBIs in roughly 330 ABs. Plays good defense at 2B and has been CLUTCH for us. He does strike out a lot, but also draws a lot of walks and steal bases. Fantastic player.

SS - this is the swing position for the entire year imo. Ahuna is gone. Ideally you’d hit the portal and find a guy who could bat leadoff with good contact, defense and speed. Never count out V and Elander. If nobody pops then I’d imagine it’s down to Kendro, Jaslove or a freshman. Kendro flashed a good bat and some smooth leather as a freshman. He’s gonna be a good one. As for newcomers, this class is different than last class. Last class had a bunch of arms and some outfielders. This class had a few great lefty arms, but a ton of great infield options. A guy like Carson Rucker (Jake’s brother) could potentially steal this spot. Other names are Dean Curley, Blake Grimmer, and Ariel Antigua. Again this spot will go a long way to determine the upside of this team imo.

3B - I think they are trying to get Denton back. He might go pro. If he’s back he’s a very good SEC 3B. If not, look for them to go after Ryan Galanie from Wofford as a grad transfer. He’s 6’2 215 and has hit around .350 with 34 HRs and 120 RBIs the last 2 years. He was pretty good defensively this year, but he’s probably not quite Zane Denton out there. I have a gut feeling Denton will be back (if anyone has info that says differently please let me know). If Denton leaves and they don’t get Galanie you’re looking at someone not currently on the radar or one of the talented freshmen

LF - I personally think this is Dreiling. He needs to improve his awareness defensively, but if he can stick on the field at a fairly easy position it’s a huge boost for the lineup. He’s going to be a big time bat. Needs to get better against lefties, but he’s a very good replacement for a nearly irreplaceable guy in Dickey. Very advanced hitter

CF - I think they’re content with Ensley. Haven’t heard or read of them pursuing anyone else. He’s a solid defender and a solid hitter too. You hope you can slide him down the lineup a bit but he had some big moments this year.

RF - I believe this will be Tears. He is a big time hitter and has a cannon in RF. Very big upside

DH - This is totally up in the air. If they don’t like Dreiling or Tears in the field, those guys bats are too good to keep out of the lineup. Keep an eye on Logan Jordan from Campbell. You might remember him from our regional 2 years ago. Best friends with Drew Gilbert and a solid hitter with lots of postseason experience. Also does the Canadian juco transfer factor here?

Look for Kendro, the juco 1B (forget name) and one of the freshman to be key infield reserves. Chapman will be a swing OF (they like him a lot, he could start) and we will see what ever comes of Colby Backus
 
  • Like
Reactions: youcancallmeAl, ttatj, chuckiepoo and 4 others
#35
#35
Super early, but if I had to guess here’s best shot at the lineup (this will be totally wrong but for discussion purposes)

1. SS transfer
2. Dreiling (LF) - switch w Ensley against LHP
3. Moore (2B)
4. Peebles (C)
5. Burke (1B)
6. Denton (3B)
7. Jordan (DH)
8. Ensley (CF)
9. Tears (RF)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Volprofch05
#36
#36
WGWTFA98 said:
Super early, but if I had to guess here’s best shot at the lineup (this will be totally wrong but for discussion purposes)

1. SS transfer
2. Dreiling (LF) - switch w Ensley against LHP
3. Moore (2B)
4. Peebles (C)
5. Burke (1B)
6. Denton (3B)
7. Jordan (DH)
8. Ensley (CF)
9. Tears (RF)
Click to expand...
who is jordan?
 
#37
#37
WGWTFA98 said:
I’ll do lineup in a separate post because it’s getting long - apologies I am long winded

Catcher - This is an important position this offseason. Stark and Taylor are GREAT kids competitors and teammates but it’s clear they need a better bat at that spot. They are going hard after freshman from NC State Cannon Peebles. It sounds like this has a good shot to happen. Would be huge pickup. Switch hitter who hit .350 with 12 HR and 50 RBI in only like 150 ABs in a very good ACC. Would be a HUGE pickup. Middle of the order guy with decent defense (could be DH too if Stark or Taylor needed for defense). Also needs to be mentioned Stone Lawless freshman coming in is a big time prospect. Probably best catcher they’ve signed under V

1B - Burke has this locked down. Struggled during SEC play but was huge in postseason. I expect a huge season from him

2B - CMo has this locked down. A little shocked by the CMo hate I see on here. The guy is a career .305 hitter and has 27 HR and like 90 RBIs in roughly 330 ABs. Plays good defense at 2B and has been CLUTCH for us. He does strike out a lot, but also draws a lot of walks and steal bases. Fantastic player.

SS - this is the swing position for the entire year imo. Ahuna is gone. Ideally you’d hit the portal and find a guy who could bat leadoff with good contact, defense and speed. Never count out V and Elander. If nobody pops then I’d imagine it’s down to Kendro, Jaslove or a freshman. Kendro flashed a good bat and some smooth leather as a freshman. He’s gonna be a good one. As for newcomers, this class is different than last class. Last class had a bunch of arms and some outfielders. This class had a few great lefty arms, but a ton of great infield options. A guy like Carson Rucker (Jake’s brother) could potentially steal this spot. Other names are Dean Curley, Blake Grimmer, and Ariel Antigua. Again this spot will go a long way to determine the upside of this team imo.

3B - I think they are trying to get Denton back. He might go pro. If he’s back he’s a very good SEC 3B. If not, look for them to go after Ryan Galanie from Wofford as a grad transfer. He’s 6’2 215 and has hit around .350 with 34 HRs and 120 RBIs the last 2 years. He was pretty good defensively this year, but he’s probably not quite Zane Denton out there. I have a gut feeling Denton will be back (if anyone has info that says differently please let me know). If Denton leaves and they don’t get Galanie you’re looking at someone not currently on the radar or one of the talented freshmen

LF - I personally think this is Dreiling. He needs to improve his awareness defensively, but if he can stick on the field at a fairly easy position it’s a huge boost for the lineup. He’s going to be a big time bat. Needs to get better against lefties, but he’s a very good replacement for a nearly irreplaceable guy in Dickey. Very advanced hitter

CF - I think they’re content with Ensley. Haven’t heard or read of them pursuing anyone else. He’s a solid defender and a solid hitter too. You hope you can slide him down the lineup a bit but he had some big moments this year.

RF - I believe this will be Tears. He is a big time hitter and has a cannon in RF. Very big upside

DH - This is totally up in the air. If they don’t like Dreiling or Tears in the field, those guys bats are too good to keep out of the lineup. Keep an eye on Logan Jordan from Campbell. You might remember him from our regional 2 years ago. Best friends with Drew Gilbert and a solid hitter with lots of postseason experience. Also does the Canadian juco transfer factor here?

Look for Kendro, the juco 1B (forget name) and one of the freshman to be key infield reserves. Chapman will be a swing OF (they like him a lot, he could start) and we will see what ever comes of Colby Backus
Click to expand...
VolFanGBO said:
who is jordan?
Click to expand...

see bolded
 
  • Like
Reactions: chuckiepoo and VolFanGBO
#41
#41
Cosmo Kramer said:
Cannon Peebles is a must get.
Click to expand...
Yep I agree. The key with him will be how good is he behind the plate. But they need a DH too anyways so he’s imperative either way

But they can’t continue to have 2 auto outs at the end of the lineup. Stark is a competitive kid and I love what he brings but he’s simply not an everyday bat unless there’s significant improvement

I think unless Peebles is really terrible behind home plate you get him in here and make him the catcher. Honestly given how we approach the pitching/catching relationship we don’t even need a stud defensively back there. Basically be able to help call a game and be able to frame and stop passed balls
 
  • Like
Reactions: TrumpedUpVol, xtremevolfan, VolFanGBO and 2 others
#44
#44
Interesting comments. Also alludes to Zach Joyce and Logan Chambers as potentially entering transfer portal.

“First baseman Blake Burke (.280, 16 HRs) and second baseman Christian Moore (.304, 17 HRs, 50 RBIs) give UT a pair of centerpieces. Both need to be more steady as juniors. They also could potentially see time in the outfield.”

Mike Wilson article in Knox News Sentinel
 
  • Like
Reactions: Scvol7906, chuckiepoo and StarRaider
New posts
You must log in or register to reply here.

VN Store



Back
Top