You are viewing the chat in desktop mode. Click here to switch to mobile view.
X
Return toD1Baseball
D1Baseball Weekly Chat: April 1
powered byJotCast
Prev Page View Full Chat Next Page
Aaron Fitt
12:28
They are a very frustrating team to rank every week, let me tell you that! Three weeks in a row they have gone 2-2, lost their midweek game but bounced back to take 2 of 3 on the weekend against a ranked opponent. We certainly can't move them up, but given their weekend resumé, you cannot drop them... so we have to keep listening to people whine about them being ranked No. 6 despite a fairly ugly overall record. It is annoying! They need to clean it up and start taking business midweek.
Guest
12:30
Did you expect the Vols to bounceback from the run-rule loss Friday night and the way Saturday's game started to take the series From UGA?  What do you think this says about the team and their outlook going forward?  It seems they're still looking for that third weekend starter, with AJ Russel's return in the air?
Kendall Rogers
12:30
Guest -- actually the way Tennessee responded was pretty impressive. They got destroyed in the opener then surged in the second game, only to have Zander Sechrist and others go out and throw extremely well in the series finale. The Vols undoubtedly have a couple of warts overall, but that series told me something -- mostly good -- about this team.
Todd
12:30
The Wildcats are 9-2 vs Top 50 opponents and are #7 in the RPI. If UK beats rival Louisville on Tuesday & wins another weekend SEC series vs Bama are they moving into Top 10?
Aaron Fitt
12:30
I would say so, yeah. Kentucky is sitting pretty right now in the metrics. The only reason they're not higher in our Top 25 is because they haven't won a true marquee series yet, although clearly Georgia is much improved and looking like a decent bet to snag an at-large bid, so that sweep is looking better and better. But winning a series against Alabama would be UK's best series win by far, and would help them make a jump in the rankings, I would think.
Myers
12:33
What's more surprising at this juncture, Wake at 4-8 in the ACC or LSU at 2-7 in the SEC?  It's still relatively early but both have not met expectations and need to turn it around fairly quickly.
Kendall Rogers
12:33
I would say Wake at 4-8. The reason I say that is that we thought Josh Hartle was a superstar coming into the season, and he has been pretty terrible for the most part. LSU is underachieving right now, but there aren't glaring 'wows' with this team in a bad way. I think I have more faith in LSU figuring things out by a sizable margin.
Jake
12:33
After the first couple of weeks of conference play, who do you see as the top contenders for the Big 10? It appears to be wide open. Do you guys have any favorites to win the league?
Aaron Fitt
12:33
Yeah it does feel pretty wide open. At the moment I lean Nebraska, but you can't ignore the start to conference play by Illinois (won 2 of 3 at Indiana, swept Penn State). I'll need to see more before I'm ready to buy in on the Illini, but they have my attention. And Iowa is still lurking -- rough nonconference performance against a difficult schedule, but there's a reason they were a Top 25 team, and they're off to a 4-2 start in conference play. They certainly have the talent to win that league.
GeoDawg
12:33
Mississippi State hosting Georgia this weekend. Both teams are sitting at 4-5 in the league. Both teams have shown staying potential. The winner gets to at least 6-6 and is in a good spot to run at hosting. Who do you favor?
Kendall Rogers
12:33
Great series to say the least. I feel like both teams have the same strengths and weaknesses to some degree. Both teams can REALLY hit and will pressure opposing pitchers. I think I like Miss State at The Dude this weekend.
cool 1
SC
12:36
Hey guys, love the content. What's your outlook on Coastal Carolina so far. Are they going through a typical skid most teams are going to have. Or, is the starting pitching something to be concerned about.
Aaron Fitt
12:36
We always thought the Chanticleers were a little light on the mound, going back to the fall. They do have some quality arms like Meckley, Eikhoff and Flukey, but those guys have been up and down. Just feels like a team that's going to keep on outslugging people all year long, and fortunately they do have the offensive firepower to win that way. But to me it's starting to feel like a No. 2 seed in a regional, and less likely to be a host.
Eric Simmons
12:37
Is it auto bid or bust for Iowa?
Kendall Rogers
12:37
Too early to say that with 100% authority -- but yes, sitting at 96 in the RPI right now with the Big Ten schedule only ahead, seems like the right call to say they need to win the automatic bid. Or, win the regular season title and have an RPI in the 40-60 range, which is possible.
GeoDawg
12:39
SEC home teams have won 26 of 30 conference series. Avoiding the sweep on the road seems more crucial than ever for seeding. If this trend continues, how many teams are sitting at 14-16 conference wins at the end of the stretch? 10? The elusive 12?
Aaron Fitt
12:39
That is a wild stat -- 26 of 30! Those home-field advantages in that league are real, that's for sure. I still think there will wind up being a little separation at the top (maybe Arkansas and A&M) and bottom (Missouri); and we'll probably have some teams in that 12 or 13-win territory as well as. So I'll say 9 SEC teams in that 14-16 win range.
Hardball Fan
12:41
Thoughts on the Missouri Valley Conference this season?
Kendall Rogers
12:41
I'm a little surprised at how underwhelming Missouri State has been at times. Overall and in conference, the Bears just haven't been racking up many wins, and I was honestly hoping that Coach Guttin would go out with a bang. We shall see --  there's a whole 'nother half of the season to play. Indiana State is by far the ringleader of this league -- we discussed the Sycs for our very latest Top 25 for good reason. Ultra consistent club and they're doing all of this without Jacob Pruitt. Once he's back ..... watch out!
Josh
12:41
When is it officially time to hit the panic button on the Deacs?
Aaron Fitt
12:41
I think if they lose another series this weekend at Virginia Tech, that will give them four series losses in their first five ACC weekends. Even then, I think they can make a run -- feels like every year we leave a team or two for dead in the ACC around this time, and somehow that team winds up getting red-hot and hosting a regional or getting to Omaha. But Wake's path will be fairly daunting if it can't find a way to win that series in Blacksburg.
Ball man
12:43
When do y’all typically start releasing predictions for field of 64 (I know it’s still really early but just wondering when first one will be published)
Kendall Rogers
12:43
We will have our midseason Field of 64 this week. It's still extremely early -- so take it with an educated grain of salt. We will skip a week after that, and then start weekly after that. Can't believe it's already #projectionsSZN
barrima6
12:43
It may be a bit early for questions like this, but how many conference wins do y'all think it will take to grab a host/national host spot?  With so many good to great teams in the SEC, I could see us beating up on each other quite a bit. So I'm wondering if the "magic number", so to speak, will be a touch lower this year than in past years...
Aaron Fitt
12:43
I still think 16 SEC wins is generally the target -- as Mark Etheridge has pointed out year after year, you really do need a winning record in league play to have a decent shot to host. Not impossible for a .500 team to do it, but no way a 14-win SEC team hosts, I think.
Andrew
12:44
How close are the Cajuns to being ranked? Are they ranked with a 3-1/4-0 week coming up? I know the series against Rice early on is a significant blemish, but it's a completely different team right now.
Kendall Rogers
12:44
Andrew -- They are really close. They were probably team 26 or 27 this week. Ultimately, I agree that the Cajuns are a MUCH different team, but the fact remains, they went 0-3 in Houston and lost a home series to one of the worst teams in major college baseball. So, there's a make up process related to that. The good news? They are red-hot and it appears they'll more than make up for those blemishes. Andrew Herrmann and LP Langevin have been terrific, and the offense is getting into a groove as well.
Brendan Bell
12:45
Feels like UCF is starting to scratch the surface of their potential as a program. With the move to the Big 12 and location in a talent rich area, does UCF have the biggest up arrow of all the newcomers to the Big 12?
Aaron Fitt
12:45
You know, probably so Brendan. I think a lot of people have regarded UCF as something of a sleeping giant for a long time now; they showed flashes during the last two coaching regimes but could never quite get over the hump consistently. But given the in-state talent base at their disposal and the sheer size of that school, now you throw them into a higher-end conference and it does feel like they have serious upside. So yes, I agree with you.
Billy
12:49
Clemson has looked good so far this season, finding multiple ways to win games. However, a lot of their wins have come from behind. I'm a lifelong tiger fan, but wonder if we have the starting pitching talent to go deep in the tournament. You have Clemson at #2 this week, and I agree they have earned a top 5 ranking thus far, but do you think they have the pieces to make it back to Omaha for the first time since 2010? Is this a 'high floor' team? Where is their ceiling?
Aaron Fitt
12:49
It's natural to wonder about sustainability when a team wins so many come-from-behind games -- I saw them rally from 8-1 down in the 9th and 11-2 down in the 6th on back to back days against FSU last week, and that certainly doesn't feel like a sustainable habit. But this week they bounced back and pitched much better down at Miami, which is not an easy place to play -- Miami had won 15 straight ACC home series dating back to 2021. As Tristan Smith gets healthy again and Austin Gordon continues to build up, I think that pitching staff should be plenty solid enough for an Omaha, run particularly behind their elite offense and their remarkable "it" factor. I can't say it strikes me as national championship-caliber pitching, but then very few teams in the country feel like they have truly elite pitching (just Arkansas?). So maybe we just need to recalibrate our standards when it comes to arms.
WP
12:49
Which teams in the Big 12 concern you the most when it comes to making a Regional this year?
Kendall Rogers
12:49
I'm going to go with Texas Tech in terms of teams I thought would be good but are in the danger zone right now. I do think the Red Raiders win that series against UH this weekend, but right now they are 5-7 and have an RPI in the 50s. That's danger zone for sure. The Raiders will need to finish strong.
PIGS
12:51
Talk about the cajones on Van Horn.  Bringing in Hunter Dietz in the 8th clinging to a 2 run lead with the top of the LSU order coming up.  Mixed results (if Aloy makes a clean play, he gets the double play and the inning ends before he loads the bases) but the staff must see something in him to have him make his debut in that situation.  Having another dude in the back end off the bullpen is going to make it tough for anyone to take 2 of 3 from the hogs this year.
Aaron Fitt
12:51
And the rich get richer with Dietz back on the mound for Arkansas -- that's a truly elite talent from the left side. And the silver lining of him missing the first half of the season is that he should be fresh and getting stronger for the stretch run, while most freshmen pitchers are starting to hit the wall. But yeah that's quite a spot to make a debut!
James
12:52
Was Texas in the conversation at all to be ranked following a road series win at K-State or do they still need to show more consistency? Won all 3 conference series so far but have played with their food a lot it seems.
Kendall Rogers
12:52
James -- not in the discussion just yet, but will be if they continue to take care of business. I do think Texas has fixed on its spots in the weekend rotation with the emergence of righthanded pitcher Max Grubbs. He's been really solid for them for the most part. And Ace Whitehead has even provided a boost as well. I'm still not all in on Texas just yet, but they are getting better. I should get my eyes on them in a couple of weeks against UH.
Chris
12:53
Thoughts on Texas A&M’s pitching staff?
Kendall Rogers
12:53
Chris -- it's pretty solid. Ryan Prager is having a great season, I was encouraged by Tanner Jones over the weekend, and Justin Lamkin is solid. the one thing I do like about the bullpen is the looks are vastly different. Rudis is a low arm slot nasty slider guy, Josh Stewart is a lower slow nasty slider and harder throwing guy, Chris Cortez is pure gas and Evan Aschenbeck is just Mr. Precision. Max Weiner has done a great job with that staff, IMO.
Kyle
12:54
With how good Condon and Bazzana have been, is there an argument that the two best college hitters in this draft class are better than the two best college hitters in the previous draft class (Crews and Langford)?
Connecting…