The way too early talk about the line up/rotation thread

#1
Burger

Burger

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#1
I know this is way too early to talk about this, but lets have some fun baseball talk about our line up.

My speculated line up and why I have them here.

RF Chris Hall

Hall seems to be a good contact hitter with some decent speed. I heard that he might play the middle infield, but I really don't know. He was one of the best hitters on D III's championship Cumberlands team.

SS AJ Simcox

Simcox is a really good fielding short stop. Last year, he was able to make contact, but was not very good at driving the ball. The quick and witty middle infielder is going to be the perfect second hitter in our line up. His error total this season will only go down as he had 14 of them last year.

LF Chris Stewart

Stewart is coming into this season as our best hitter and first team All American. He is going to be a first rounder in this next draft because he is a five tool player. He can hit for power and contact, has good speed, has a good arm, and he has a great glove.

DH Nick Senzel

Senzel was our second best hitter last year. He was able to provide some pop with his bat. His fielding ability is OK, but I think we would prevent runs from being scored with a good glove at second base. This kid will be an extremely good bat for the next two seasons.

3B Derek Lance

Lance came on strong in the second half of the regular season in 2014. He was able to have over a .290 batting average as most of his playing time was during SEC play. I am excited to see how his offseason of learning 3rd base came along. He was a good fielder in right last year having only two errors.

1B Nathaniel Maggio

Maggio did OK last year. His power numbers can only improve as he had no home runs at all last season. If he is fully healed from injuries, his progression will be vital to how our boys play this season. His glove at first base is tremendous as he only made two errors to post a .994 fielding percentage.

CF Vincent Jackson

Jackson needs to improve behind the plate. The only good thing about him as a hitter is he has good discipline behind the plate. Vincent had the least amount of strike outs last season in the line up. If he can improve his average, he will definitely move up to second in the batting order. He was a great center fielder for us last year having a .990 fielding percentage.

C David Houser ( LHP) Tyler Shultz ( RHP )

The great news is we might have two of the best fielding catchers in the SEC. Houser did not make one error at all last year. He would of won a Gold Glove in the SEC. Shultz did not do much worse as he only made 3 errors behind the plate last year. Both need to improve on their hitting, especially Houser. Houser led the team with Ks with 44 of them. Both are able to throw out runners in a small ball era of baseball.

2B Brett Langhorne

Langhorne will not be too good of a hitter this year, but his glove is what he was known for. Langhorne will prevent runs in the middle of the infield leading to more wins. I think Serrano is willing to give up some runs in the batters box to prevent many runs on the field. We will love watch him playing 2nd base this season.

Bench
OF Johnny Youngblood
C Domminick Cammarata
C Benito Santiago
INF Jeff Moberg
OF/INF Parker Wormsley
INF Jordan Rodgers
INF Jared Pruitt
OF Brodie Leftridge
1B/OF Andrew Plunkett
C Forest Bramlett

Rotation

Andy Cox

Cox was our best all around pitcher last year. He has a mid 90's fastball with an extremely nasty but wild slider. Cox's change up will improve as Serrano is the guru of that pitch. Cox will be our Ace unless we are able to find another starter in Serrano or Kane, or we desperately need a closer.

Hunter Martin

Martin has great locations on his fastball and change up. His change up is his best pitch as it's around 80 MPH and drops. It reminds me of the Jarrod Parker change up of the Oakland A's. I hope his fast ball velocity improves as he tops out at 90 MPH. I also want to see his secondary breaking ball developed more.

Brett Marks

The coaches have said Brett Marks has the potential to be an elite starter in the SEC. He played all of last season with an injury. He was scouted to have a killer fastball-change up combo. His secondary pitch is a slider that will have to improve.

Kyle Serrano

Kyle is a pitcher with elite potential also. He has a mid 90's fastball and a killer curve ball. He needs to improve the control of his pitches. If he does, he will slide above Hunter Martin in the rotation. He has the tendency to walk a lot of guys, but he strikes out a lot of batters as well.

Stephen Kane

This recruit out of Juco was drafted in the 26th round by the Indians. He has the same type of pitches as Brett Marks. He will have a great chance to become a starter on the hill for us. This might give us a chance to find a long reliever or spell Cox to his role that he thrived in last season.

Here is the rest of the bullpen according to usage and position:

CL: Andrew Lee (RHP)
SU: Drake Owenby (LHP)
SU: Jacob Westphal (RHP)
MRP: Peter Lehnstrom (RHP)
MRP: Aaron Soto (LHP)
MRP: Zach Reid (LHP) ( Lefty Specialist think Pat Neshek)
MRP: Quentin Roberton ( RHP )
MRP: Richard Jackson ( RHP )
MRP: Tei Vanderford ( RHP )
MRP: Eric Freeman ( RHP )
LRP: Zach Warren ( LHP ) ( We will see lots of him )
 
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#3
#3
Winningitall said:
How good is the team supposed to be this year? Saw improvement last year. I hope they make the NCAA's.
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Personally, I think we can win it all if the stars align. At the minimum, we're going to Hoover again. Serrano is the best coach at our university. He's one of the best baseball coaches in the NCAA. Joan Cronan did an amazing job to make sure we have him.

I mean he made to Omaha twice with two teams who can't get the big time talent.
 
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#4
#4
Not to shabby Burger. I think you're on the right track. Let's see what Coach Serrano thinks. Possibility for great year(s) of Vol baseball. I'm looking forward to it.

GO VOLS!
 
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#5
#5
Great post, OP! Not too early at all for this. Go to Hoover every year & looking forward to the VOLS being there! CDS is getting things back on track. :hi:
 
#6
#6
Burger said:
Personally, I think we can win it all if the stars align. At the minimum, we're going to Hoover again. Serrano is the best coach at our university. He's one of the best baseball coaches in the NCAA. Joan Cronan did an amazing job to make sure we have him.

I mean he made to Omaha twice with two teams who can't get the big time talent.
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spot on! that was an amazing hire! can't wait to see them play, hope they have a great year! and with the SEC network should be able to see them play more!
 
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#7
#7
LA vol7 said:
spot on! that was an amazing hire! can't wait to see them play, hope they have a great year! and with the SEC network should be able to see them play more!
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Me either. I've been watching Serrano for years, and he always puts players in the MLB.

Here's our biggest strength and weakness.

Strength: Starting Pitching

Andy Cox is potentially the best SP in the SEC. I am excited to see how the other four starters, Martin, Serrano, Marks, and Kane develop this winter. I think all these guys will prove to be SEC quality this year as they develop or heal from injuries.

Weakness: Relief Pitching

It's funny how our team strengths and weaknesses are on the same position. We will be inexperienced in the bullpen this year. We will end up missing Josh Petersen and Trevor Bettencourt, whom were possible set up men along Owenby or Lee. This position depends on how good the freshmen coming in are. If we can get 6+ innings out of our starters, our young bullpen can handle three innings.


I'll just add this. Serrano took two mid major baseball teams, eventhough fullerton is always legit, to Omaha. If you look at the list in his Bio on UTSports, most coaches who've done the same did it at one mid major and a power five school. I don't know how many coaches took three different schools to Omaha, but Serrano can be on that very elite list. His in game management is one of the best I've seen. Who else has the stones to start a reliever against LSU?
 
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#8
#8
Love the thread you have going here, Burger. Can't wait for baseball season to kick off. I had the pleasure of living my dream of playing college ball in Knoxville back in the day. Well done man... I'm gonna have to visit over here more often. :hi:
 
#9
#9
TriedAndTrueVOL said:
Love the thread you have going here, Burger. Can't wait for baseball season to kick off. I had the pleasure of living my dream of playing college ball in Knoxville back in the day. Well done man... I'm gonna have to visit over here more often. :hi:
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I'm just trying to stimulate activity on here. I love Vol Baseball just as much as Vol Football with our man Dave Serrano being hired. I would love to play for the vols in the future, but I think my sports career is done. I've been watching Baseball since I was a small kid, so I know a lot about the sport. I would love to see others post their mock line ups and rotations.
 
#10
#10
Great post by the OP. I like this lineup and I'm very excited about the potential of this team. Coach Serrano will make it work by getting the most out of the players. Go Vols.
 
#13
#13
Even so, in the East division alone Vanderbilt has two projected 1st round draft picks (Fulmer and Buehler), Kentucky has Kyle Cody and Florida has Logan Shore.
 
#15
#15
Good post Burger, I think a lot of it hits the mark. I have a few additional thoughts.

1. Chris Hall (RF) - All indications are that he's here to be the lead-off man who replaces Maddox and Price who both had time at the one spot last year. Another player I might consider for this spot would be Derek Lance. Lance hit .291 last year and .317 over the summer. In fact, he spent quite a bit of time in the lead-off spot over the summer in addition to getting experience in the 2,3, and 4 spots.

2. A.J. Simcox (SS) - There's no reason to think AJ won't end here, after all he started 46 games at the two. Nobody on the team had more SAC Hits, most just moving the lead off man to 2B. Again, Derek Lance could also bat in this spot. In fact, Lance had more RBI's (17) than Simcox (13) in 121 FEWER at bats.

3. Christin Stewart (LF) - Started the majority in the 3 spot. Seems like the logical spot though he could bat in the clean up spot as well.

4. Nick Senzel (DH) - I'm sure Nick Senzel would get a chance at 2B, but in terms of his spot in the line up, in 49 out of 53 games last season he was batting clean up. As long as he's back at full health and swinging like he did last year, this is about as much of a lock as one can call.

5. Derek Lance (3B) - No player was in the 5 spot more than VJax last year (26). This is one of the more difficult spots to call, in fact 3B is one of the biggest question marks. Taylor Smart played the hot box really well AND produced at the plate. Jordan Rodgers was the heir apparent and played well this summer in Alaska at third. His bat was inconsistent, but he gained valuable experience. Lance played some 3B this summer, some 2B and in the out field as well. He was voted to the First Team Great Lakes League as a utility player, so it's possible he could end up at 3B. Another unlikely but possible scenario is that AJ could move to 3B allowing Langhorne to play SS...it will boil down to whether others can field at 3B and make the throws. Simcox played 3B quite a bit in the Cape...he can make the throws.

6. Nathaniel Maggio (1B) - Nate made 36 starts at 1B before getting injured. He certainly looked the part, he's a big kid! Production at the plate was inconsistent but he showed promise. Andrew Lee can play 1B and I believe that CDS wanted him to concentrate on pitching last season...but...then...Lee goes up to the Cape and bats .333 for Brewster. I'd have a hard time leaving that guy on the bench, we'll see. Another to watch is Plunkett. He started swinging the bat really well towards the end of the summer and he's always "looked" like a first baseman to me.

7. Vincent Jackson (CF) - It's going to be about production at the plate for VJax. He's been a streaky hitter his entire time on the hill. There are several options for center field and I think production at the plate and running base paths will give someone the nod.

8. Houser/Schultz (C) - This is a safe pick. These two split time almost equally last year. The only question I have is will any of the youngsters be able to unseat these two based on hitting. It seems doubtful knowing how much CDS values defense at the position and being comfortable with the signs and knowing the pitchers may be too much for any of the youngsters to over come. I don't think we will carry five catchers into the season.

9. Brett Langhorne (2B) - This is the other big question mark moving forward. You could be right, but Senzel, Moberg, Lance, Pruett, Wormsley are all folks that could battle for the spot. Pruett is a complete unknown to me. As for the 9 spot, CDS has experimented a lot. Last year Smart and Maddox, two of the most productive hitters got a combined 23 starts hitting at the nine, Lance got 13 starts in the nine as well.


The bottom line is that we are going to have some flexibility this year and of course we have a lot to learn about some of these new guys like Hall and Langhorne just to name two.

As for the pitching, we'll have to wait and see. Andy Cox didn't pitch in the summer or in the fall...I don't know whether to be worried or not...If he's his old self, I would see him as the Friday Night starter. Hunter Martin as the Saturday starter. Kyle Serrano will be given every opportunity for one of the top spots, but Brett Marks, Stephen Kane, Jacob Westphal, and Andrew Lee all have a chance. Some may be surprised by the inclusion of Lee, but he spent the summer as the #1 starter for Brewster and he had some really good outings.

Of course based on last season Lee could be in line as the closer as could Drake Owenby. Owenby worked as a closer in the Cape all summer with mixed results OR If Marks and Serrano step up, Cox could go back to that role as Burger mentioned.

My surprise pick is Eric Martin...just a gut feeling that he might be able to contribute this season. The addition of the three lefties (providing they can contribute) will give us some much needed match up flexibility as well.

The early part of the season will be very exciting as it provides us with our first glimpses of the young guys, especially on the mound and behind the plate.

FIU will be a great test, a team residing just out of the top 40 currently and a bubble team much like us last season.

About 6 more weeks!

GBO!!!
 
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#16
#16
Most of my post was basically educated guess work. We can see many players at many different positions. Playing Senzel at DH is just trying to expand our second biggest strength in fielding. AJ and Langhorne's positions are based on Langhorne's ability on the field. We would love to have a vacuum cleaner at SS. I forgot about Lee playing first base, and Eric Martin in the pen. My line up is trying to maximize hitting and fielding more than anything.

If one of the four guys after Serrano can make spot starts, we will be golden. Serrano is one of the biggest pitching gurus in college baseball, so we will have one or two of those guys step up. Our bullpen is our biggest unknown right now, but I bet we will be happy with it.

My favorite thing about Maggio is his glove at first base. He's one of the best gloves we have in the infield. Our midfield will be the key to run prevention this season. If Hall, Jackson, Lance, Stewart, Senzel, Maggio, and our catching platoon can keep hitting or hit better, we should play the best glove we can at third.

I'm excited for FIU also, they will be a great benchmark for our team.
 
#17
#17
Great thread, Burger. This will be fun to follow and adjust as the season begins to play out.

You are spot on about Serrano. I am very happy with Butch and Donnie. But CDS is already accomplished multiple times what those two hope to. Add in that he was at UT during a successful period and it was absolutely the perfect hire IMO. With CDS, you don't have to wonder about strategy - it will be right in relation to the talents of his roster virtually all the time. The players are so well schooled. They may mess up the execution, but it won't be because they chose to do the wrong thing very often. You also won't have to worry about recruiting other than who they lose in the draft. The talent will be strong.
 
#18
#18
Vols4us said:
Great thread, Burger. This will be fun to follow and adjust as the season begins to play out.

You are spot on about Serrano. I am very happy with Butch and Donnie. But CDS is already accomplished multiple times what those two hope to. Add in that he was at UT during a successful period and it was absolutely the perfect hire IMO. With CDS, you don't have to wonder about strategy - it will be right in relation to the talents of his roster virtually all the time. The players are so well schooled. They may mess up the execution, but it won't be because they chose to do the wrong thing very often. You also won't have to worry about recruiting other than who they lose in the draft. The talent will be strong.
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Serrano is a master strategist. He almost always had the best players at the right positions. It stood out when he had relievers start against LSU, and we got a close to a sweep. He knows how to get the best out of his players. I will rate Serrano from 1-5 on his abilities. He is one of the 11 current coaches who took two different programs to the NCAA with potential to take #3. I'll be honest; his recruiting is more due to Aric Thomas more than anything. Serrano knew he had to adapt to be able to win in the SEC, so he hired Thomas to take his recruiting to a new level. When we start thriving, I would not be surprised if Aric Thomas got a head coach job.

Serrano's ratings (out of five)

Strategy - 5
Motivation - 5
Scouting - 5
Recruiting - 3
Player Development - 5
 
#19
#19
Guys i know this is off topic here but i cant start a thread yet. So i was just wanting to get yalls take on the baseball team switching to nike what uni changes you think we might see
 
#20
#20
OLDMAN23 said:
Guys i know this is off topic here but i cant start a thread yet. So i was just wanting to get yalls take on the baseball team switching to nike what uni changes you think we might see
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Nothing will change this season because our Nike deal starts in July. I can see Nike giving us some kind of alternative. I don't exactly know because I'm not an insider. I'm just a big fan of Vol Baseball.
 
#21
#21
OLDMAN23 said:
Guys i know this is off topic here but i cant start a thread yet. So i was just wanting to get yalls take on the baseball team switching to nike what uni changes you think we might see
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Baseball is a lesser priority than football/basketball for Nike. Same with Adidas and other sports. So, without the publicity, Nike does not waste everyone's time with constantly changing alternative jerseys.

They have a tradition of butt ugly jerseys at Miami but that's about it. I recall the dark gray pajama look that Miami wore in around 2001.

I don't think there will be a huge change in that regard. Additionally, I don't think prep baseball players are as shoe-centric as football and especially basketball players. Shoe cos. have not yet corrupted travel baseball teams have they have AAU basketball. Shoe company training camps for baseball are rarer. Smaller corporate players like Mizuno and DeMarini are still relatively strong in the sport.

What will be interesting is how will Nike effect our bats and gloves. I don't know how our Nike contract effects non-textile equipment. (Same with golf balls and clubs I guess as well)

Baseball players that care little about uniforms and shoes REALLY care about gloves and bats. Nike let all "their schools" out of Nike bat contracts about 3 years ago. But will they change their position in the future? I'm not sure Nike even makes a BBCOR certified bat right now.
 
#22
#22
I don't even know if Nike makes bats. I think we'll use Dimarini.
 
#24
#24
Here goes a thread getting hi-jacked. Anyways I am super excited about the Nike contract. As a former pitcher, I really like the Nike gloves as well. UNC, UGA etc. always had sexy color matched gloves with the school logo sewn on. I have never owned a Nike glove, but after being forced to wear an Easton glove in college, Nike would have been a welcomed change. I don't for a second want to pretend to know how all this stuff works, but with us being a more high profile school, similar to, say Miami or UNC, my guess is we would get the gloves too. I believe both still use Nike gloves. I do not think that will negatively affect us at all. But the main thing that makes me want to call up compliance and claw for some eligibility is the gear. shoes, shorts, jackets, dri-fit shirts. Its all just great looking, and its what you, as a student athlete, get to walk around campus in. Plus, the uni's and cleats will be great looking as well. Looking great, on and off the field are definitely plusses for a recruit deciding where he wants to go to school.
 
#25
#25
BigOrange51 said:
Here goes a thread getting hi-jacked. Anyways I am super excited about the Nike contract. As a former pitcher, I really like the Nike gloves as well. UNC, UGA etc. always had sexy color matched gloves with the school logo sewn on. I have never owned a Nike glove, but after being forced to wear an Easton glove in college, Nike would have been a welcomed change. I don't for a second want to pretend to know how all this stuff works, but with us being a more high profile school, similar to, say Miami or UNC, my guess is we would get the gloves too. I believe both still use Nike gloves. I do not think that will negatively affect us at all. But the main thing that makes me want to call up compliance and claw for some eligibility is the gear. shoes, shorts, jackets, dri-fit shirts. Its all just great looking, and its what you, as a student athlete, get to walk around campus in. Plus, the uni's and cleats will be great looking as well. Looking great, on and off the field are definitely plusses for a recruit deciding where he wants to go to school.
Click to expand...

I know for a fact that baseball players are weird about their gloves. I hope our players get to use the glove that they want to. I'd be mad if I played, and I could not use my special glove.
 
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