You are viewing the chat in desktop mode. Click here to switch to mobile view.
X
Return toD1Baseball
D1Baseball Weekly Chat: March 30
powered byJotCast
Prev Page View Full Chat
DDawg
1:10
Big Ten teams that will be in regionals outside of USC, UCLA, Oregon, and Nebraska are…
Kendall Rogers
1:10
Not sure where Fittsy stands on this, but I'll go with those four and ... someone emerging down the stretch. Could that team be Purdue?
Terry
1:13
Overall thoughts on North Carolina? They've bounced back significantly after those first two games vs. Virginia. The offense was excellent this past weekend. My only concern is the Sunday starter, Folger Boaz, who hasn't regained his freshman year form prior to the elbow injury. Maybe Claden Glauber will eventually take over that role as we get closer to the postseason, but that would reduce the strength of a dynamic bullpen trio consisting of Glauber, McDuffie, and Matthijs.
Aaron Fitt
1:13
Yeah, great response from that UVa series for UNC over the last three weeks, re-establishing themselves as a top-10 club. The lineup has definitely gelled, and feels like a quality group with good length and enough firepower. And it's a good, athletic defense. The Boaz question will be something to watch; wouldn't surprise me if late in the year we do see a move with Glauber into the rotation, along the lines of how Lynch's role evolved at the end of his freshman year last year.
Erik
1:14
What's the path to Nebraska hosting? Is there one?
Kendall Rogers
1:14
8-1 in the league and with an RPI of 24. Of course the Huskers have a pathway to hosting.
Neil Hopkins
1:15
What should we be making of Senior Duke pitcher Aidan Weaver? He seems to have really grown with the new coaching staff. Is he a legitimate draft prospect at this point?
Aaron Fitt
1:15
Oh for sure. He's always had a big arm, have seen high-90s from him for years. But his pitchability has taken a big jump, he's throwing more strikes (and quality strikes) while still sitting in the mid to upper 90s, and he's developed a nice little bullet slider this year to go with his fastball and his changeup, which was and remains his best secondary pitch. He really needed to find some kind of breaking ball, and he's found a serviceable one with that bullet slider. Big strong dude without a lot of mileage on that arm -- I think he'll be a pretty darn good senior draft.
Ralph
1:17
After shaving the iconic mustache, is the Drew Burress slump over? This Georgia Tech club has absolutely mashed the ball. Imagine if Burress gets going in April (and the pitching continues its success from last weekend).
Aaron Fitt
1:17
What's next, Bradley Smart shaving HIS iconic mustache? Times, they are a-changin' I guess. I'll tell you this: it's not a question of whether Burress gets going in April. He is DEFINITELY going to make a run in April. Put it in the bank! And you're right, that will only make Georgia Tech that much scarier.
party 1
Bear
1:18
What you make of West Virginia taking 2/3 from solid Ariz St club ? Doesn't seem like Chase Meyer has affected them, plus David Perez going 60
Kendall Rogers
1:18
Really impressed with the Mountaineers over the weekend. One of the things I've been doing lately is shifting my attention to watching more games at home, and going out less. And it's honestly a great trade off because I get to see so many teams throughout the year. I think the thing that stood out to me is that the lineup has really impressive length, and I thought that outside of Landon Hairston, Gavin Kelly was pretty clearly the best player on the field. He's special man. Also was very encouraged by Chansen Cole and Maxx Yehl. Something else I picked up on was Steve Sabins' in-game interview. Sometimes you get coaches who are turned off by it and give you nothing, but I thought he just came off as a coach with some serious aura/charisma. I've gotten to know Steve well over the last few years. He's really good.
trace
1:21
What's the opinion on the Aggies and what do they need to see from Sdao and Moss over the next two weeks to be in a regional hosting type scenario if not even a national seed.
Kendall Rogers
1:21
Trace -- I'm not really sure what Michael Earley's better options are at this point? You've got two weekend starters with ERAs over 8-9 in SEC play. That doesn't seem sustainable, but you never know. The good news for the Aggies is that they're elite offensively. They can probably mask those deficiencies in the regular season. But in the postseason? Those two, and others, will need to step up. I kind of wonder if Earley, at some point, starts a guy like Gavin Lyons, and sees is if he can give them 3-4 -- and then turn it over to Moss in the middle innings, like he was used to and very effective in doing last season. That's a thought.
DaAggies
1:23
How many SEC teams do you think will end up hosting? And who would you favor being those teams right now? It feels like there's 3 strong candidates at the top, a complete toss up in the middle, and 2 teams at the bottom.
Aaron Fitt
1:23
Certainly Texas, MSU and Georgia (despite its current RPI woes) are tracking toward hosting. Florida and Alabama are both 6-3 with RPIs in the top six, so they're also in great position at this stage. Then you've got A&M, Kentucky, Auburn, Oklahoma -- then probably a gap before you get to the Arkansas/Vandy/LSU/Ole Miss/Tennessee group. I think all of those teams are all good enough to make second half runs to host, so it feels pretty wide open right now, given the week to week volatility we're already seeing in the SEC. Ultimately,  I think 7 of the SEC's 16 teams hosting is probably about the right number. I don't think it will be fewer than 6.
cool 1
Birdman26
1:25
The ACC has been kind of strange so far . Some of the usual strong programs are struggling this far , with some of the other lesser known baseball schools are off to stronger start s. Do you see programs like Louisville and Clemson getting their struggles straightened out to make a run towards an upper tier finish in the ACC standings ? Louisville has been without one of the better pieces of their lineup , missing Zion Rose For over half the season . Hopefully he will again return soon from his hamstring injury . He was on fire before going down with the hamstring . These programs have too much talent to continue to flounder . Thanks for all you guys do covering college baseball .
Aaron Fitt
1:25
I addressed Clemson earlier, and I feel similarly about Louisville -- I think they are too talented, too experienced, and have too good a coaching staff NOT to make a run in the second half. It's not like Louisville is buried, at 4-5 in the ACC. They've just kinda plodded along without really ever getting any serious momentum going, but they have stayed afloat. The Rose thing is huge, no doubt about it; it does sound like he should be back to full strength at some point in the not too distant future and that will provide a boost. It does feel like Louisville simply does not have the pitching to be the kind of top 10 team we projected them to be heading into the year, but they can still be a regional team, with a chance to be very dangerous (once again) in June.
DDawg
1:28
Mid Major Leagues who could have an at large team? I am thinking C-USA, Sun Belt, American, and Big West (if it’s UCSB and UCSD). Any others I am missing?
Aaron Fitt
1:28
I think that's a pretty good read, yeah. At this moment, I don't really see another multi-bid mid-major league out there, the way things are developing.
JamesB
1:29
What do you think about Todd whittings future
Kendall Rogers
1:29
Todd and I go way back, and he's a great guy. But there's zero doubt the Cougars needed to win this season, and they're sitting at 1-8 and in last place in the Big 12. To say UH needs to finish strong would be quite the understatement. If the Cougars continue down this path, I would be incredibly surprised if a change is not made. That job will attract some pretty impressive suitors if it opens, FWIW.
James
1:31
What’s your take on the situation in Palo Alto?  Is Stanford going to be able to compete in the ACC long-term or is the move to the new conference just gonna be too much for a Stanford program not willing to pony up the NIL money to get/keep players?
Kendall Rogers
1:31
James -- I still think the Stanford brand is pretty strong nationally, but there are two things at play for the Cardinal. 1) NIL is very limited at Stanford (hence everyone bolting for better NIL deals, etc) 2) Stanford, academically, gives zero leeway to transfers. There's a reason the Cardinal only takes high-level academic transfers, and that's because that's the only kid they can get into the school. The school is going to have to decide if it wants to win in baseball, and football, too, for that matter.
GeoDawg
1:33
Where would you put the tier breaks in the latest top 25? It seems like there are 4-6 elite teams, then about 50 that will take turn taking each other out all year. I'm interested to hear if you have definitive 2nd and 3rd tiers of teams somewhere in there.
Aaron Fitt
1:33
This is a great question -- and giving it some thought just made me feel confused. I don't know where to draw the lines! UCLA/Texas/GT certainly feel like top tier -- but how many other teams belong in that tier? MSU/UGa/UNC/FSU? Losing Myles Bailey is a major blow for FSU so long term I'd probably downgrade their stock. Really like Southern Miss and Oregon State, but for me they're just not quite in that top tier. So maybe draw a line after UNC... and then yeah, it feels like a group of like 40 teams that are just gonna have ups and downs. Arkansas and Auburn are great examples -- last week we had them in the top five, and this week they are 16th and 17th. But they can absolutely find their way back into the top five as the second half unfolds, and so could somebody like LSU that isn't even in the Top 25 right now.
James
1:34
What’s the latest on the coaching search in Columbia ?  Are they still talking to Schnall?  Is he still talking to them?  Who else is in the mix?  When might they make a decision?
Kendall Rogers
1:34
James -- I would not expect Schnall to talk directly to South Carolina until his season is over. His agent? I think I would be floored if those conversations haven't been had. My expectation is that Schnall will likely be the next coach at South Carolina unless Jeremiah Donati decides he wants to make a hire that isn't the one everyone wants him to make. Outside of Schnall, the idea of Sabins is really intriguing to me. His stock is surging.
Aaron Fitt
1:34
OK folks, that's all I have time for today. See you next week.
Andrew
1:38
Three weeks ago, I asked what the feelings were of Louisiana possibly hosting with SBC play on the horizon. Now, there's probably more of a conversation that'll be had on whether they'll even get into the tournament at the end of the season. Deggs hails himself as an offensive guy, but this is the second season in a row now that the lineup is abysmal.
Kendall Rogers
1:38
Andrew -- yeah, it's very odd that Louisiana once again is really struggling to hit. The bad news is they are struggling right now and are 3-6 in the league. The good news is they did enough good things in non-conference play that they created a little cushion from an RPI standpoint. With that said, the Cajuns really need to get their act together moving forward.
Connecting…