JotCast | D1Baseball Weekly Chat: Feb. 23

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D1Baseball Weekly Chat: Feb. 23

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Kendall Rogers

2:36

I actually came away feeling pretty good about MSU's lineup. In the opening game, the top of the order didn't do much at all, but guys like Luke Hancock, Drew McGowan and others at the bottom of the order rose to the occasion. That told me that this MSU lineup has a chance to put up some serious numbers this season. In the final game, Rowdey Jordan stepped up as well. I actually feel pretty good about the MSU offense, interestingly enough.

Guest

2:36

IF YOU WERE BETTING ON 1 OF THESE SP AT THE NEXT NEXT LEVIL IS IT HOGLUND FITTS BLACK AND WHAT MAKES ONE STAND OUT MORE THEY ALL SEEM SO CLOSE

Aaron Fitt

2:36

Boy that's an interesting question -- Hoglund and Fitts, in particular, both have a lot of similaries. Both big, physical guys with repeatable deliveries and high-spin fastballs with good velocity and command. I think Hoglund's secondary stuff is probably a tick better right now, so if I had to pick one, I might lean his way by a hair. But it's so close.

Jake

2:37

How legit is Bama and Connor Prielipp? Without a game played yet in SEC play in his career, where does he rank among SEC Friday night arms?

Aaron Fitt

2:37

Put it this way: We ranked Prielipp as the No. 2 pitcher in all of college baseball in our preseason power rankings, only behind Kumar Rocker. I know Prielipp has never even pitched an SEC game so this feels ridiculous early to say, but if I had to place a bet today on who I think will be the No. 1 overall pick in 2022, I would bet on Prielipp. He is the real deal.

Guest

2:39

How deep is Arkansas staff when 2 starters from last year never saw the mound this past weekend

Kendall Rogers

2:39

Arkansas had the deepest staff in the event, and that's saying something, but Mississippi State didn't skip much of a beat without two of its weekend starters. The scary thing about Arkansas is Jaxon Wiggins is the second-best arm I saw from the Hogs this past weekend, and I'm pretty sure he was the 13th arm they used. If I'm settling on a rotation going into conference, today, I'm going with Pallette/Bolden/Wiggins. We'll see what DVH does.

Michael

2:40

Arkansas fan, here. What a great weekend (and Monday) of baseball in Arlington. I'm not one to over-react based on 3 games. But, dang, the SEC west will be brutal. More impressed with the SEC or disappointed in the Big 12 showing? Also, I could care less who you rank #1 after the first weekend of the season.

Aaron Fitt

2:40

I wasn't in Arlington watching those games like Kendall, but for me the answer is easy: more impressed with the SEC West. I know those Big 12 teams laid a collective egg, but it's not because they are bad teams. The SEC West is just that good.

Alex

2:41

How much of an X factor is Cam Masterman in Louisville's lineup now that we've seen his opening salvo?

Aaron Fitt

2:41

I think Masterman has moved beyond "x factor" status and into "lineup pillar" status. This has been a gradual build over the last couple of years -- I thought Masterman looked great last fall, and had his moments last spring, and looked even better this fall. He has real power, and now he's an older player who givers you a lot of mature at-bats. I think he can have a huge year.

Jack

2:42

Which team has a better weekend rotation than Vanderbilt?

Aaron Fitt

2:42

The LA Dodgers.

TxBaseball17

2:42

Thoughts on the trajectory for two struggling TX teams, Texas and Texas A&M, after this weekend? Texas played really difficult competition, but looked outclassed, especially at the plate. A&M played lesser competition, but at least appeared semi-competent in both hitting and pitching at different times?

Kendall Rogers

2:42

TxBaseball -- I feel better about Texas right now. Yes, the Longhorns were atrocious offensively throughout the weekend, but I at least came away feeling pretty good about its pitching staff. Tristan Stevens in particular, really stepped up against a premier lineup. As for the Aggies, it sounds like they played pretty bad baseball the first two games. But outside of the offense, I said this after the fall, but this team will go the way of Bryce Miller. Miller was electric early and struggled after the first couple of frames. He 'has' to have a strong year for the Aggies to have a chance to make some noise. This weekend is huge for the Ags.

Cordell

2:44

what are your expectations on Gamecock Baseball this year, high and low. Is this a hot seat year for Kingston and staff? Thanks so much. Love the content

Aaron Fitt

2:44

My expectations are that South Carolina is going to be a rock-solid regional club, with Omaha potential on the high end. Obviously there's a lot of variance in the SEC -- with so many good teams, it feels like 6 different clubs could either go to Omaha or miss a regional, and I'd put SC in that bucket -- but I'd be awfully surprised if South Carolina missed a regional. Just too many power arms and power bats.

Rebels9

2:46

Over under 3.5 SEC teams in Omaha this year?

Aaron Fitt

2:46

At the risk of giving the rest of the country even more reason to believe we're in love with the SEC... I'm gonna take the over. I think the league gets 10 or maybe even 11 teams into regionals, and four of them find their way to Omaha. The thing is, the gap between the SEC and everybody else when it comes to quality arms is just enormous right now. I've said repeatedly that I think the ACC actually has better position player talent this year than the SEC, but the arms in the SEC just blow away the arms in the ACC. And premium pitching really matters in the postseason.

HawkTalk

2:48

We know Kendall was at the Texas Tourney and Aaron in Gainesville, but where were the other D1 eyeballs and what was everyone’s one respective big takeaway?

Kendall Rogers

2:48

I followed games all over the country, but I have to admit, I tuned in and watched three innings of Jack Leiter yesterday. I could watch that kid pitch all day long. From the zip on his fastball to the hook on his curveball, that's just premier stuff. And he appears to have wonderful makeup and poise on the mound. Can't wait to see him at some point this spring.

Tony

2:48

WCC had a wild weekend. Pepperdine (the favorites) lost their series while USF and Santa Clara got big wins over UCLA and UCSB. Thoughts on this conference?

Aaron Fitt

2:48

I've been a sucker for the WCC for 15 years now -- I always feel like it's a much better league than its postseason representation suggests. It looks deep this year; even with Pepperdine and USD losing their weekends, San Francisco pulled off a huge coup with that series win at UCLA (that's gonna be a huge RPI booster for the Dons as the season progresses), and Pacific took three of four from Cal! I know the Golden Bears didn't even get together as a team all fall, but still... that's a great weekend for Pacific.

David

2:50

A big under the radar mid major series this weekend with UCONN at Southern Miss. Thoughts on how it will play out and will any of you be in Hattiesburg to see it?

Kendall Rogers

2:50

David -- That's not under the radar my man, that's an awesome series. Hunter Stanley/Walker Powell/Gabe Shepard is a terrific trio, and we saw how good UConn can be despite that series loss at UVA. Those are two teams who narrowly missed our Top 25, so I'm intrigued to see how it goes. I think I like USM at home -- but could go either way.

Guest

2:51

Aaron--West Virginia. When does the fire sale begin on their postseason prospects or should I not look too deeply into the 20-run atrocity they gave up to Georgia State?

Aaron Fitt

2:51

I mean, I wouldn't put much stock in one game -- they gave up an 11-spot in the first inning and then emptied the bullpen with some of the guys at the bottom of the depth chart. It's baseball; blow-up innings happened (though I was surprised it happened to Jake Carr, a polished college pitcher). West Virginia will be fine, but I appreciate you checking on me! (Full disclosure: I wouldn't have gone all-in on WVU with quite so much vigor had I known Ryan Bergert was gonna be out of the year... I still like their club a lot, but that's a huge loss.)

HawkTalk

2:53

Any discussion on fan policies, travel restrictions and non-conference slate restrictions now that we’re a week into the season? Obviously, the Ivy League is disappointing, but seeing the huge (but reduced) crowd in Texas was one side of the equation, while “scouts and families” attendance was an example of the other at Vandy. More concerning is the scheduling havoc that CV19 can bring. Getting to a question: what is your prognostication on how normal 2021 can be?

Aaron Fitt

2:53

I think it's gonna be fits and starts. We're going to have series canceled or altered every weekend, and we're just gonna have to live with it. I'm hopeful that schools will gradually ease up a bit on some of the attendance restrictions as we go along, but really my guess is as good as yours.

David

2:55

Any concerns with Florida or Tommy Mace early on?

Aaron Fitt

2:55

Mace looked great -- zero concerns about him whatsoever. Leftwich and Barco did not; I was perplexed by Leftwich's lack of stuff. He was just 90-92, did not see any of his usual mid-90s, and he had no changeup and his slider wasn't very good. We'll see how he bounces back. Barco needs to command his fastball better and show better feel for his splitter and spike-curveball, but I have a lot of conviction that he'll get on track soon.

Jason

2:57

The SEC currently has 5 of the top 8 teams. Do you foresee any way the committee selects 5 national seeds this year from the SEC? Or will the usual gauntlet of the SEC push 1-2 out and you’ll see another LSU/Vandy super regional to reduce conference bias?

Aaron Fitt

2:57

Five is a big ask, but right now it just feels like the SEC is miles ahead of everybody else, so I could actually see it happening. This weekend was such an enormous statement about how much better the SEC is than the rest of the country, and the committee will remember it.

Adam

3:10

How far do you see Miami going this year? Do you see them as a potential top 8 national seed?

Kendall Rogers

3:10

Adam -- If Miami pitches at all this year, I think it has national championship potential. I absolutely love that lineup. The young players have a lot of promise, and certainly, the returning bats are going to have big years -- Toral, Del Castillo, Gil, etc. That's as deep of a lineup as anyone in college baseball.

Matt

3:15

With the best of the Big 12 going 1-8 against *some* of the best of the SEC this weekend, what’s your outlook on the Big 12? And is Tech still the favorite?

Kendall Rogers

3:15

Matt -- I was just talking about this on a radio show. I still feel pretty good about the Big 12. Texas Tech and TCU, along with Texas, are much better than they showed. Frankly, Tech was still in a couple of the games late, and TCU played well outside of not getting some key hits. I have more questions with Texas, but the pitching was strong. Elsewhere, I'm not sure. how much staying power WVU has, and Baylor's series loss to UTRGV was surprising to me. But Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are in good shape. Not much has changed with myself and the view of the Big 12.

Jason

3:17

The Ragin’ Cajuns found their offense in the first weekend battling a tough Tulane team. Thoughts about the Cajuns this year?

Kendall Rogers

3:17

Jason -- I felt very good about the Cajuns coming into the season -- particularly as it pertains to the pitching staff with Hayden Durke, Connor Cooke and Conor Angel leading the way. But if this team hits this year -- watch out. Big things could be on the horizon. I was impressed with Drake Osborn's weekend at the plate. He's a defensive first player, so anything you can get out of him offensively is just icing on the cake.

Shawn

3:42

How impressed were you guys with Landon Sims and is he a guy you could see being a starter down the road?

Connecting…

Dillon

9:27

Thoughts on the Oregon State? They had a pretty solid weekend and were a couple uncharacteristic errors away from finishing 4-0 in Surprise. How far away are they from the top 25

Dillon

9:36

Thoughts on Oregon State and how far they are from the Top 25?

Jason

3:22

After a good showing at a reduced capacity this weekend, where do you rank a healthy Mississippi State pitching staff? Top 5? Top 3? Top top?

Jacob

3:59

If there had been any indication the Razorback pitching staff would look like what they looked like this weekend where would you have had them preseason?

TOAST

4:38

After the weekend some of the top 10 teams had. What is the justification for Louisville being #4 after beating a team in their first year of D1 ball?

TOAST

4:41

Is Mississippi State the biggest what if from the College Baseball Showdown. They did not throw their #2 and #3 starters and still won 2 games. Should have won all three.

TOAST

4:45

Is it surprising that most of the #1 pitchers on all 6 staffs looked underwhelming? TCU's #2 pitcher, Russell Smith and Ole Miss's #3 Derek Diamond, looked to be the 2 best pitchers in the Arlington tournament.

Jackson

4:47

What does ECU have to do to this season to get a top 8 seed? Do they have what it takes?

Dillon

4:49

Oregon State had a good all around weekend defensively and with the bats. The pitching looks pretty elite as well. A couple uncharacteristic errors prevented them from going 4-0 on the weekend. What is your take on the Beavs and were they in the conversation of entering the top 25, and far out are they from entering?

Aaron

5:00

Kendall, 3 biggest takeaways from the college baseball showdown in Arlington?

Mitchell

5:20

What is your assessment of Arkansas pitching? Saturday versus Texas Tech was rough, but then they rebounded by two hitting Texas and TCU. We didn't even see Connor Noland or Patrick Wicklander at all this past weekend.

Kevin

5:43

LSU came back against AF on Sunday only to lose it in the Top of the 9th. Rather than going with Fontenot or leaving in the veteran, Veitmeier, PM went with his freshman Floyd to start the 9th. We all know what happened after that. How do you weigh giving a freshman in-game experience early in a season and possibly losing over going with the veteran pitcher and, most likely, a better chance at winning?

Caleb M.

5:55

I’m sure that this will be asked multiple times, but in the event that it isn’t, why do y’all have Ole Miss as the #1 team over Arkansas? I’m just looking for some insight on the thought process there since they both swept the same three teams. Thanks for all of the work that y’all do for this sport!

Chris

6:04

Texas A&M obviously had a rough start to the season. What are the biggest keys to look for this weekend for them? Thoughts on how likely a turnaround would be for them?

Bobbruinbear

6:20

The thinking from the Bruin staff is that pressure has been removed after the two losses to San Francisco.

Tyler

6:49

With Miami winning the Florida series, do you guys see Miami as the favorite to win the Coastal in the ACC?

Randy

7:03

With the Palmetto Series on deck this weekend, which team has the more impressive opening weekend? USC sweeping Dayton or Clemson eding out a series win in extras over Cincy?

Randy

7:04

With the Palmetto Series on deck this weekend, who had the more impressive opening weekend? USC sweeping Dayton, or Clemson edging out a series win over Cincy? And who has the edge going into the weekend?

Concerned Hotty Toddy

7:15

This Weekend the Razorbacks had two outstanding pitching performances and 1 subpar game. All of that was without both Conner Noland and Patrick Wicklander(weekend starters the last two seasons). Did other pitchers develop that much more or did I miss something y’all may know?

HailState17

7:21

Great coverage of the weekend tournament in Fort Worth, and great baseball! Curious as to your thoughts on MSU pitching given they were without 2 of 3 weekend starters, and, according to Lemonis, were without 5 of their top 12 pitchers. Thanks, and keep up the great work.

Solo

7:36

Week 1 comes with reactions and overreactions. As a MS State fan, the 14 walks Monday to go with the 7 on Sunday are a bit concerning but when you’re missing two starters I suppose these things can happen. How good do you believe Bednar and Cerentola to be? Also across the state, Diamond for Ole Miss was electric! Gonna be a lot of great baseball down in the Magnolia State this year.

Fustrated Aggie

7:56

Yes its only 3 games into the season, but you cant come out and play that poor at home. That is simply unacceptable for an SEC team vs Big East basketball school. The A&M brass needs to move on from Rob Childress he is clearly not the coach to move the Aggies into the upper tier of the SEC and College baseball on a year to year basis. He is also getting out coached and recruited by in state rivals, Texas, TCU, Texas Tech and Sam Houston regularly.

Will

8:00

How impressed were you by Miami's pitching (both starters and the Pen)? We all know they can hit with the Del Castillo's, Toral, Morales, etc. but the pitching seemed to be the key in the series and they out pitched a tremendous Florida staff.

Southern Slams Baseball

8:05

How close is Alabama to being ranked? What about Georgia? Do you think either of those teams have a surprise postseason run in them?

Rodney irvin

8:08

I thought the tcu pitching was impressive but the hitting has to improve

Dillon

8:09

Thoughts on the Beavs! They had a pretty solid week and were a couple uncharacteristic errors away from finishing 4-0 in Surprise. How far away are they from the top 25

Paul

8:10

I think that TCU showed that we have the elite pitching talent and depth to make a run. The lineup looked pretty bad but can’t tell how much of that was the opponents’ pitching. Thoughts on the Frogs’ ceiling this season?

Eric Simmons

8:11

Who was more disappointing on Opening Weekend UCLA or Florida?

Jack

8:13

What do you think of the Big 12’s rather disappointing weekend in Arlington? Would you chalk it up as beginning of the season mishaps or a real season-long problem?

Dean

8:13

Thoughts on Northwestern and their standing in the big 10

Jack Beckham

8:13

What matchup(s) are you most interested in for the upcoming weekend now that the State Farm Classic is finished?

Derick

8:13

Arkansas obviously had a lot of Ks by their pitchers, but we also struck our fair share. I also seen others teams striking out early and often. Is college ball getting to the point of power and strikeouts, while contact seems to be getting less. Or is it a product of superb pitching just winning the battles? Seemed there was a LOT of swing and misses

Jack

8:14

How important do you think it was that MS State was missing two starters this weekend?

Drew

8:14

What are your thoughts on Cal State Fullerton and their performance against Utah this weekend? Do you think it is realistic that they can have a bounce back year after 2 poor seasons and they make it to the field of 64?

Craig

8:15

Do you see any smaller schools that have a shot to make a run in the tourney this year? Seems like the extra year of eligibility works in favor of the power conference teams.

Guest

8:15

how hard will it be for a Big 12 team to be a top 8 seed after the disaster in TX?

Hollis Gaines

8:16

How long do you think ole miss can hold on to the win streak?

Jack

8:21

Is the SEC West just basically a toss-up when it comes down to who is going to take the top spot ?

Hollis Gaines

8:23

Thoughts on Mississippi state? They had a huge chance to also go 3-0 over the weekend just couldn’t bring in the runs late in the game.

Colin

8:25

How much (primarily) of it is these kids going to these schools like SEC & ACC etc. to play there and all vs playing for a specific coach?

Derick

8:25

The amount of strikeouts seem alarming to me. Hog staff had 35 in last two games vs TX and TCU. But, we also had our fair share, as well as other teams. Is pitching gotten that much better, or are teams in college focused more on power than contact compared to years ago?

Hunter

8:26

Is it crazy to think state had the most impressive weekend at globe life? 2-1 and a couple feet left or right from 3-0. All without 2 borderline 1st round arms that will be back shortly.

Jacob

8:26

Will any of the D1Baseball crew be at any of the Clemson-SC series this weekend? If you had to pin point an edge/advantage by either team what would it be?

Hoya

8:27

What will it take for Georgetown baseball to be approved to play this year? The players haven't had a single practice together while the rest of the Big East has had dozens. Basketball has been playing for months while other spring sports like soccer and lacrosse have already played their first games.

Guest

8:29

Thoughts on the Sun Devils following series win over Sac St....

Eric Simmons

8:29

I think the start of the College Baseball Season should be pushed back to the end of March! What do you think?

Dawgs

8:30

With MSU going 2-1 on the weekend despite missing 2/3 weekend starters and according to Lemonis 5 of their best arms, how high are you on their pitching staff?

Owen Deao

8:32

Due to the COVID impact on scheduling non conference games, do y’all think the committee will make non conference SOS less of a concern this year? I’m somewhat concerned that LSU’s will hold it back this year as has happened to Louisville previously.

Cocky

8:33

The Gamecocks showed a lot of encouraging signs in the opening series sweep. Wes Clarke was a force to be reckoned with and had a lot of protection behind him. Will learn a lot more this weekend, but can this line up make some noise in the SEC?

Ben

8:35

Do you think Ole Miss, my team, will be able to keep this up and hold the top spot for multiple weeks?

Ben

8:39

Hi, do you think Ole Miss will be able to keep this up as the top spot? Thanks

Jared

8:40

How legit is Wake with this talented pitching staff and probably best lineup in the country but really poor catcher and infield play so far?

8:41

What do you think of Charlotte? Could they be a tourney sleeper/top 25 team?

Hollis

8:43

How impressed were you with Jacob Gonzalez? He is a true freshman playing shortstop for the #1 team in the country and looked like one of the better players all around for ole miss.

8:48

Optimistic Tech fan here. Yeah, we sucked. But it gives me hope that despite being pretty lousy all the way around, we were: Leading Arky going to the 9th, Had a bases loaded opp in the 9th vs OM, and was down only one run to State heading to the 9th. Got 3 or 4 months to right the ship. In Tadlock I trust!

Trevor

8:49

If Ole Miss goes undefeated in its remaining non-conference games and wins it’s sec opener against Auburn it will have the longest win streak in D1 history. Do you think the Rebels have what it takes?

Clay

8:50

Top 5 teams we shouldn't be surprised to see cracking into the top 25 that aren't already there, based on their opening weekend?

Guest

8:52

Have taken a look @ the 15 year old Thomas White I've never seen a 15 year old dominate like he has. Mad Bum on steroids meets Max Scherzer 1:1 over Crewsin 2023!!!!

Dillon

8:56

Thoughts on the Oregon State? They had a pretty solid weekend and were a couple uncharacteristic errors away from finishing 4-0 in Surprise. How far away are they from the top 25

Swayzecrazie

9:00

Are any teams from the State Farm Showdown in Texas this weekend you think making it to the College World Series? Thanks

Griffin

9:01

What do you think of my boy Ryan Holgate as a prospect? the kid absolutely mashes

Austin

9:04

Incredibly tough weekend for Texas, but can't deny that a.) those were three omaha-caliber teams they faced, b.) Texas was coming off a horrendous storm that eliminated a week of practice, and c.) there's guys on the team that have been in this lineup before, so maybe they can adjust and turn around the hitting woes. However, Big 12 could be strong and Texas's remaining non-con is no creampuff. Is it too early to hit the panic button for the Longhorns?

Dillon

9:04

Thoughts on the Oregon State? They had a pretty solid weekend and were a couple uncharacteristic errors away from finishing 4-0 in Surprise. How far away are they from the top 25

Wildcat

9:13

What did you think about U of AZ play this weekend especially their pitching?

Will

9:14

Who are some of the freshmen who really impressed last weekend?

Hoya

9:18

What is your outlook on the Big East teams this year? What would be the scenario for two bids? How long will it take Thompson to turn around Georgetown?

Globe Life Field

9:19

Kendall-- How did you enjoy the games at my place? How cool was it to have actual live fans in attendance?

Griffin

9:22

What do you think Holgate on Arizona's ceiling is in terms of his draft position?

Alldayrazorbacks

9:27

Do you think Arkansas makes it to Omaha this year? And outside of the dropped routine foul ball out that cost them a national title what is the national perception of Arkansas baseball???

Jeff

9:27

Fully recognize it was the opening weekend, but I did not think GT's arms looked that great outside of Crawford on Sunday. So many walks and errors too. What were your thoughts on the weekend?

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