JotCast | D1Baseball Weekly Chat: Feb. 28

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D1Baseball Weekly Chat: Feb. 28

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Aaron Fitt

1:01

Hello friends, hope you all had a nice weekend. Let's get after it.

Landon Colloso

1:03

Did you leave the round rock more I pressed with Stanford or disappointed in Arkansas?

Kendall Rogers

1:03

Landon,
More impressed with Stanford. The question mark I had coming into the season with the Cardinal was the rotation outside of Alex Williams. But Drew Dowd was really intriguing with a nasty slider, and Quinn Mathews showed stuff and velocity I hadn't seen from him before yesterday. Stanford's lineup was solid top to bottom. It is the better team over Arkansas at this juncture, but the Hogs will be just fine. Maybe the way they finished yesterday's game will propel them. Hagen Smith will have better days on the mound, but his stuff had elite potential and the frame is already there. But yeah, the story of the weekend in RR was Stanford. Beautifully played baseball.

Ryan

1:04

How does Stanford not move up in the rankings after an amazing performance last weekend

Kendall Rogers

1:04

Ryan -- Great question. It really just boils down to poll mechanics this week. The teams ahead of Stanford all took care of business in emphatic fashion. I actually would've preferred to move Stanford up, but who do you move down to make room for them? It's one of many things tricky about rankings sometimes. WTS, if the Cardinal continues to play at this level, they'll continue to move up. Zero question.

Aaron Fitt

1:07

Just to piggyback on Kendall's answer -- Stanford definitely impressed, but you can't move Oklahoma State down, a week after it won a road series against a top 5 team. And you can't move Vandy down after a 4-0 week. Ole Miss and Texas are undefeated, can't move them down. And dropping Arkansas six spots after winning its weekend would just be too harsh. Besides, it's not like Stanford's resumé is unblemished; the Cardinal was a bit wobbly at home against Fullerton last week, and it looks like Fullerton is probably not a real contender this year. Anyway, I know "poll mechanics" is never a satisfying answer, but we just don't believe in radical shake-ups on a week to week basis, that kind of thinking leads to panicky swings. When teams win their weekends, they generally don't drop in the rankings; so if all the teams ahead of you win, it's hard to move up.

Jack B.

1:05

Was Tulane in Top 25 consideration for y’all? They’re 6-1 and just took a road series against a very good La Tech club.

Aaron Fitt

1:05

Yep, Tulane was on our board this week for sure -- that's a loud road series win against a good La Tech team, in a tough atmosphere. Green Wave is knocking on the door; obviously a series win vs. Mississippi State this week would get Tulane into the rankings for sure.

Andrew

1:05

2-4 Long Beach State in the rankings over a 6-1 South Carolina team?!

Kendall Rogers

1:05

Andrew -- Long Beach State had one more weekend to right the ship. WTS, Long Beach took two of three on the road from Mississippi State to start the season. South Carolina, meanwhile, hasn't played anyone that justifies a ranking. That Clemson series is big for both teams from a rankings standpoint, IMO.

Josh

1:07

thoughts on Nebraska's slow start. Seems to be the veteran starting pitchers and offensively they just can't get anything going/sustained.

Kendall Rogers

1:07

Josh -- Nebraska is definitely in a rut. The day I saw them against Sam Houston State, the starting pitching scuffled and the offense waited until the eighth inning to finally wake up. It looks like the offense didn't wake up much at all against a solid TCU team (especially on the mound). Nebraska was definitely underwhelming to me, and I'm not sure I see this team as having big-time potential offensively? Maybe I'm wrong, but I didn't see much in that lineup that would scare me.

Clemsonfan4201

1:09

how far out is clemson

Aaron Fitt

1:09

Right there in the mix with Tulane for us this week, just outside the Top 25. Need to see them face a little stronger competition; sweeping Indiana was nice, but right now it's unclear if this Indiana team is as good as usual. A series win against the Gamecocks would definitely vault Clemson into the Top 25, assuming there is a spot open next week. But I'm certainly impressed with the way Clemson has played in all facets so far; early returns very encouraging for this team.

Guest

1:09

What do you think about the Pigs bats? Two weeks in and hitting has been a glaring problem.

Kendall Rogers

1:09

Guest -- You're right. Arkansas has definitely been pressing a bit offensively. Throughout the weekend in Round Rock, I felt like the Hogs chased entirely too many off speed pitches. That was especially the case against Stanford. WTS -- guys like Peyton Stovall will get much much better as the season progresses, and I did see some good things from guys like Zack Gregory yesterday, and of course Jalen Battles with his big blast against the Cajuns. The Hogs will be fine with the bats.

Yellmk

1:12

Happy Monday gents. Lupton Drinking Club was in full attendance at Globe Life this weekend to the watch TCU-Nebraska series. We came away encouraged by the outcome, but tbh less impressed with the preseason #1 team in the Big 10. Thoughts on the Huskers rough start so far or whether they're still fine and the frogs are just looking better than expected?

Aaron Fitt

1:12

I would say a little bit of both here; I definitely think TCU looks like a real contender, and I'm particularly encouraged by the way that rotation has performed so far. Good to see Riley Cornelio putting it together, and Brett Walker was great on Sunday. As for Nebraska -- clearly that team is not playing great baseball right now. I'm not necessarily ready to downgrade my longterm forecast for the Huskers, because sometimes teams just take a few weeks to gel, especially cold-weather teams. But I do think Maryland is for real, and for me the Terps are the team to beat in the Big Ten right now.

Chico

1:12

Is Kentucky baseball for real this year with a chance to make a regional?

Kendall Rogers

1:12

Chico -- if you read my fall report on the Wildcats, I was really intrigued by this team. There were some decent pieces on the mound, and there were guys (especially transfers) that caught my attention offensively. So far so good for UK -- Oraj Anu has been much more consistent so far this spring, and Daniel Harris has been an excellent transfer addition. Win that TCU series and you'll be in business. That's such an intriguing three-game set.

Terp in NC

1:14

Maryland's starting pitching has been tremendous thus far. How would you rank their weekend starters (Dean-Ramsey-Savacool) nationally? In the B1G?

Aaron Fitt

1:14

To follow up on my last answer, which touched on Maryland -- I'm so impressed with the Terps so far. I was there Friday and thought Nick Dean was awesome -- just a bulldog competitor who really locates his heater and has a devastating changeup. I've seen Ramsey and Savacool in the past and I like both quite a bit. For me that's clearly the top rotation in the Big Ten, and potentially a top 15 rotation nationally, or maybe even better . There is not a ton of established starting pitching in college baseball this year, so it really stands out when a team has three workhorse guys with stuff and pitchability like Maryland does.

Travis

1:15

Kendall, how would you assess Texas Tech after a weekend sweep of Kent State compared to your thoughts after Arlington in week 1? It looks like starting and bullpen pitching is becoming more solidified and that more guys are being effective at the plate.

Kendall Rogers

1:15

Travis -- You're right. What we saw against Kent State in Lubbock was more like it. Though we dropped Tech in our Top 25 Rankings last week, I didn't want to be too harsh because Lord knows the Red Raiders have kind of earned the benefit of the doubt. But yes, much more all-around better baseball.

stark dawg

1:16

Is Landon Sims the best two lost pitcher in the nation? and what are your thoughts on Cade Smith? What is gut feeling on the Dawgs at this point in the season?

Aaron Fitt

1:16

Yeah clearly Sims has pitched well enough to win in both of his outings; I'm not budging on my opinion that he is the No. 1 pitcher in college baseball, regardless of his record. And I am high on Cade Smith -- repeats his mechanics, throws strikes, has real feel for pitching. It's early, and MSU has been a bit wobbly these first two weeks, but I still really like that roster, and I'm confident that club will find its stride soon.

Ryan

1:17

Where do you see the first big test for Texas?

Kendall Rogers

1:17

R -- I think Alabama was a little bit of a test, especially with how well the Tide calmed the Texas bats. But Alabama is still a team that will finish in the 10-12 range overall in the SEC. It all starts this weekend with Tennessee/LSU (especially) and UCLA in three days at the Shriners College Classic. That Texas-LSU game on Saturday night should have a terrific atmosphere. Really, really impressed with what Sean Allen's pitching staff has done so far.

SECbaseball

1:19

Hard to be “impressed” with a team that gets swept, but the Alabama arms did better than I was expecting in Austin. The bats were another story…

Kendall Rogers

1:19

For sure. Garrett McMillan threw about as well as you could have asked for in the opener, Antoine Jean had a solid start, and there was a lot of buzz about Hunter Furtado, who threw three shutout frames out of the bullpen. I had actually heard he was up to 93-95 mph with his fastball. Bama's pitching staff will get it a chance ... imagine if this group has Prielipp.

Guest

1:19

Understand that UVA’s competition has been incredibly soft, but I didn’t know a team with a bunch of talent back from the CWS squad had as much to prove as they apparently do…

Aaron Fitt

1:19

I mean, they lost a whole lot of key guys from that CWS team -- probably the three most valuable pitchers in that postseason run, plus the whole left side of the infield and the catcher. There is talent back, certainly, but we had legitimate questions about the pitching in particular, considering Nate Savino hadn't really lived up to his talent yet (it was encouraging to see him strike out 11 against Cornell because he did not miss bats at all last year), and Brandon Neeck had yet to prove he can handle a full-season starter's workload. It's good to see Neeck off to a strong start also. But the competition they've faced is just so light... tough to break into the rankings when you schedule like that early in the year.

Derek

1:20

Thoughts on Blake Money? I know it’s not the best competition, but 14 innings, no runs, 4 hits, 3 walks, and 17 strikeouts from a guy who wasn’t even on the national radar as a starter

Kendall Rogers

1:20

Derek -- Well, he was on my national radar. I talked about him at lengthy in some previous podcasts. When I saw him in a short stint against Vandy in BR last year, I loved what I saw despite the fact his second inning wasn't the greatest. It was 93-95 mph fastballs with a nasty Landon Marceaux esque slider in the low-to-mid 90s. The stuff looked the part. The command and everything else just needed to come together, and it seems to have done so. That's huge.

Seth

1:21

Several big ACC/SEC matchups this weekend. Which one are you guys most looking forward to? I am particularly interested in my Yellow Jackets and how they will match up with UGA. Based on what we have seen so far it looks like a really dynamic offense in GT against really solid pitching for UGA. I have been impressed with Chance Huff and Zach Maxwell showed encouraging signs on Saturday. What are some of the other keys to that series? It seems like if both teams do what they are expected this is one that could be a tiebreaker in hosting or not. Do you agree?

Aaron Fitt

1:21

Yeah I'm with you, Seth, and I am looking forward to covering that series down in Georgia this weekend. Two very talented clubs that are both off to strong starts. Could definitely envision the two of them jockeying for regional hosting position in a few months, so you're right, this head-to-head result could wind up having big implications later. Depending how the weekend goes, I may also hit up Clemson/SC on Sunday -- and that's another pretty intriguing matchup between two clubs off to good starts. Fun slate this weekend.

Chris

1:23

Rough weekend for the Aggies, particularly the offense and bullpen. What are you looking to see from them this weekend to determine if they might compete for a regional bid?

Kendall Rogers

1:23

Chris -- The weekend was a real stinker for A&M, to say the least. The biggest thing for A&M is it has to prove it can produce something at all offensively with Trevor Werner not in the lineup. Werner won't be out long term, but that offense was abysmal without him in the lineup. Tons of strikeouts. WTS, even though the pitching staff scuffled in the last two innings on Sunday night, I think the staff as a whole has surprised me so far. The pitching has been getting the job done IMO. Now, we'll see if the offense can get going.

GoBeavs

1:24

Any info on OSU's Frisch and Pfennigs? Big hit to the Beavers rotation obviously if either of those guys are out long term.

Kendall Rogers

1:24

GoBeavs -- Pfennigs is TBD, but sources are telling me that Will Frisch may be out for a while. Stay tuned. Obviously, the Frisch news is less than ideal for the Beavers.

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