Expectations next year?

#477
#477
youcancallmeAl said:
We don't know if Seth or Ortega is coming back, do we? And Backus is a power hitter, more likely a 4 or 5 than a 2. Maybe a three? I can't see Dickey catching now that we have Alexander, and Dickey won't be the #8 or 9 hitter, if that's what this guy is saying.
Click to expand...

I don’t think we’ll know anything for sure about Seth or Ortega coming back until after the draft, in 2 weeks.
 
  • Like
Reactions: chuckiepoo
#479
#479
hjeagle1vol said:
Calling U Al,
Agree on talent and positioning “but” power, hits, runs, and setting the table for top is going to win us a lot games next year.
With that top 5(if) the bottom 4 are going to see pitches 👀
Click to expand...

Reporting for Duty, Eagle.

Working with only what we know we will have, I see

SS - Ahuna - L
2B - Moore - R
LF - Dickey - L
RF - Backus - R (platoon with Tears?)
1B - Burke - L
C - Alexander - R
3B - Denton - SH
CF - Booker - L
DH - Pick one: Steenstra, Tears, Chambers, TBD

I oculd also make a strong case for Dickey as LOH. I don't like how much Ahuna strikes out, but he hit 28 doubles last season. I like a doubles hitter as lead-off. He doesn't have to steal second. Maybe he could steal third. Dickey is our best contact hitter, never strikes out. He hits a lot of doubles, too. Makes pitchers work. Takes them deep in counts. Outrageous OBP, etc. But in the end I think we need more speed at the top. I could go either way. Booker is another possible LOH, but he'll have to show out bigly in Fall practice to get a look, I think.

In the second hole, Moore also strikes out a lot, but so does Booker. Booker is less likely to get doubled up out of the LHH box, so could make a case for Booker, too. Someone had Backus hitting second. Don't know enough about him to say, other than he has gaudy power numbers. I think Booker is a wild card in where he will end up. He was hurt last season so I don't think we have a good picture of him yet.

If Seth and/or Jorel come back for another season, this changes. Seth would be CF and batting 2nd. Don't know what I would do with Jorel. If he was better than Moore at 2nd, he'd be there, but if not he might be RHDH. Or Moore might be RHDH.

One thing is obvious - we really have a lot of good LHHs. We will terrify RHPs next season.
 
  • Like
Reactions: chuckiepoo and hjeagle1vol
#480
#480
C: Jack Alexander/Charlie Taylor
1B: Blake Burke/Kavares Tears
2B: Cortland Lawson/Chase Valentine
SS: Maui Ahuna/Christian Moore
3B: Zane Denton/Logan Steenstra
LF: Jared Dickey/Kavares Tears
CF: Seth Stevenson/Christian Scott
RF: Kyle Booker/Colby Backus
DH: Christian Moore/Logan Chambers

Weekend Starters

Chase Dollander-RHP
Chase Burns-RHP
Drew Beam-RHP

Midweek Starter

Zander Sechrist-LHP

Bullpen

Will Mabrey-LHP
Mark McLaughlin-RHP
Wyatt Evans-LHP
Dillon Orr-RHP
Hollis Fanning-RHP
Ethan Smith-RHP
Jake Fitzgibbons-LHP

Closers

Kirby Connell-LHP
Seth Halvorsen-RHP
 
  • Like
Reactions: chuckiepoo, MoreSteam and youcancallmeAl
#481
#481
youcancallmeAl said:
Reporting for Duty, Eagle.

Working with only what we know we will have, I see

SS - Ahuna - L
2B - Moore - R
LF - Dickey - L
RF - Backus - R (platoon with Tears?)
1B - Burke - L
C - Alexander - R
3B - Denton - SH
CF - Booker - L
DH - Pick one: Steenstra, Tears, Chambers, TBD

I oculd also make a strong case for Dickey as LOH. I don't like how much Ahuna strikes out, but he hit 28 doubles last season. I like a doubles hitter as lead-off. He doesn't have to steal second. Maybe he could steal third. Dickey is our best contact hitter, never strikes out. He hits a lot of doubles, too. Makes pitchers work. Takes them deep in counts. Outrageous OBP, etc. But in the end I think we need more speed at the top. I could go either way. Booker is another possible LOH, but he'll have to show out bigly in Fall practice to get a look, I think.

In the second hole, Moore also strikes out a lot, but so does Booker. Booker is less likely to get doubled up out of the LHH box, so could make a case for Booker, too. Someone had Backus hitting second. Don't know enough about him to say, other than he has gaudy power numbers. I think Booker is a wild card in where he will end up. He was hurt last season so I don't think we have a good picture of him yet.

If Seth and/or Jorel come back for another season, this changes. Seth would be CF and batting 2nd. Don't know what I would do with Jorel. If he was better than Moore at 2nd, he'd be there, but if not he might be RHDH. Or Moore might be RHDH.

One thing is obvious - we really have a lot of good LHHs. We will terrify RHPs next season.
Click to expand...
nice 👍🏻 good analysis
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: chuckiepoo
#486
#486
youcancallmeAl said:
Everyone seems to think Stephenson will be back next year. I haven't seen a reason for that yet, but I might have missed something.
Click to expand...

He’s not projected on a single recent mock draft. Not getting drafted is a pretty good reason to come back, unless he wants to retire from baseball. Same for Lawson.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: chuckiepoo and youcancallmeAl
#488
#488
GregAmsler said:
He’s not projected on a single recent mock draft. Not getting drafted is a pretty good reason to come back, unless he wants to retire from baseball. Same for Lawson.
Click to expand...

We could use Stephenson at the top of the batting order and defensively in the outfield for sure. Not sure about Lawson, unless you're looking at 2B. But then why would we think he would be better in the lineup and at 2B than Moore? Not saying he wouldn't be a better fit, I just don't have evidence of it for now. My gut tells me 2B will be won by Moore. He is the more talented player with the greatest upside.
 
  • Like
Reactions: chuckiepoo
#490
#490
youcancallmeAl said:
We could use Stephenson at the top of the batting order and defensively in the outfield for sure. Not sure about Lawson, unless you're looking at 2B. But then why would we think he would be better in the lineup and at 2B than Moore? Not saying he wouldn't be a better fit, I just don't have evidence of it for now. My gut tells me 2B will be won by Moore. He is the more talented player with the greatest upside.
Click to expand...

Moore is a better hitter than Lawson and that gap will grow next year. But Lawson’s M.O. has always been his defense. His hitting was actually a surprise this year. In general, a good defensive shortstop is going to be an even better defensive 2B because it’s the easier position with shorter throws. I’m not saying Moore is bad at 2B, but TV obviously didn’t think he was as good defensively as Ortega or he’d have had Moore at 2B and Ortega at DH in those games when Moore was in the lineup (against LHPs). Given that Lawson is a better defensive player than Ortega, it stands to reason he’s a better defensive player than Moore.

There’s also the possibility of Moore playing in the OF. He has the arm. He’s been working on it. So perhaps we see Moore in LF and Dickey at DH. Regardless, I think this will be a better defensive team than last year. 1B is the only position that likely won’t be an improvement from a defensive standpoint.
 
  • Like
Reactions: taylorvol, chuckiepoo and youcancallmeAl
#491
#491
GregAmsler said:
Moore is a better hitter than Lawson and that gap will grow next year. But Lawson’s M.O. has always been his defense. His hitting was actually a surprise this year. In general, a good defensive shortstop is going to be an even better defensive 2B because it’s the easier position with shorter throws. I’m not saying Moore is bad at 2B, but TV obviously didn’t think he was as good defensively as Ortega or he’d have had Moore at 2B and Ortega at DH in those games when Moore was in the lineup (against LHPs). Given that Lawson is a better defensive player than Ortega, it stands to reason he’s a better defensive player than Moore.

There’s also the possibility of Moore playing in the OF. He has the arm. He’s been working on it. So perhaps we see Moore in LF and Dickey at DH. Regardless, I think this will be a better defensive team than last year. 1B is the only position that likely won’t be an improvement from a defensive standpoint.
Click to expand...

I don’t know. It’s going to be pretty tough to replace Gilbert’s defense. He was great.
 
  • Like
Reactions: taylorvol, greasemachine, chuckiepoo and 2 others
#492
#492
TheMookieMonster said:
I don’t know. It’s going to be pretty tough to replace Gilbert’s defense. He was great.
Click to expand...

True. But Stevenson’s speed will get him to some balls that most wouldn’t get to. He showed enough of an arm this year to make me think he’s good enough in that department. Replacing him in LF might be the bigger task.

Anyway, the infield should definitely be better defensively at every position other than 1B.
 
  • Like
Reactions: taylorvol and StarRaider
#493
#493
GregAmsler said:
Moore is a better hitter than Lawson and that gap will grow next year. But Lawson’s M.O. has always been his defense. His hitting was actually a surprise this year. In general, a good defensive shortstop is going to be an even better defensive 2B because it’s the easier position with shorter throws. I’m not saying Moore is bad at 2B, but TV obviously didn’t think he was as good defensively as Ortega or he’d have had Moore at 2B and Ortega at DH in those games when Moore was in the lineup (against LHPs). Given that Lawson is a better defensive player than Ortega, it stands to reason he’s a better defensive player than Moore.

There’s also the possibility of Moore playing in the OF. He has the arm. He’s been working on it. So perhaps we see Moore in LF and Dickey at DH. Regardless, I think this will be a better defensive team than last year. 1B is the only position that likely won’t be an improvement from a defensive standpoint.
Click to expand...

Thanks for posting this, Greg. Talking baseball is fun. I don't yet have a good read on Booker or Moore or some of the others, so I pick up a lot of knowledge when discussing with others here, and I really enjoy it.

So, let me play devil's advocate: If Moore has a really strong arm, why wasn't his best infield defensive position at SS? And I'm not so sure the Ortega>Moore defensively last year would apply this year in a debate of Moore vs Lawson at 2B. After all, Moore was just a freshman and Orgtega had a lot of cred in the program and was 'owed' at least a chance to fail a 2B. So, Moore might have been in the same league as Ortega defensively but Ortega's bat and experience ruled the decision. Moore had just 19 defensive chances last season, a small sample. Even so, he had 0 errors, and both Lawson and Ortega had 10 errors in 11 and 12 x the number of chances. And Lawson's throwing difficulties are well documented. I think his throwing problems could be worse at second, becasse of the number of different kinds of throws to first base that the second baseman has to make. Cross-body, etc. I would, unless my read on Moore is wrong - and it could be - rather have Moore's bat and speed than Lawson's any day, unless he just isn't very good at 2B.

If Moore has outfield skills, I could see him in LF platooning with Dickey, giving Dickey's foot a little extra rest during the season. But if Stephenson comes back, we're gonna have a glut of outfielders. Good probelem to have, I guess, if we can keep everyone happy with PT.
 
  • Like
Reactions: TN_gal, chuckiepoo and NighthawkVol
#494
#494
youcancallmeAl said:
Thanks for posting this, Greg. Talking baseball is fun. I don't yet have a good read on Booker or Moore or some of the others, so I pick up a lot of knowledge when discussing with others here, and I really enjoy it.

So, let me play devil's advocate: If Moore has a really strong arm, why wasn't his best infield defensive position at SS? And I'm not so sure the Ortega>Moore defensively last year would apply this year in a debate of Moore vs Lawson at 2B. After all, Moore was just a freshman and Orgtega had a lot of cred in the program and was 'owed' at least a chance to fail a 2B. So, Moore might have been in the same league as Ortega defensively but Ortega's bat and experience ruled the decision. Moore had just 19 defensive chances last season, a small sample. Even so, he had 0 errors, and both Lawson and Ortega had 10 errors in 11 and 12 x the number of chances. And Lawson's throwing difficulties are well documented. I think his throwing problems could be worse at second, becasse of the number of different kinds of throws to first base that the second baseman has to make. Cross-body, etc. I would, unless my read on Moore is wrong - and it could be - rather have Moore's bat and speed than Lawson's any day, unless he just isn't very good at 2B.

If Moore has outfield skills, I could see him in LF platooning with Dickey, giving Dickey's foot a little extra rest during the season. But if Stephenson comes back, we're gonna have a glut of outfielders. Good probelem to have, I guess, if we can keep everyone happy with PT.
Click to expand...

The more we talk about it, the more I like the idea of Moore in LF so Dickey can DH.

My comment about Moore’s arm stems from a) the fact that he was recruited as a hybrid position player/pitcher out of HS. Any pitcher should have a strong enough arm to play OF; and b) reports that he’s practicing in the OF some. It sounds like they’re least preparing for the possibility that he’ll get squeezed out of the infield.

You could be right about Lawson’s throwing. But 2B is just a shorter (usually much shorter) throw than SS, which of course reduces the margin for error.

It’ll be fun to look back on this next year and see how close our projected lineups are/were. For now, I’ll go with Alexander, Burke, Lawson, Denton, and Ahuna 2-6 on the infield, Moore, Stevenson, and Backus 7-9, and Dickey at DH. But I reserve the right to change my mind without notice. 😉
 
  • Like
Reactions: TN_gal, chuckiepoo and youcancallmeAl
#495
#495
GregAmsler said:
The more we talk about it, the more I like the idea of Moore in LF so Dickey can DH.

My comment about Moore’s arm stems from a) the fact that he was recruited as a hybrid position player/pitcher out of HS. Any pitcher should have a strong enough arm to play OF; and b) reports that he’s practicing in the OF some. It sounds like they’re least preparing for the possibility that he’ll get squeezed out of the infield.

You could be right about Lawson’s throwing. But 2B is just a shorter (usually much shorter) throw than SS, which of course reduces the margin for error.

It’ll be fun to look back on this next year and see how close our projected lineups are/were. For now, I’ll go with Alexander, Burke, Lawson, Denton, and Ahuna 2-6 on the infield, Moore, Stevenson, and Backus 7-9, and Dickey at DH. But I reserve the right to change my mind without notice. 😉
Click to expand...

If Stephenson comes back, and Lawson takes 2B, that will mean we could platoon every outfield position if Tony wanted to. Moore and Dickey in LF, Booker and Seth in CF, and Backus and Tears in RF. I don't think Tony likes to platoon, but it would be nice to change over to counter when the opponent changes pitchers from R to L or vice versa during a game if we need more runs. The only thing I don't like about your positional lineup is Lawson's bat. He strikes out too much. Put the ball in play. I'd also like to see a R/L platoon at DH.
 
  • Like
Reactions: NighthawkVol and chuckiepoo
#496
#496
youcancallmeAl said:
If Stephenson comes back, and Lawson takes 2B, that will mean we could platoon every outfield position if Tony wanted to. Moore and Dickey in LF, Booker and Seth in CF, and Backus and Tears in RF. I don't think Tony likes to platoon, but it would be nice to change over to counter when the opponent changes pitchers from R to L or vice versa during a game if we need more runs. The only thing I don't like about your positional lineup is Lawson's bat. He strikes out too much. Put the ball in play. I'd also like to see a R/L platoon at DH.
Click to expand...

Hopefully, the light comes on for Logan Chambers, then he gives us a switch hitting option at DH.
 
  • Like
Reactions: youcancallmeAl and chuckiepoo
#498
#498
youcancallmeAl said:
If Stephenson comes back, and Lawson takes 2B, that will mean we could platoon every outfield position if Tony wanted to. Moore and Dickey in LF, Booker and Seth in CF, and Backus and Tears in RF. I don't think Tony likes to platoon, but it would be nice to change over to counter when the opponent changes pitchers from R to L or vice versa during a game if we need more runs. The only thing I don't like about your positional lineup is Lawson's bat. He strikes out too much. Put the ball in play. I'd also like to see a R/L platoon at DH.
Click to expand...
I think Moore takes 2B. His bat plays next year.
 
  • Like
Reactions: youcancallmeAl and chuckiepoo
New posts
You must log in or register to reply here.

VN Store



Back
Top