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D1Baseball Weekly Chat: March 2
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Aaron Fitt
1:44
Sign me up for Southern Miss hosting Mississippi State on Tuesday! Man is that gonna be a blast.
Midwest baseball
1:44
What do you think is the biggest difference in northern teams and southern teams in the portal/NIL era? As an observer, college baseball is certainly becoming more and more of a southern sport. Fans care more, players are better, and it does not *feel* like these teams are on the same playing field anymore, no pun intended. Is it AD investment? Is it talent acquisition? What say you?
Kendall Rogers
1:44
Midwest -- great question. Clearly, the southern schools are putting more money into NIL and things like that, but I actually feel like the northern schools are getting better, not worse. Here's the thing about NIL and the Portal, and now the 34-man roster. Players who don't make the team have to go SOMEWHERE, and often times those players are still pretty dang good. So there's a trickle-down effect present. I actually feel like the northern schools have held their own pretty well early this season.
Ryan
1:48
What have you seen from Virginia so far? I know the worry before the season was their pitching, but things are looking better over the past 5 games after Paone joined the rotation.
Aaron Fitt
1:48
Couple quick takes from afar, because obviously I haven't been bearing down on UVa too much given the competition level:

(1) AJ Gracia has a 1.400 OPS with 11 walks and more HR (6) than strikeouts (5). LOL.

(2) Very encouraging start for Harrison Didawick, and I think that's huge for them.

(3) Paone sounds like the real deal, and should make a major difference in that rotation. Still think Zatkowski and Stammel are going to have good years, despite uneven starts. I believe in those two guys.

This week will be a telling test for the Hoos, 2 midweeks at Charlotte then 3 at UNC. We will have coverage (though we've got 2 staffers flying in from out of town so I may get kicked out of my own stomping grounds!).
J
1:50
Fau transfer Jake Duer has been amazing for the aggies so far — what’s up w other fau transfer mj Bollinger - hasn’t appeared yet.
Aaron Fitt
1:50
Duer looked awesome this weekend, I think that guy can really hit. Don't have anything for you on Bollinger I'm afraid, just wanted to chime in that Duer is legit!
cool 1
Joey Urban
1:50
Thought on Southern Miss keeping this momentum rolling all season? Is this the team that can finally break through for USM and make a run at a National title? Will anybody from D1 be at The Pete tomorrow night?
Kendall Rogers
1:50
I believe Mark is going. I just kind of said this, but I'll reiterate it -- I think USM has the pieces you want to do some serious damage. There are unique but equally good bullpen weapons, the rotation is in a good spot and the top half of the lineup is very dangerous and clutch. I still think the bottom can be pitched to a little bit, but no doubt the top half of the lineup is filthy. I'm pretty bullish on these guys.
Todd
1:52
Which 2-3 SEC weekend rotations have impressed you the most in the first 3 weeks of the season?
Aaron Fitt
1:52
Obviously Mississippi State is top of mind for me after seeing them this weekend, but I walked away thinking that rotation has three (3!) guys who will be first-round picks in 2027 in McPherson, Valincius and Stone. That's a crazy amount of talent, and State will get them all back for another year! That team might be scary-good again next year. And LSU -- Evans is obviously a dude, but have gotten stellar reports also on Cooper Moore and William Schmidt. That rotation has freakishly high upside too.
Corbin Getz
1:54
How does OK State become a ranked team and Omaha threat?
Kendall Rogers
1:54
Corbin -- The Pokes are definitely trending up. They've been very good over the past couple of weeks -- really since that first loss to GCU. I'm a big fan of Kollin Ritchie and Brock Thompson. Ritchie showed excellent power the first weekend in Arlington, and Thompson is one of those guys who has an incredibly high bar-fight meter. He's also off to a great start. I'd keep an eye on the evolution of the pitching staff under Blake Hawksworth. Ethan Lund now has 28 strikeouts in 14.2 innings of work, and showed pretty good stuff opening weekend during my look, too, despite having a few command issues in the outing.
Packfan
1:54
Obviously the competition is what it is, but Jacob Dudan is looking good as a starter. Could you see him turning into a first or second day draft selection with a good year? And how  would that impact the Wolfpack?
Aaron Fitt
1:54
Keeping in mind that Day One is now the top three rounds (a change from the past), I definitely think he could be a day one guy. Heck we might already have him ranked in that range. But really love what Clint Chrysler has done with him, getting him to focus on efficiency by working in that new two-seamer and changeup to pitch to contact more -- he's so much more than just a bullpen slider monster now, he has real pitchability. Total game changer for the Pack, I think.
Billy
1:55
Does the strength of the west coast teams (UCLA, USC, Oregon) in the BIG 10, help or hurt the at-large chances of a team like Michigan to get in?
Aaron Fitt
1:55
I think it helps, as long as the rest of the league continues to hold its own the way it has early on.
PabloMcDougal
1:56
So, how bad is the Big12?  Last week was not good.
Kendall Rogers
1:56
I don't think the Big 12 is bad at all, actually. West Virginia is playing extremely well, Oklahoma State is surging, TCU is still a very good team, Baylor is actually a quality club even if the record is just OK. Cincinnati, Kansas State and Arizona State are all good teams. Arizona State is going to hit, hit and hit. Will just depend on how the pitching develops as the season progresses.
Doc
1:57
How about the start of the season for Hogs’ THIRD starter Collin Fisher?  Yet to allow an earned run in 3 starts.
Aaron Fitt
1:57
He's always been a high-level talent. And I am not surprised that he has made a jump as a junior under Matt Hobbs' superb direction -- the Hogs are so good at developing arms, and I feel like every year we see guys make those kinds of leaps as juniors. Also hearing awesome things about Hunter Dietz. Arkansas is also in that discussion of rotations that have really impressed me so far.
NCTerp
1:58
Maryland's Brayden Martin has been outstanding (.438 BA, 8-8 SB, 9:2 BB:k ratio). Is he one of the top 5 lead-off batters in the country?
Aaron Fitt
1:58
His plate discipline has always been elite -- his career BB-K is freaking absurd: 98-62! I mean, are you kidding me?!? Yes, he's one of the best leadoff men out there, and he deserves more attention. So thanks for bringing him up here!
David
2:00
What's the most intriguing midweek matchup this week?
Kendall Rogers
2:00
There are a lot of them, but give me No. 4 MSU at No. 10 Southern Miss. Others top of mind for me: Coastal vs. NC State, DBU vs. Oklahoma, Oregon vs. Oregon State.
Guest
2:00
Lsu bats better wake up soon or we wont make a Regional this year lol.  Jokes aside fellas how impress are u with the growth of william Schmith, just need the hitting to come around for SEC play. Thanks guys long time Subsriber D1.
Aaron Fitt
2:00
Thanks for your long-time support! mentioned Schmidt earlier, but Joe Healy was telling me that he looked really good this weekend. Sounds like he's really taken The Leap as a sophomore, as you hope someone with his immense talent will (but it certainly doesn't always happen). It's crazy to think of a guy with his stuff working as your Sunday starter, but there's LSU baseball for you. Crazy.
Guest
2:02
Beavers have played six 1-run games already... is that the year they are in for?
Aaron Fitt
2:02
I reckon so, yeah. Just don't think they have the offensive firepower to separate themselves from a lot of opponents, though they did seem to get their bats going a bit more as this weekend progressed. But ultimately, I just think this is gonna be one of those years where their pitching gives them a chance to win a lot of games, but there's going to be a lot of nail-biting amongst the Beaver faithful.
Tim T
2:03
What’s the take away from the teams in Vegas this past weekend and that tournament in general?
Kendall Rogers
2:03
Oregon was extremely physical offensively and looked very good throughout the weekend, even with a loss to UC Irvine. For UCI, it just plays a very good brand of baseball, and Zach Fjelstad is sizzling hot at the plate right now. Very curious to see if this past weekend boosts Arizona a little bit. It played much better over the weekend against solid competition. As for Vanderbilt, give it some credit for battling back against Oregon, but just an ugly weekend for the Dores. Watched some of the UO game early on, and it felt like Dominic Hellman and Co. were taking batting practice. The 'Dores desperately need Colin Barczi back in the mix.
Jake
2:05
What would your Pac-12 predicted order of finish/power ranking be this year if the old Pac-12 still existed?
Aaron Fitt
2:05
Holy cow do I love this question!

  1. UCLA
  2. I'll stick with Oregon State but I'm nervous about the bats
  3. Oregon (but man USC is also a very valid answer at 2 or 3! But I am a huge fan of the Oregon position player group)
  4. USC
  5. Arizona State (tough weekend and they didn't throw strikes Sunday but I still walked away with positive impressions of their lineup talent, and their stuff on the mound. Do they have enough pitchability? TBD.)

I'll stop there for now. Not sure any of the rest of them are regional teams -- probably not.
Guest
2:06
Yearly question - anyone have a better pitching staff, as a whole, than those Florida Gators?!
Kendall Rogers
2:06
Let me introduce the Texas Longhorns to you. I definitely love the Florida pitching staff. Jackson Barberi was filthy out of the pen on Friday,  and Liam Peterson having two-straight fantastic starts makes me feel MUCH better about this team. But I just love the sheer depth that Texas has right now. It can run out great arm after great after great arm.
Aaron Fitt
2:06
In-flight wifi starting to get dicey, so I think I'm going to call it here, folks. Really enjoyed today's chat (maybe I'm still just riding the high from that UCLA-MSU game!) -- thanks for some dynamite questions today! See you all next week.
FittsMagic
2:07
How does Stanford get the program back on track in this age of Transfer Portal importance? It feels like other schools (Miss State) can quickly pivot, but the academics/admissions appear to put the Card at a massive disadvantage in today's game
Kendall Rogers
2:07
Stanford is honestly in a very tough spot. The Cardinal, as you might imagine, has very strict academic standards, which makes getting a portal addition from a non-academic power damn near impossible for Esky and the staff. In addition to that, Stanford's NIL pales in comparison to almost any big-time baseball program. That's pretty much a double whammy. With that said, that is still such an elite and prestigious brand ... but hey Stanford, can we give the baseball program SOME sort of help, please? Thank you.
Will
2:09
What is your take on the Beavs so far? Seams like offense might be improvi
Kendall Rogers
2:09
I saw the Beavers the second weekend at Round Rock. As you might imagine, I love the pitching staff. There are a lot of powerful options, and also some options that aren't your typical looks. However, I just thought OSU was extremely light offensively. There wasn't a hitter in that lineup that you felt like the other team feared. That will need to change the season progresses for the Beavs to take a big step forward and reach their goals.
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