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D1Baseball Weekly Chat: Week Six
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Cards
12:01
who wins ND/UL series this weekend and why
Kendall Rogers
12:01
Cards -- That's a great question. I was impressed with the weekend Louisville had, and I think the Cards certainly appear to have a strong offense. WTS -- ND has a strong offense, too, and I actually feel better about its pitching staff right now. ND has a lot of experience in the weekend rotation and I liked what I saw from Ryan McLinskey out of the bullpen over the weekend.
Mike
12:03
Any update on the 2 starting pitchers that are out hurt for the Beavers?
Kendall Rogers
12:03
Mike -- Will Frisch will be out for a long time, and Pfennigs is TBD at this point. The Beavs are taking care of business without those guys, and that's pretty impressive. Jacob Kmatz is suddenly the most important guy on that pitching staff after Cooper Hjerpe in that weekend rotation.
JPB99
12:04
After a convincing sweep over Southern Miss, how close is DBU to breaking back into the top 25 and how confident are you all in their success the rest of the season? With a top 3 rpi and number 1 strength of schedule at the moment, it looks like they have finally started to right the ship and play up to expectations.
Kendall Rogers
12:04
JPB -- Really impressive weekend for the Patriots. I've been waiting on DBU to play like the Top 25 team we expected coming into the season, and it certainly pitched like that over the weekend. Jacob Meador was a guy I loved during his time at TCU, and he pitched great. Luke Eldred was ultra impressive, too, against a very very good USM club. Let's see if DBU can sustain it -- but very encouraging weekend.
Ryan
12:07
How is Louisiana Tech looking in your opinion? Probably deservedly not in the top 25 after the 4 game losing streak, but tech has since avenged a loss to southeastern with a thumping in midweek and absolutely dominated Houston Baptist over the weekend with a combined score of 40-5.
Aaron Fitt
12:07
Yeah the Bulldogs have righted the ship. Still light on quality wins, probably a couple of good weeks from having a shot to get back into the Top 25, but we all still like that club. Heck, one of the reasons we ranked Tulane last week was because of our respect for Louisiana Tech -- Tulane's series win in Ruston was loud to us. La Tech is a veteran club, going to have a good year.
Landon Colloso
12:08
Any concern over the cardinal dropping the series to Oregon? Brock jones has had a slow start can’t imagine that will continue.
Kendall Rogers
12:08
Landon -- We will see if Stanford plays like that again next weekend, but there were some troubling signs for the pitching staff. For instance, lefthander Quinn Mathews had been terrific, but got lit up over the weekend against Oregon. The Cardinal will hit the entire season, but I will say that the bullpen is a little light outside of Dixon, O'Rourke and Montgomery. They need guys like Quinn to pan out.
SECbaseball
12:09
How ‘bout them Gamecocks! Massive win for Kingston & Co. I think the move to 7 inning Sunday DH was a big benefit for a club in dire need of some positive momentum. Thoughts on SC heading into league play and any news on Bosnic?
Aaron Fitt
12:09
I certainly did not see that doubleheader sweep coming; Gamecocks looked like they were in trouble last week at Clemson. They really needed an arm to emerge on that beleaguered pitching staff, and Matthew Becker gave them exactly what they needed in that series finale -- 6 innings, 1 hit, 11 K against the No. 1 team in the country? That'll play. As of last week, Kingston said Bosnic should be back in a couple of weeks, so we'll see how that goes. Obviously that's a huge, huge key for this team's chances.
SECbaseball
12:10
Kentucky and Auburn (until this weekend. Yikes..) had been pleasant surprises in the SEC. Which team has the best chance to make a statement and take a series from a top 5 team to open league play (at Arkansas, and vs Ole Miss)?
Aaron Fitt
12:10
You're right, both teams have been pleasant surprises, notwithstanding Auburn's speed bump against Middle Tennessee this weekend. I like Auburn's chances better this weekend because it is at home (and Arkansas seems to be finding its stride). But Ole Miss is very good, so that will be a stiff test. I'll be on the Plains Thursday and Friday so will have plenty more thoughts on the Tigers next week.
JEL
12:11
Notwithstanding dropping 2 of 3 in last minute series against Long Beach Dirtbags, does Gonzaga still pass the eye test with you gents?
Kendall Rogers
12:11
JEL -- That series loss to Long Beach State does zero to change my mind on the Zags. They had a very odd week that included finishing up a series sweep over Oklahoma State on a Monday, driving to Missouri for a Tuesday game, and then having to fly all the way to California for a weekend series. That's a grueling week, not to mention they didn't have a key starting pitcher over the weekend in Will Kempner. He will be fine, but not having him over the weekend certainly hurt.
Jj
12:14
Your thoughts on UF thus far..???...need a solid Sunday starter??... Thanks
Aaron Fitt
12:14
You know, I'm not so concerned about the Sunday starter spot. I know Pogue and Manning struggled Sunday, but I like both of those guys and feel like one of them will settle in as a quality innings-eater, and the Gators certainly have the depth to mix and match as needed -- they don't need that Sunday guy to go seven innings. Guys like Ficarrotta and Purnell have been really nice surprises (at least to me), adding to that bullpen depth. And it's great to see Brandon Sproat figuring it out as the Saturday starter. I think the Gators are very dangerous going forward, and will only get more dangerous as some of their exciting young arms mature and gain experience.
Guest
12:15
Oklahoma state finished the week with a good series win over BYU. What does OSU need to do to get back to top 10 form.
Kendall Rogers
12:15
Guest -- I feel pretty good about Oklahoma State's pitching staff. Justin Campbell in particular was outstanding over the weekend and carried the Cowboys pitching staff. He righted the ship so to speak. Where I do have some concerns is with the OSU offense. It's simply not explosive right now, granted an eight-run output in the series finale might be what gets this lineup going once and for all. The K rate has been entirely too high as of late. But in terms of ceiling, my thoughts still echo Aaron's, I believe.
SECbaseball
12:16
Parker Stinnett has been shaky at times but once he settles in the stuff is legit. (He had a 20 K week drawing 2 starts which is pretty rare!). Preston Johnson has looked solid since his insertion into a starting role and Cade Smith has been great for a game 3 guy. Thoughts on how this Sims-less rotation may fare in SEC play? And if the bullpen will settle down if this is a season long roller coaster?
Aaron Fitt
12:16
I'm a big Parker Stinnett guy -- he was simply nasty the last time I saw him in fall ball, and I expected a big year from him. Very encouraging to see him do what he did last week; he definitely has real swing and miss stuff, with plenty of fastball velo and a devastating breaker. It's just a matter of harnessing it and competing it. With Johnson, Stinnett and Smith, the Bulldogs have a chance to survive the loss of Sims, I think, but clearly that loss downgrades our overall assessment of that club. With him, I think they would have eventually been a top five team. Without him, feels more like a back-half of the Top 25 club. He's that big of a difference maker.
Andy Gemberner
12:16
With the upset over Stanford on the road how much confidence does this instill in Oregon and how far are they from the top 25? Also what does the big picture look like for the conference after the first week of play?
Kendall Rogers
12:16
Andy -- I still have some question marks about Oregon's pitching staff, but one thing is for certain, the Ducks are very, very well coached, and they will continue to hit this spring. Oregon 'should' take series from Utah and USC at home before heading to UCLA. Like where Waz's club is sitting right now.
FittsMagic
12:18
Hand up, I did not believe in the Irish preseason, but all these guys seem to do is WIN! Link and co. have this program competing at a high clip. Are you guys sold on Notre Dame as a title contender right now??
Kendall Rogers
12:18
Fitt -- I think I might be. Give me another week or two. The common denominator with most national title teams is experience, good offense and a solid weekend rotation, and I think the Irish have all three. They're balanced offensively, it's hard to find a more experienced weekend rotation and they're old. Those are all important hallmarks for a team looking to win the national crown.
RollWave
12:19
Did the green wave doom themselves to having to win the AAC and/or tournament to get into the field of 64 after a crushing sweep at home to Evansville?
Kendall Rogers
12:20
I wouldn't go that far just yet, but Tulane definitely put itself in a situation where it can only afford so many more absolute stinkers. It's still entirely too early to look at RPI, but it's sitting at 116 four weeks into the season. I still think Tulane is a solid club. You don't roll into Ruston and beat LA Tech and also take a series from Miss State and not be a solid club. That Evansville series was very perplexing. The next three weekends should help Tulane get back on track.
Dave
12:20
Do you think Georgia Tech's poor relief and closing pitchers will hold them back from winning a national championship.
Aaron Fitt
12:20
It's early to be talking about who might or might not win the national title, but I would say I feel OK about the Georgia Tech bullpen overall. Tons of good lefty options (Carwile has been great as a freshman, Dalton Smith is a steady vet, Sam Crawford has stuff, they need Bartnicki to get on track but he has stuff and experience too). Really like John Medich from the right side, he's become a real guy back there. Dawson Brown is another big key; he's clearly got closer stuff but needs to command the zone better. McNamee and Mannelly also have stuff -- the Jackets need them to be better, but I believe they will be. And they still have Finatieri to use in whatever role they want, that guy is really good. There's just so much depth and talent, I think they'll find the right combinations eventually.
Mike
12:23
What do you have on old dominion
Aaron Fitt
12:23
Kinda like La Tech, very experienced club that had a ton of success last year, and the Monarchs are off to a great start, albeit against a fairly soft schedule. Love the firepower in that lineup, just a bunch of really dangerous college hitters, like Carter Trice, Andy Garriola, Tommy Bell, Kenny Levari, Robbie Petracci, Brock Gagliardi -- that is a very formidable bunch. My question on ODU entering the season was the starting pitching, but so far it's been quite good against lesser competition, so we'll see how they fare in C-USA. Tommy Gertner and Nick Pantos don't overpower you, but they can pitch and they had some success last year. And Jason Hartline and Noah Dean is a wicked one-two punch in the bullpen. Feels like a Top 25 team that just hasn't been able to break into the rankings yet because they lack a high-end series win, while other fringe Top 25 teams have taken series from at-large-caliber opponents.
Jordan
12:25
When will UConn get some top 25 love?
Kendall Rogers
12:25
Jordan -- We actually discussed UCONN at length for our Top 25 this week. The Huskies are right on the cusp and definitely on our radar. I've been really impressed with their pitching staff without Reggie Crawford.  Pat Gallagher and Austin Peterson both threw really well over the weekend. It makes me wonder what the ceiling for this team would be WITH Reggie. Still, Jim Penders is doing Jim Penders things with this club right now.
Alex from Atascocita
12:26
ECU is showing some life but still lacking consistency. They have won 8 of 10 against some solid programs. But the lack of consistency at the plate is very concerning whether it is just getting hits, stringing hits or clutch hits, it is all lacking. How concerned should ECU about the hitting 1/4 of way through.
Aaron Fitt
12:26
Yeah, impressed with how ECU has gotten back on track with that strong showing at the LeClair Classic, and the series win vs. Saint Mary's. I am surprised the offense hasn't been better overall, but I feel like Bryson Worrell, Zach Agnos, A-Mak and Moylan are all a lot better than their numbers show thus far. Ryley Johnson too -- Cliff Godwin was super excited about him in the fall, they need to get him going. It's a long season, and I think this offense will continue to get better.
Richard
12:27
How do yall feel about the top 5-10 teams in College Baseball this season compared to others?  Seems that the there are not teams that are far and away better than others this year, with all losses that have already occurred at the top of the rankings.
Kendall Rogers
12:27
Richard -- It's very wide open right now. Frankly, once Texas lost Tanner Witt and lost that series to South Carolina, I didn't have much conviction in moving Ole Miss to No. 1, but that's what made the most sense. If Tanner Witt was healthy, UT is clearly the top team in the country. Without him ... they are at least somewhat vulnerable in a series finale.
Alex from Atascocita
12:28
How do you think Carson Whisenhunts draft stock will be affected now that he is officially ineligible this season?
Aaron Fitt
12:28
One more ECU question: I still think Whisenhunt will be a first-rounder, because there's just so little elite college pitching in this draft, and most clubs have him as the top guy on their board. The stuff is just too good, and he's lefthanded and has a great frame; somebody is still gonna pull the trigger on him. He said in his statement that he plans to stay enrolled at ECU and continue with his education, but I'll be curious if he winds up dabbling with Indy ball at all as a tuneup before the draft. Maybe something like the Draft League could be a fit.
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